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Game Name : True Crime Streets Of LA
Date Reviewed : 2004-03-30 09:57:57
Written By : NeoGenIc
Now I know it has been awhile since the last review was writing, but since I recently got a Xbox, im gonna be spinning out Xbox reviews for the good games I own. I hope you guys enjoy this one and even though I may be a little rusty writing ht ereviews I hope you see these ones as up to my usual standard.
True Crime Streets Of LA, is Activisions “Grand Theft Auto” type of game. It’s a mix of driving, action, adventure and crime. True Crime was designed for a single player and has no Xbox lives features. But a feature that True Crime (and a few Xbox games) have is the ability to put custom soundtracks into the game.
The story of True Crime follows a man named Nick Kang. Nick is a former police officer who was suspended indefinatly from the force for using Exsessive Violence and Property damge. On day while done at a firing range, Nick grabs a piece and starts shooting his target. The “The Chief” enters and wants Nick to join a new organization of Law Enforcement. The new force is known as the Elite Operations Division (EOD). The Chief is one of the most experienced detectives around with over 2 years of experience under her belt. She is known as the chief because she’s Chief of Detectives and Head of the EOD. Her real name is Wanda Parks. The chief offers Nick a place in EOD, this isn’t like your regular cop job though, if Nick accepts then he is above the law, he can use whatever means necessary to solve a case and not be arrested. Nick decides this is an offer he cannot refuse and heads over to the EOD headquaters.
Once he arrives at EOD he is greeted by The Chief and is shown around, then he meets his new partner. Her name is Rosie Velasquez. She’s an ex-gang member turned cop. She’s experienced life on both sides of the law and she’s no dumb blonde! Nick at first is a bit skeptical as he doesn’t think he needs a partner, Rosie on the other hand is also a little skeptical as she’s heard many stories about Nick. Basically she thinks he’s a bit of a loose cannon and she’s afraid that he’ll loose his cool and she’ll get caught in the cross fire! As you explore LA you will discover that the streets are a web of Crime, Drugs, Crooked Cops and a few myths thrown in for good taste.
This game plays like a dream, doing missions isn’t the only way to keep yourself amused in True Crime, For one failing a mission doesn’t mean you have to go back and keep trying it until you can complete it. No, that’s not the case in True Crime. If you fail a mission in True Crime you wont see the film clip you would see if you had completed that level, instead you are shown a completely different clip in which you have to deal with the consequences of failing. The story is great in that, if you do fail a mission which is vital to the story line you may have to do a mission in which the consequences of you failing previous will have to be set right in that level. Of course you can go back anytime and complete missions you’ve failed so you can see the different film clips etc. If fail lots of missions which are vital to your storyline then you will have to solve a certain number of “Street Crimes” to progress. What are street crime you ask? Well street crimes are small scale crimes that happen in the streets of LA. They can range from anything from Muggings, Street Fights, Car-Jacking, Gang Fights, Disgruntled Postmen Taking Hostages (Yes, that one is real and I didn’t make it up), Illegal Drag Racers and A Cannibal On The Loose. There are a lot of serious crimes like the muggings etc but some of the crimes can make you laugh., Such as the crime where “A inmate has ecaped, becareful he’s a cannibal, that’s why they call him Hingry Hector” It’s both fun and challenging to complete. If you don’t feel like doing missions you can always just cruise around LA, causing havoc, explore the city and if you want to make get some points (kind like money) then solve the odd street crime. Another cool thing about the storyline is that depending on which mission you choose,pass or fail you can view one of 3, count em, 3 different endings.
Throughout True Crime you will notice that every time you do something good the number next to your badge goes up, this is your points. The points are used to purchase things which can usually help you further in the game. Also the Good Cop/Bad Cop meter can also play a part in your “Reputation” Whenver you solve a crime without having to kill someone you will earn a Good Cop Point. But then again if you must take a causilty then you will earn yourself a Bad Cop Point. If you become a bad enough cop the people and police will get fed up. Also taking innocent causilties by shooting them, running them over etc is also seen as bad.
The 24/7 places are a big in True Crime as I will explain now. There are 3 main types of 24/7 places. They are the Dojo’s, The Shooting Gallery and the Garages. If you choose the Dojo ( you have to pay 100 point to enter) then you will be set a task (like knockout 5 training dummies) If you complete the task then you will earn yourself some new moves. You can learn all types of moves like Dragon Kick, Jumping Monkey and you can even earn Bullet-time dives. Shooting Galleries can earn you new upgrades for your weapons, upgrades are things like Quick Reload, Laser Sight, More powerful guns, quicker aiming. That brings us to our last 24/7 place, the garage. Garages are used to unlock cars, you can unlock cars by winning drag races. There are 2 other 24/7 type of places and they are the Health Clinic’s which restore your health and the Repair Stations which can fix your car if its taking a bit of a beating.
A little side quest which I thought was pretty cool was the “Golden Dogg Bones.” Basically there are 30 Golden Bones scatterd throughout LA. They are everywhere, there like one in each suberb I think. But the reward for collecting all 30 is definatly worth it as if you do collect all 30 Bones you unlock the Dogg Patrol. Did the double “G” on dogg give it away? That’s right you get to cruise around LA in the one and only Snoop Dogg. Also Snoop Dogg comes with his own low-rider Cadillac complete with hydraulics.
The graphics in True Crime are sensational, the city looks so amazing. And being based on the real streets of LA it adds that hint of realism. The overall world map for GTA Vice City was like 5 square kilometers. You think LA is that small? No way! The world map for True Crime is 240 square kilometers big! People can finish the game without explore even half of the map! The cars at times can look a little simple, but the backgrounds at scenery defiantly make up for that. The graphics in the FMV’s are also of a really high quality, the dirt and blood smeared on Nick’s face after a fight looks amazing! The movement is all one smooth movement also.
The sound in this game is also great, the sounds effect sound awesome! The sound of your dual hanguns being shot off in a bullet-time dives gives you that “feel like your there” effect. The music also suits the game perfectly, with over 50 original songs made for True Crime rapped by rappers such as Westside Connection, Bones, Thugs ‘N’ Harmony, N.E.R.D, The Deftones, Ice-T and the man himself Snoop Dogg contributes a fair few song to the game. The voices of the characters suit them perfectly, Nick Kang has that voice of a cop who doesn’t like to mess around, Rosie has a voice that makes her sound lady like but makes you relies she means business, The voice of Master Wu gives you the impression that he is obviously old and sounds weak (but he isn’t!)
Personally this is one of my favourite games of all time. It’s definatly up there with the like of GTA 3, Vice City and Call Of Duty. The story is so in depth and I really like the way that there are 3 possible endings with adds some lastability to the game. I’ve been playing True Crime a lot lately and I can honestly say that I havnt explores at least a quarter of LA! The gameplay is great and IMO I think it plays just as well as Vice And GTA 3. The Weapons an characters are easily remembered and when you see them you’ll think to your self “Hey that’s such and such from such & such, wasn’t he the one who did etc. The missions are serious and challenging and provide a lot of good hours of gaming, I defiantly recommend this game to any one who likes a good game! Just a warning though this game may not be suitable for kids under the age of 8 to 10 as there is a fair bit of violence in it.
Pros:
Good Story
Memorable Characters
Cool Weapons
Big Map
Cruising is a lot of fun
Street Crimes are endless
Missions are challenging
Cons:
A little too short
Maybe a little more detail on the cars
I cant wait for a sequel
Name: True Crime Streets Of LA
Players: 1
Rating: MA 15+ for Medium Level Animated Violence and Sexual References
Developer: Activison
Publisher: Microsoft
Final Rating: 9.5 Out Of 10
If you like this game try: Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, Mafia |
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