True Crime: Streets of LA

"Good Cop? Bad Cop? Let's Play It Nick Kang Style!"

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then True Crime is sizing up Grand Theft Auto in the mirror as it's patting its good friend on the ass. There's no denying that True Crime is really just Grand Theft Auto in a police uniform and a badge, but delve deeper than that and it soon becomes apparent that at its core lies a much better game. That statement isn't meant to take anything away from the achievements of Rockstar Games and their GTA series as there is no denying the original's place in history. It is indicative however of the blood, sweat and tears that Luxoflux Inc have put into the refinement of the crime spree genre during the development of True Crime. And while still in its infancy, refinement was perhaps what the genre needed the most, as it was growing steadily at risk of becoming older than the hat you keep in your closet for those special family occasions. By bringing a tighter storyline into focus, combined with the often hyped improved gameplay dynamics, True Crime is set to turn heads and upset family groups everywhere. This is adult gaming the way it is meant to be! Gritty, real and in your face with a street cred cool that can only be found on the mean streets of Los Angeles...

Feeling like the bastard child of an illicit coupling of Dirty Harry and Lethal Weapon, True Crime: The Streets Of LA tells the story of loose cannon cop, Nick Kang. Years ago, Nick's father was accused of being a corrupt officer after his house was raided and several keys of Columbia's finest were discovered hidden amongst the family's belongings. Soon after that life shattering discovery, his father's body was pulled from the ocean, the apparent victim of a gang land slaying. With the world now against him, Nick sought refuge in Hong Kong where he could be free of the ensuring persecution and shame. Now, years later having returned to L.A. to become a police officer and restore the family name, Nick finds himself suspended from duty and awaiting investigation for the reckless endangerment of life. It's here the game begins with Nick being offered a new job with the E.O.D, a specialized crime fighting unit within the L.A. justice system. Hackneyed, generic, and familiar would all be ways to describe this story as it has been seen in countless other movies and TV dramas before. Still, handled with the right amount of flair, such stories can be rather entertaining and True Crime pulls out all the stops in presenting a believable Hollywood style story with such panache, it becomes easy to forget that you are indeed playing a video game!

With such a highly structured story being the focus of the game, there was always going to be some sacrifices made to the free roaming gameplay. Some may moan it's loss without actually playing True Crime while others will give it a chance and see that in the end the genre is actually all the better for it. With such a game broken into chapters, there are now definable objectives to clear before being allowed to move onto the next segment. Even still, there's ample opportunity to cut loose and explore the city in the regulatory no holds barred, free roaming perp busting fun. Of course this type of game wouldn't be any fun without a little wanton destruction, and if the need be, the player may go to war with the general public. Hit & run, drive by shootings, and beat downs are all there to be enjoyed whenever the mood strikes. By doing so though will negatively affect the player's good cop/bad cop rating and thus ultimately the outcome of the game (of which there are 4). Lessons in responsibility and moral conscience from a video game... will wonders never cease?

If you want to follow the letter of the law as a police officer though, there will be moments throughout the game where you may be requested to intervene and stop a crime in progress. Whether you do or not is purely up to the player's discretion, but doing so will earn badges to spend later on character upgrades. It's these upgrades that add a welcome RPG-ish flavor and a little forward planning to True Crime's fairly straight forward gameplay. Nick's driving skills, firearms ability and martial arts prowess can each be upgraded at anytime by visiting one of the many 24/7 locations scattered around the city. Serving as both a training function and as an opportunity to develop new abilities, these stopovers can be a rewarding experience. New skills such as peal outs, faster reloadings and special throws can all be learnt here, thus making the later levels that much easier to deal with. And trust me, when you get to those later levels you're going to need all the help you can get!

With the action being as varied as it is, it's good to see that Luxoflux have done their homework and have tied everything up into one seamless package of smooth controlling, in your face bad cop attitude. The transitions between the 3 different gameplay styles are smooth and at no time does the player feel at a loss with the controls. If I were to level a single complaint at True Crime's control system however it would be directed at it's fighting segments as they sometimes feel a little too unresponsive. This is only a minor gripe and even though the fighting soon degenerates into a button mashing thrash-fest, the on screen action is always a joy to behold as the backgrounds are almost completely interactive. Upon impact, juke boxes explode, tables collapse and doors shatter as very bad people discover that craniums and wood do not mix. Such set pieces while common in Hollywood are exceptionally rare in video games, and having been given the chance to turn an otherwise good looking nightclub into something resembling a disaster area, I can honestly say that I expect this level of background interaction in all future brawlers.

True Crime's final note worthy innovation is its branching storylines that reward the player's actions or lack thereof. It's a fascinating experience to watch the already enjoyable story come together as the various threads begin to form a cohesive whole. Given the scope of the game one would believe it to be troublesome to backtrack and try another branch, but thanks to an ingenious menu system this task is a breeze. As someone with the attention span of a crack dealer on pay day, I don't usually find myself going back to a game in order to unlock all the extra endings upon completion. Yet for some strange reason I felt oddly compelled to explore everything that True Crime had to offer. I could attribute this out of character behavior to True Crime's outstanding action sequences or even it's generic yet oddly engaging story, but I would be wrong. In the end I found it to be because of Nick Kang, who is as likeable a hero as any other Martin Riggs clone. I felt such a deep desire to know exactly what the future had in store for Nick that playing True Crime to the very end was no longer a choice. When a game makes you care for a character this much, you know that you're really onto something special...

The city of Los Angeles has been lovingly reproduced in what is perhaps the greatest example of how far a video game can go in re-creating the real world. I may never have visited Los Angeles before in my life, but having spent a lot of time cruising the streets of True Crime, I can honestly say I now have some idea of my way around the city. The graphics are bright and colorful and the weather effects are equally as well done. The fact that the framerate is smooth and steady at all times is a feat upon itself as there are no pauses when loading new sections of the city. One could drive all the way across True Crime's rendition of Los Angeles in 20 minutes and not once encounter a skipped frame or a minor pause in the action. Though there may be more people and cars on the streets in the real L.A, but the sense of realism being portrayed here is still second to none. Way to go guys!

Topping off the lush visual presentation is True Crime's excellent soundtrack that injects all the street cred cool that the player could ever possibly want. Featuring hit tracks from many of L.A.'s top hip hop artists, this soundtrack is a perfect example of where good game designers should be looking to find their background music tracks. What was more surprising however was the constantly excellent voice acting performed by such popular Hollywood stars as Christopher Walken, Michael Madsen, Gary Oldman and Russell Wong. In an industry that seems to thrive on stilted and ugly in-game dialogue, True Crime is truly a breath of fresh air! The dialogue is sharp and witty at all times, and those all too familiar voices help lend a real sense of Hollywood style authenticity so rarely seen in other games of this ilk.

Still, through all the goodness a little rain must fall and True Crime's rainy day comes in the form of it extremely short quest. Even when taking the time spent exploring the numerous branching storylines into consideration, it shouldn't take the average player much longer than 8-10 hours to see and do it all. Of course those 8-10 hours will be highly enjoyable as True Crime manages to hit every beat perfectly while giving the player some memorable moments to take away with them afterwards. Unfortunately though, once everything has been explored and unlocked, there is little reason to return for more. The unlockable Snoop Doggy Dog character is a fun yet pointless alternative to Nick Kang, and offers nothing more than being something new to look at. So while True Crime may be the more highly polished progeny of Grand Theft Auto, it's forefather still reigns supreme in the replayability stakes. True Crime has upped the ante however and it's positives still far out weigh this single negative.

Rather than being seen as the successor to the genre's all imposing great grand daddy, gamers would do well to accept True Crime as a variation on the established theme and enjoy it for what it is. True Crime could never replace Grand Theft Auto in our hearts, not yet at least anyway. But given time and a little more development, the inevitable sequel will no doubt build on the already fantastic ground work laid down by this release. Nick Kang may not be up for the job of taking down Tommy Vercetti just yet, but mark my words, that showdown is only going to be a matter of time. Where ever you stand on the matter though, you can be sure of just one thing. That in the end, the free roaming crime spree genre is all the better for it with the release of True Crime: Streets of LA. Good cop? Bad cop? Nick Kang doesn't care. Check it out!

Pros
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* Provides an interesting spin on the crime spree genre
* Each of the 3 basic play mechanics blend well to form a cohesive whole
* Controls are tight and for the most part, responsive
* There's approximately 240 square miles of LA to explore!
* Engaging yet somewhat generic story
* The graphics are always crisp and clean
* Excellent voice acting
* Outstanding hip hop soundtrack
* Nick Kang, what can you say? He's just one of the boys

Cons
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* True Crime is just too short

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/03, Updated 12/08/03