True Crime: Streets of LA

"GTA without the Greatness....."

Ahhh.....yet another game to follow in GTA's giant footsteps, except this game is no GTA, actually very far from it in many ways. I two got mixed into all the hype about this game when it first came out but was not all to sure that it was going to be that great and now after just finishing it about 10 mins ago, I realize how different GTA and TC are. I know that lots of ppl say these two games shouldn't be compared but when they look so alike, its hard to think otherwise. Enough said lets get onto the review shall we.

Story-4/10: This has got to be one of the most confusing story's ever made and I've play a lot of rpgs in my day. The whole game is about you(Nick Kang)finding out what happened to your dad, simple enough...wrong. There are so many ppl involved;the Russians, the Triads, the Koreans that its just hard keeping up who your looking into next and there all connected together somehow by your father. We then throw in the side quests and the game gets even harder to follow, and then at the end of the game(not saying anything)some of the missions don't even seem possible anymore. You could spend awile trying to do all the side quests and match the story together but its just funner if you don't. Again, its GTA but with an even worse story line(hard to believe but yes)

Gameplay-6/10: The gameplay is relatively straight forward in most parts. You can choose to go straight forward into the mission or you can room around the city, go help out your fellow officers by arresting some trouble makers. Sounds like GTA right, except for the one thing that makes GTA have so much replay value, you can't kill innocent ppl. In this game your a cop, not a drug dealer, so unless you want to be a bad cop, your gonna have to cut back on the rampages through the town.

Sound/Music-8/10: Don't get me wrong, this game's music is really good if your into rap and the whole west side connection but for the lot of you that aren't, it gets annoying fast. The voiceover's and fairly well down, they could have been a bit better and almost everyone of Nicks quotes get very old and aren't even funny from the get go. The bullets and the cars and everything else are pretty well done but there still is room for improvement.

Controls-5/10: If u've played VC then these controls wont be too hard for you to get adjusted to but its just the amount of buttons and controls that you have to remember that may get you mad. When you first pick up the control and start to run and figure everything out it feels pretty awkward. Driving for me felt the weirdest, after playing VC and NFSU, the car handled like crap but give it time and you won't even notice it. The fighting was also another trial. It takes sometime to get all the combo's down pack but you can deal with that. The shooting also seemed a bit off, I know they could have made it better but w/e, just get used to it and u'll be fine.

Graphics-7/10: Graphics to me are one of the key features in a game. If the game doesn't have good graphics, well then its hard to really get into the game. These graphics are good to say the very most. The cut scenes to me had to be one of the biggest disappointments of all. Compared to FF and Jak 2 and loads of other games, there way behind the curve. The in-game graphics are the high point. Compared to VC, there probably much better but there still not great by far.

Replay Value-3/10: This game has almost no replay value what so ever except for the hardcore's out there who want to see every possible ending and get all the upgrades and such but to me, its just not worth it.

Rent or Buy: For fans of GTA and The Getaway, I would still have to say rent. Simply because there is just no replay value what so ever. For the average gamer, rent it defiantly, who knows, you might even want to be buy it but don't go in there thinking that its another GTA because its just not.

Overall-6/10: I do not regret renting this game and spending my 2 days wrapping it, i rather enjoyed the game but too many minor faults, a lack of replay value and other reasons kept it from achieving what GTA has done. All and all, rent it, return it, and get a new game.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/04