The Italian Job

"Based on the movie, the game is... Ugh, pretty average."

Okay, people, time for another review. Like you care. Anyway, today we have The Italian Job for the PSOne, brought to you by RockStar [who made the GTA series and many other games], SCi, TakeTwo, and some other guys.

Okay, it's based on this old movie called ''The Italian Job'' from Paramount Pictures, right? Well, this movie was made in the 60's during the whole car chasin' movie era. Movies like the French Connection and such came from here. I've yet to SEE the Italian Job, so I can't say whether or not it's good...

HOWEVER, the basic storyline in the GAME is pretty neat. You're stationed in London, England, and you're planning a hit. In fact, the whole hit is called ''The Italian Job''. I'm not sure why. You take the role of several different characters, going through the levels and letting the leaders of this gang know that you can work for 'em and not let 'em down. You're eventually done with London and have to go to a town called Turin, where the actual hit will take place. This is where the story is centered around.

The music in this game isn't catchy, but isn't annoying, either. It's rather fun to listen to. There's only a couple of songs, but after hearing them so many times, I can safely say I'm not at all tired of 'em. The voices will make you chuckle, being some rather over-the-top British voice acting... I think they're all speakin' in a Cockney accent... Hey, I said Cockney, you gutterheads. Geez... Anyway, the sound effects are good. Everything is crystal clear and isn't near average. Quite good, yes.

The gameplay is VERY similar to Driver. The graphics look like a toned-down Driver 2. The main menu reminds me of the one on Driver, showing one large picture of several other menus... Among these are Destructor, a minigame in which you have to knock down a series of cones throughout the city. Another is Checkpoint, which is simply just a race through several checkpoints spread throughout the city. Free Ride is also available, where you can take a selection of cars and locales and drive around, taking whatever jobs come up. As you play, you can also unlock a Challenge mode, which has Jump training, Brake training, and some extra special minigames based on Destructor and Checkpoint. There's also Party Play, in which more than one character can... well... play. Good stuff, very challenging indeed.

The controls in this game are clunky. They're not so good. You can't change the view, you can't look behind you, you can't do a lot except, of course, the basics. The controls take some getting used to, and... Quite frankly, I don't WANT to get used to 'em. At first, cars seem sluggish and can't turn worth crap, then when you get enough speed, SUDDENLY your car turns on a dime. Unfortunately, it's hard to determine which dime as this game seems to be full of 'em. You can't turn worth crap. You'll end up sliding unless you use the proper tactics. If you hit a wall, give up. It's over. Your car usually tries CLIMBING UP THE WALL, but utterly fails. Sometimes you won't stop until you reach the end of the wall. Glitchy indeed. It's annoying...

Overall, it's a pretty fun game if you can get over the bad controls. It's only $10, but worth more. If you really liked the Driver games, give this a go. Just beware the Mafia when you do.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/02, Updated 07/08/02