True Crime: Streets of LA
Luxoflux has the makings of a very serious GTA-level contender here. If only they could smooth out the rough spots...
Published: November 24, 2003
Personally, there are two distinct scenarios for wasted potential. One is a great license or idea in the hands of a developer that wouldn't know how to use it if it coded itself, and the other is an idea that just can't quite get to fruition – not because the developer doesn't have the talent, but because it's either too complex a concept to tackle in one go, or that there just isn't enough time or resources. True Crime and it's developer Luxoflux fall into the latter category. True Crime does many, many things right, but for as many cool features that it flaunts, there's another that drags the whole experience down.
First off, let's get the inevitable GTA comparisons out of the way. Is True Crime a Grand Theft Auto clone? No more so than The Getaway was, and as anyone who digested the better part of that game will tell you, elements are shared, but the direction was far different. True Crime is laid out in much the same way. Sure, the game takes place in a massive, free-roamable city, you can jack any car, and the criminal element plays a large part, but the actual storyline and some very key differences keep things unique.
You play the role of Nick Kang, loose cannon smart ass cop gifted with a position at the newly created Elite Operations Department of the LAPD. This affords Nick jurisdiction over all of LA county, and apparently allows for things like commandeering vehicles and nigh-limitless fatalities in the line of duty. If Nick seems like a walking cliché, it's because he is; always quick to quip a borrowed line from an action move (or video game), and heavy on the "I'm going in" moments, Kang's actions are straight out of a cheesy rogue cop movie. The difference here is that True Crime never takes itself very seriously, and all these borrowed clichés work very much in the game's favor once you see this.
True Crime's action is split across a string of main episodes that slowly string out a complex story involving Russian gangs, Chinese Triads and the mysterious disappearance of Nick's father, also a cop. The story itself is open to a myriad of different skewed sections and branching alternatives, so even if you fail an objective, it's still possible to continue the story with a different outcome. This adds quite a bit of replay value for those interested in exploring the story one branch at a time, though perfectionists will be happy to know you can have three goes at an objective before the game forces the story forward. Because of this, and a couple major branching arches, True Crime manages a level of flexibility rarely seen in even video game storylines. It's a welcome addition and hopefully this kind of open freeforming approach to unveiling storylines will be duplicated in future games.
Each chapter affords you the ability to drive, fight or shoot your way through subchapters, though unfortunately this is where things start to fall apart. Each style of gameplay is plagued with problems that keep them from every really feeling like a cohesive set of abilities; the controls during driving feel sloppy and too often slamming into a wall or getting stuck behind a fence results in a frustrating, unresponsive game of backing in and out to get back on track, the fighting engine is woefully unimpressive and can easily turn into nothing more than a button mashing contest, and the shooting relies too heavily on precision and cover – both of which are hard to come by in a firefight. There are plenty of smaller problems that create an overall lack of polish, but those are the primary offenders.
It's unfortunate, really, because so much of the game relies on honing skills from each of these areas (accomplished by going to driving courses, 24/7 dojos or firing ranges, respectively). Adding special moves to your repertoire is incredibly fun, and helps Nick grow quite a bit as he progresses through the game, but some of the more nagging issues still bring things down a bit. The approach itself is incredibly well thought out (especially the chapter-ending street races for new cop cars if you can compete a chapter flawlessly), and it adds a whole new reason to run around the city solving crimes.
The whole reward system that ties into purchasing upgrades is also well done but flawed. By completing objectives, taking down criminals or pulling off moves in a flashy way you can earn points that go towards shields (100 points nab you a shield), which are then spent to learn new moves. Some points are also exchanged for health restoration at pharmacies or car repair at gas stations.
On top of all this lies the Good Cop/Bad Cop meter. By taking down perps lawfully or fully arresting criminals, you'll add points to the Good Cop meter; take enemies out with head shots, kill hostages or run anyone over and you'll slowly turn down the dark path. Your rating at the end of the game determines how good an ending you'll get. Unfortunately, it's often too easy to run over stupid pedestrians or too hard to keep a cop from getting killed during a gang fight. These things very quickly add up, and before you know it, you can be 10 points into the Bad Cop side. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it is fun to see what happens to bad cops at the end of the game, but it's still frustrating to be forced into it when you haven't explicitly chosen to turn bad.
Considering the level of detail that the game exhibits, the overall graphic detail is easily one of the game's strongest selling points. If you live on a major street in LA, there's a good chance you'll be able to drive there – either by taking the freeways or back roads. Draw distance, texture and model detail (particularly on the characters) and lighting effects are all quite well done, and even the framerate manages to keep up in all but the most hectic of times. While there is active time of day, it's oddly unnoticeable beyond the fact that it's either light or dark out most of the time. Just about the only real gray areas are the odd collision boundaries for things like trees and walls that can block shots if you're firing from cover (and, in some cases criminals that refuse to have bullets hit them), and slightly janky location-specific hit animations. There were also a few times I ran across enemies that were frozen in time because I hadn't crossed a trigger point, though I could peek around and see them in mid-stride. Again, it's the lack of polish that kept things from really working.
One of the coolest things about the shooting sections of the game are how destructible everything is. There's nothing better than blowing through a room with debris flying everywhere as you slow-mo dive from one bit of cover to the rest. This actually carries over into the main driving sections of the game; tag a wall or fence hard enough and you'll not only see damage reflected in the cars (arguably the most detailed and progressive damage system on the PS2), but the walls will chip and break away, and fences will ether crack off boards to reveal a chain link under them, or break away completely.
There's been plenty of attention called to the game's audio, from the big name voice actors (Christopher Walken, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez, Gary Oldman, Ron Perlman and Russell Wong, among others all contribute fantastic parts) to the huge licensed music soundtrack. It's true that TC boasts a pretty extensive aural backdrop, and all of the voice acting is among the best ever heard in games – especially Walken's take on the pot-bellied old timer cop/narrator. Effects-wise, things have plenty of punch, all the weapons, while not entirely realistic sounding, have plenty of weight. The quips from nick during gunfights and after trading blows get quite repetitive, but most of them are still amusing enough to elicit a chuckle or two.
The music is probably my biggest gripe, simply because there isn't enough variety. Sure, it's great that there are twenty-six trillion west coast rap songs in the game, but I personally don't dig that music, and while there are a couple of tracks from other bands (Megadeth and Deftones come to mind), it's overwhelmingly heavy on rap. I can stomach a little Ice T, Snoop, or Bone, but some of the stuff in the game just grated on my nerves. Because the audio is split up into cruising, fast and slow action sections, and because the cruising section is almost all rap, there's nothing you can really do save for turn it all off. More variety would definitely have kept me and plenty of other gamers happy.
Minor issues like a wonky cover system, spotty slo-mo diving, pedestrian combat skills (seeing a 60 year old gay clothing tailor take a Kung Fu stance is just hilarious, and I doubt it was in the way Luxoflux intended -- Triad members are one thing, but I seriously doubt that every random thug in the greater LA area knows martial arts blocking moves) and other minor hang-ups keep things from being the tight-polished product I know the series could grow into, and it's a bit frustrating to be treated to some truly hilarious dialogue and action sequences in between aggravating moments of things that shouldn't have made it through to the final product.
True Crime is a damn good game, but it's buried under some problems that might keep gamers from really experiencing the good stuff. I personally hope that Activision greenlights another effort. A True Crime in San Francisco would have me giddy, and the series deserves another shot so that Luxoflux can fix the problems that popped up in this go around. Definitely give the game a rental, and for any fan of a Lethal Weapon movie, this is a good purchase-worth effort. For everyone else, we'll have to wait for the next game.
First off, let's get the inevitable GTA comparisons out of the way. Is True Crime a Grand Theft Auto clone? No more so than The Getaway was, and as anyone who digested the better part of that game will tell you, elements are shared, but the direction was far different. True Crime is laid out in much the same way. Sure, the game takes place in a massive, free-roamable city, you can jack any car, and the criminal element plays a large part, but the actual storyline and some very key differences keep things unique.
You play the role of Nick Kang, loose cannon smart ass cop gifted with a position at the newly created Elite Operations Department of the LAPD. This affords Nick jurisdiction over all of LA county, and apparently allows for things like commandeering vehicles and nigh-limitless fatalities in the line of duty. If Nick seems like a walking cliché, it's because he is; always quick to quip a borrowed line from an action move (or video game), and heavy on the "I'm going in" moments, Kang's actions are straight out of a cheesy rogue cop movie. The difference here is that True Crime never takes itself very seriously, and all these borrowed clichés work very much in the game's favor once you see this.
True Crime's action is split across a string of main episodes that slowly string out a complex story involving Russian gangs, Chinese Triads and the mysterious disappearance of Nick's father, also a cop. The story itself is open to a myriad of different skewed sections and branching alternatives, so even if you fail an objective, it's still possible to continue the story with a different outcome. This adds quite a bit of replay value for those interested in exploring the story one branch at a time, though perfectionists will be happy to know you can have three goes at an objective before the game forces the story forward. Because of this, and a couple major branching arches, True Crime manages a level of flexibility rarely seen in even video game storylines. It's a welcome addition and hopefully this kind of open freeforming approach to unveiling storylines will be duplicated in future games.
Each chapter affords you the ability to drive, fight or shoot your way through subchapters, though unfortunately this is where things start to fall apart. Each style of gameplay is plagued with problems that keep them from every really feeling like a cohesive set of abilities; the controls during driving feel sloppy and too often slamming into a wall or getting stuck behind a fence results in a frustrating, unresponsive game of backing in and out to get back on track, the fighting engine is woefully unimpressive and can easily turn into nothing more than a button mashing contest, and the shooting relies too heavily on precision and cover – both of which are hard to come by in a firefight. There are plenty of smaller problems that create an overall lack of polish, but those are the primary offenders.
It's unfortunate, really, because so much of the game relies on honing skills from each of these areas (accomplished by going to driving courses, 24/7 dojos or firing ranges, respectively). Adding special moves to your repertoire is incredibly fun, and helps Nick grow quite a bit as he progresses through the game, but some of the more nagging issues still bring things down a bit. The approach itself is incredibly well thought out (especially the chapter-ending street races for new cop cars if you can compete a chapter flawlessly), and it adds a whole new reason to run around the city solving crimes.
The whole reward system that ties into purchasing upgrades is also well done but flawed. By completing objectives, taking down criminals or pulling off moves in a flashy way you can earn points that go towards shields (100 points nab you a shield), which are then spent to learn new moves. Some points are also exchanged for health restoration at pharmacies or car repair at gas stations.
On top of all this lies the Good Cop/Bad Cop meter. By taking down perps lawfully or fully arresting criminals, you'll add points to the Good Cop meter; take enemies out with head shots, kill hostages or run anyone over and you'll slowly turn down the dark path. Your rating at the end of the game determines how good an ending you'll get. Unfortunately, it's often too easy to run over stupid pedestrians or too hard to keep a cop from getting killed during a gang fight. These things very quickly add up, and before you know it, you can be 10 points into the Bad Cop side. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it is fun to see what happens to bad cops at the end of the game, but it's still frustrating to be forced into it when you haven't explicitly chosen to turn bad.
Considering the level of detail that the game exhibits, the overall graphic detail is easily one of the game's strongest selling points. If you live on a major street in LA, there's a good chance you'll be able to drive there – either by taking the freeways or back roads. Draw distance, texture and model detail (particularly on the characters) and lighting effects are all quite well done, and even the framerate manages to keep up in all but the most hectic of times. While there is active time of day, it's oddly unnoticeable beyond the fact that it's either light or dark out most of the time. Just about the only real gray areas are the odd collision boundaries for things like trees and walls that can block shots if you're firing from cover (and, in some cases criminals that refuse to have bullets hit them), and slightly janky location-specific hit animations. There were also a few times I ran across enemies that were frozen in time because I hadn't crossed a trigger point, though I could peek around and see them in mid-stride. Again, it's the lack of polish that kept things from really working.
One of the coolest things about the shooting sections of the game are how destructible everything is. There's nothing better than blowing through a room with debris flying everywhere as you slow-mo dive from one bit of cover to the rest. This actually carries over into the main driving sections of the game; tag a wall or fence hard enough and you'll not only see damage reflected in the cars (arguably the most detailed and progressive damage system on the PS2), but the walls will chip and break away, and fences will ether crack off boards to reveal a chain link under them, or break away completely.
There's been plenty of attention called to the game's audio, from the big name voice actors (Christopher Walken, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez, Gary Oldman, Ron Perlman and Russell Wong, among others all contribute fantastic parts) to the huge licensed music soundtrack. It's true that TC boasts a pretty extensive aural backdrop, and all of the voice acting is among the best ever heard in games – especially Walken's take on the pot-bellied old timer cop/narrator. Effects-wise, things have plenty of punch, all the weapons, while not entirely realistic sounding, have plenty of weight. The quips from nick during gunfights and after trading blows get quite repetitive, but most of them are still amusing enough to elicit a chuckle or two.
The music is probably my biggest gripe, simply because there isn't enough variety. Sure, it's great that there are twenty-six trillion west coast rap songs in the game, but I personally don't dig that music, and while there are a couple of tracks from other bands (Megadeth and Deftones come to mind), it's overwhelmingly heavy on rap. I can stomach a little Ice T, Snoop, or Bone, but some of the stuff in the game just grated on my nerves. Because the audio is split up into cruising, fast and slow action sections, and because the cruising section is almost all rap, there's nothing you can really do save for turn it all off. More variety would definitely have kept me and plenty of other gamers happy.
Minor issues like a wonky cover system, spotty slo-mo diving, pedestrian combat skills (seeing a 60 year old gay clothing tailor take a Kung Fu stance is just hilarious, and I doubt it was in the way Luxoflux intended -- Triad members are one thing, but I seriously doubt that every random thug in the greater LA area knows martial arts blocking moves) and other minor hang-ups keep things from being the tight-polished product I know the series could grow into, and it's a bit frustrating to be treated to some truly hilarious dialogue and action sequences in between aggravating moments of things that shouldn't have made it through to the final product.
True Crime is a damn good game, but it's buried under some problems that might keep gamers from really experiencing the good stuff. I personally hope that Activision greenlights another effort. A True Crime in San Francisco would have me giddy, and the series deserves another shot so that Luxoflux can fix the problems that popped up in this go around. Definitely give the game a rental, and for any fan of a Lethal Weapon movie, this is a good purchase-worth effort. For everyone else, we'll have to wait for the next game.
