True Crime: Streets of LA

"Thinking Of Getting This, Read This"

OK, I can’t be bothered to wait for GTA: Double Pack to come out, and I’m not eighteen either. I first heard about this game when a friend advised me to get it a few weeks before it came out. So I looked into it more. You are a cop cruising round in the streets of Los Angeles. Although, just because you are a cop, doesn’t mean that you can’t cause a little bit of mayhem and chaos – the good cop and bad cop modes. This game is obviously trying to beat GTA. It try’s to put a few genres into one game: fighting, driving, some stealth, free roam and shooting. This is True Crime: Streets Of L.A.

Menu, Graphics And Controls. The menus are pretty straightforward and simple. The options are not brilliant, mainly because of the lack of the difficulty option. This game didn’t make me work hard enough at most stages and a harder option would be more than enough to make you play this again. The game is set out a bit like a movie, and has frequent cutscenes. The in-game graphics are ok, but definently not brilliant. There are a few nice touches though. There are banners around, trees, lampposts, highways; it’s all really realistic. The people have been done well but on the street, you will end up seeing loads of people who have the same face. The character, Nick Kang, looks spot-on. They even put fingernails on his fingers, which I know doesn’t sound like much, but most games don’t add this and it looks good. Some of the cars look a bit blotchy as well, but the main ones you will want are done well. The actual city is huge, which is one amazing thing about this game. The only bad thing about this is that you often come across similar places. Apparently, the city is pretty much spot-on with the real one, but I haven’t been there myself, so I wouldn’t know. The controls are easy enough once you learn them, but the shooting is sometimes a bit twitchy. Overall, some things are done well, but most things don’t look solid enough to be brilliant.

Sound And Story. You will either love or hate this soundtrack. If you like rap, like me, then you may even consider buying the Soundtrack. Because that’s all the soundtrack is, rap. If you’re into rock or pop or something like that, you’re not going to like it. Thankfully, the custom soundtrack option is there and you can add your songs, as well as delete the in-game music you want to get rid off. Doing that will take ages though, because the game has a huge soundtrack. So as long as you like rap, no problem. The game’s voice acting is quite believable in the cutscenes, but the comments he gives at the beginning and end of each mission are sometimes quite lame. He comes up at the beginning of the stealth mission with something like “tiddly toe, lets go slow”. Not only does this make him sound stupid, it ruins the thrill that you get of sneaking around. Another example is “whup ass ain’t just my license plate” as he says at the end of fights. Other times, though, he does live up to his “bad boy” reputation. You will hear some good things when you take a car, or shoot an innocent civilian. The story is nothing special. It’s been used before and is quite old, but that’s because it works. It’s about a cop who wants revenge for his father’s death. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll stop there. But the story doesn’t really play much in the game and you probably won’t pay much attention to it the first time round you complete it. But this provides as another reason to complete it. One especially good thing about the story is that if you lose a mission, the story will be affected. There are three possible endings. It’s not much, but it’s good. The characters are strong and believable too.

Gameplay. The most important aspect of games in my eyes. There is a lot to do in this game so I will set it out into groups. Fighting: the fighting is not bad for this game, but it is definently not enough to make it a good fighting game. The buttons are easy enough but at the beginning, it’s a bit of a button basher. Nearer the end though, you will face tougher opponents who give a real challenge and you will have to time it right and block. This is quite a challenge, but not too much fun. Sometimes, it gets a teeny bit frustrating, especially when you get stuck, but the game wouldn’t be the same without it. Driving: the driving is fairly good, but has it’s bad bits too it. The cars are not licensed like The Getaway, but are copied so you will see some BMW’s around. There isn’t much choice though, and as often as you can, you will just pick one of your own from the garage once you’ve unlocked them. The handling is quite tough at speed, so you will need to use you break a lot. The top speed is achieved in seconds, which is in some cases good, but you don’t get that Burnout adrenaline feeling. The crashes are not spectacular, but you won’t bother trying this much anyway. You won’t want to blow up your beautiful new car, would you? Stealth: the stealth is a bit poor. It provides entertainment, but is not that enjoyable after a while. The A.I is made stupid to give you a chance. They will stop for fags and stuff, giving you chance to take them out. When they are alerted to your presence, they take about three seconds to react. Meanwhile, they will just stand there, giving you a chance to get them. You have to avoid stepping or knocking things, or you will be heard. This is good, but I don’t see how stepping on dog-poo will make a loud enough noise to alert a guard who is miles away. Not very impressive, but not a major part of the game either. Don’t expect Sam Fisher or Solid Snake, you will have to do with Nick Kang. Shooting: the shooting is fun and challenging, but a bit repetitive. There is a matrix style jump that will save your life a few times, you can shoot them out in zoom in view. This is one of the best aspects of the game, but one problem is that you may accidentally enter zoom-in view during heated and outnumbered battles, leaving you open for attack. There aren’t many ways to kill, but it is still good action. You can pick up some better weapons that some unfortunate people have left behind, but they have limited amo, so use it wisely. You will need to use cover well and it is one of the best bits of the game. On-Foot: the on foot action is fun and entertaining. One of the things about this is the ability to search people for drugs and weapons. Some people may find this as an insult and turn a bit on the aggressive side. If this happens, bang ‘um up good and slap on some handcuffs. To frighten people, you can fire in the air or flash your badge. This is fun and time-consuming. Missions: the missions are fun, but too short. There are a lot of them, but a lot are similar. They will involve you doing one of the above. You are also given some Sub-missions to do while you are cruising, whether its to sort out a riot, stop a car theft (which is sometimes of your own car!) or stop a mugging, the list goes on and provides you with entertainment. Other: there are some dojo’s available. You go in and if you pass a test, you earn a new manoeuvre. Whether this is a gun upgrade, a car upgrade (or a new car altogether!) or a new fighting move, you will want them all so you can dish out even more pain. Nothing comes free though..

Longterm. You will be on this non-stop for as long as it takes to complete it, which will take most of you a few weeks (I’m a real pro at this, done it all in five days). But you will still be playing this game after you’ve completed it. There are a number of reasons: all the endings, better understanding of the story, all upgrades, or just plain fun! It would be better for me if it was maybe a bit harder, or longer, but this is still good.

Overall. Ok, I’ll admit it’s as not as good as GTA, but still incredibly fun. If you want a game like GTA, get GTA! If you want something like but more varied than GTA, get this! Rent it and if you like it, get it! I wish people would stop comparing this to GTA (although I do it myself), because although this game has some flaws that GTA hasn't, this is brilliant if your not expecting it to be GTA and just a nice varied and fun game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/04