State of Emergency

"Sad State Of Affairs"

With 'Grand Theft Auto 3' becoming the biggest game in recent history, it's no surprise that Rockstar would hurry along a new game to cash in on their red-hot brand name. Needless to say, the gaming masses quickly became jazzed about 'State Of Emergency,' which would contain the violent madness of 'GTA 3' and carry on the fine tradition of punching people for little-to-no reason. 'SOE' is a throwback of sorts to the days of classic beat-em-ups like 'Double Dragon' and 'Final Fight,' with a blast of modern weapons and console technology. Unfortunately, like those fighters of old, 'SOE' gets repetitive very quickly, and the infinite promise of a riot-based game quickly becomes tiresome, despite the so-called chaos surrounding you.
The plot of the game, such as it is, revolves around the evil Corporation and their attempts to mind-control the population and bend them to their will. Naturally, the wily folks of State-Of-Emergency-Land decide to take to the streets, and begin looting and running about like madmen. The whole 'corporate mind control' story would have been interesting about a hundred years ago, before a million films and science fiction novels had beaten the idea to death. But it's a good enough hook for an action game, I suppose, so the plot isn't a major problem.
You control some sort of rogue, be it a renegade cop, a female lawyer, or one of the hidden characters. Everything you do is combat-related; be it basic fighting like punching or holds, or the picking up and usage of weapons like firearms or whatever objects you can find lying around. You can also smash windows and throw things around, to get into the riotous spirit. Unfortunately, this already illustrates the game's main problem: lack of depth. Sure, there are hundreds of people running around, but you can't do anything with them besides smacking them around or killing them. And unless you're a mentally-damaged 13 year-old, that sort of thing will get old fairly quickly. Sure, the sound of smashing windows is music to the ears, but you can't enter any of the game's stores or buildings to cause some real damage.
The big selling point of the game is that there are tons of people on the screen at the same time, engaging in wild rioting and such. But there are many problems with this little scenario. For one thing, there don't seem to be many character models, and you encounter the same people over and over. Yup, it's the usual ''hey, didn't I just kill the fat guy in the green shirt?'' routine, popularized in 'Grand Theft Auto 3.' However, this is forgivable, considering hardware limitations. The real setback is that the rioting people don't really, well, riot. Sure, they're running around a lot and carrying some stolen goods, but it just seems very mechanical. Nobody's smashing anything, or attacking one another, or roughing up the Corporate goons. In fact, within minutes of playing, I was going about my tasks and completely shutting out the crowds, who were irrelevant in the game mode that I was playing.
Yup; 'State of Emergency' has two game modes, Chaos and Revolution. The Chaos mode is more of a traditional arcade kind of thing, with the object being to grab the high score. (Remember 'high scores?' Those were the days.) You get points for carnage and completing tasks, with multipliers for such wacky acts as smashing tons of windows. It's rather like 'Crazy Taxi,' with limited time to complete missions, and the omnipresent arrow guiding you to where you need to be. Naturally, destroying your opponents can earn you bonus time. Killing 'innocent' civilians (you know, that innocent guy with the stolen cash register in his arms) can actually damage your score, which is a first for Rockstar. If any mode of this game will manage to keep your interest, it's this one, thanks to the hectic gameplay. But 'frantic' and 'addictive' are two different concepts, and even Chaos can get weary when it boils down to endless violence.
But Chaos mode is far superior to the game's Revolution mode, which is mission-based, and will remind people of 'Grand Theft Auto 3' and its similar structure. Unfortunately, 'State of Emergency' has a very small number of missions, which are repeated ad nauseam with very little variation. You get the 'kill-these-guys' mission, the 'escort-and-protect-this-guy' mission, the 'steal-this-thingie' mission, and little else. And your Corporate opponents are a bunch of faceless goons, so the thrill in dispatching them is minimal.
Of course, it's safe to say that the bloody violence is another major selling point for this title. I guess this is a personal thing, but I fail to see the extended thrill in killing digital people. Wheee! I just chopped up a woman with a hatchet! Anyone who feels the need to do this on a daily basis may wish to examine the many benefits of modern medication, and a healthy social life. Sure, being evil is kind of fun, but it ain't fifty bucks worth of fun as far as I'm concerned. C'mon, you bloodthirsty rascals... try 'The Sims', or 'Black and White' or something. Creating can be - gasp - more rewarding than destroying stuff. I promise!
Another buzzkiller is the game's camera, which always seems to thwart you. You'll need to constantly rotate the sucker to keep an eye on the enemy, or the poor sap you're escorting. And with a fast-paced game like this, it can be deadly to waste time fiddling with a cranky camera.
'State of Emergency' is either an amazing graphical feat, or total junk, depending on whom you ask. The amount of characters on-screen is nothing to sneeze at, but since you see the same people over and over, it loses some sting. Less characters on screen, and more activity from said characters would have gone a long way. There's no slowdown that I saw, which is pretty impressive. A pretty decent feat, all told.
The sound package, however, is very disappointing. Generic character grunts and screams are the norm, and the music is some of the least memorable filler in recent gaming. Let's call for a ban on all genero-techno-rock garbage in video games, shall we? (Or, at the very least, contain such music to professional wrestling games only, who are the guys that started it all.)
All told, 'State of Emergency' is a lost opportunity. How the heck can a rioting game be dull? This game has a number of problems, but tedium is the worst of them all. In this era of gaming, button-mashing just doesn't cut it.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/17/02, Updated 02/17/02