True Crime: Streets of LA

"A good twist on a current genre"

When you first look at this game you may notice that is a lot like GTA, and while that is true, it is not a copy. I many ways it is much better then GTA, and in others it is lacking. The way the ''action'' systems are set up is very well. There are three different modes to this game, and each one moves smoothly to the next, they are hand to hand fighting, gunplay, and driving. With just a tap of the d-pad you enter a kung fu stance and have three different attacks to choose from, kick, jump kick, and jump. Each attack is assigned to a button, x, y and a. Right here is were the creators got innovative, when attacking someone a number of exclamation points appear next to their health bar in the top right of the screen, the number varies, (bosses have more, while ''grunts'' have less) but it is usually between three and six. Each hit you place on an enemy makes one of the exclamation points ''gray'' out. After all of them have gone it goes into a ''slow motion'' type mode and the enemy sways there, stunned. After this you hit a combination of the attack buttons and you perform powerful finishing moves.
The next mode is the gunplay, which is the funniest part of the game. You have a nice third person view, although the camera does get buggy when you are in a tight room, but it keeps behind you quite well. Tapping the y button causes you to quickly roll forward, backward or to the side, depending on which way your moving. If you hold the y button you will jump forward, backward or to the side in slow motion, where you can pop off a few shots in mid air. This feature alone can make some pretty insane gun battles. Sure it's a overused effect, but it is totally fun and just adds to the overall gameplay.
The driving mode is one of my favorites, though at the beginning you are just kind of throw out there on your own and it does take a while to get a hang of the controls and the streets, I am sure if I lived in L.A. I would never get lost in this game. The controls for the cars and quite simple, gas, brake and a hand brake for those tight corners. Each car also has its own handling, if you take an old car, a Lincoln we'll say, it is sluggish, but responds well to corners. Now on the complete apposite, if you take a Ferrari type car it is quite fast but you have to be quick because if you over steer just a bit you will find yourself on the sidewalk in the the side of a building.
The missions vary and are setup quite well. Each mission that involves an enclosed place, such as a spa or warehouse, is loaded separately, thus making the action in these settings run smooth. The car missions are usually three types, a ''go to'' mission, a ''chase'' mission and the always fun ''getaway'' mission. Throughout the missions, and when you are just free roaming, you collect points to spend at different locations to upgrade your fighting, driving and shooting skills, such as different finishing moves and the ability to use a flash light and aim at two different enemies. The driving skills include faster breaking and a sweet mode where you slam on the brakes and slide sideways and shoot out the driver window.
The graphics are some of the best out there, they run smooth and fit the cities holly wood feel very well. The reflections are done very good, but I can't help but laugh at how everyone's car is so shiny.
The story is the usual L.A. cop against Russian and Japanese mafia, but the fact that you can choose to fail all the missions and get a bad ending, then go back and beat them to get the good ending makes the story unique in such a cliched genre.
The sound is good, and the music fits each situation very well.
So aside from some graphical issues, such as the camera getting stuck behind objects, and the yet to be determined Xbox freezing problem, this game is a solid action game with a grade story system.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/03