State of Emergency 2
Time to stick it to the man. With automatic gunfire. Again.
Published: February 3, 2006
The original State of Emergency was the first game from Rockstar to launch after Grand Theft Auto III, and the publisher could do no wrong. Unfortunately, everyone was surfing the hype tsunami that GTAIII had wrought so hard that most expected some kind of earth-shattering mob simulation game, and, unsurprisingly, the VIS-developed game disappointed a lot of people.
We didn't expect much from the game, and were still disappointed, calling it " out of control, and not in that fun way." It was crap, plain and simple, and most that played the game tended to agree. VIS the publisher went on to develop a few more games, and start a few more -- including State of Emergency 2 -- before succumbing to bankruptcy and selling off their projects.
SOE2 was on the block, and eventually got picked up by DC Studios, who until then hadn't really published anything especially noteworthy (though they certainly published a lot of stuff). Work on SOE2 began as the developer shopped around for a publisher. They found one in BAM! Entertainment, who also bit the dust. Now, finally, DC has a solid publisher in SouthPeak Interactive, and we have a three-level playable demo of SOE2.
The game picks up about 4 years after the second, with all of the original characters returning. Libra, the resident hottie/cat burglar, Spanky, the stereotypical East LA gangster and Freak, the hacker all conspire to break MacNeil and Bull, who led charge against the despotic Corporation at the end of the first game and are now set to be executed, out of jail.
The difference from the first to second game is readily apparent in just about every area; graphics, sound, level design, cutscene work, storyline, characters. This is a much, much more ambitious game -- and yet it still retains the ability to throw a crapload of screaming sprinting, stomping, firing, cussing people on the screen at once. DC has also included vehicles in the game, one of which (a helicopter) we got to fly at the conclusion of the first mission.
The three levels we played through all took place as part of a grand prison break, and each demonstrated a different play style; the first an all-out hail of fire, the second a more methodical crawl through lots of right-angled hallways where we had to peek around corners and pick off automatic turrents then get our snipe on, and finally a third break for freedom with Bull, who we could switch to at will finally ending in a helicopter theft.
Level one actually opens with a lengthy cinematic, pulling a Jak II-style flyby through the city as neon signs tease with "SouthPeak Interactive Presents" and "A DC Studios Game" before zooming in on some Corporation guards, slapping the SOE2 logo on the screen than then pulling straight up to show Libra breaking into the guarded building. She finds out where Mac and Bull are, then gets captured and things shift to Mac, who's informed by Freak that a gas mask and weapon are under his chair. He grabs them, dons the mask, and the game proper starts there.
At first, it's just a simple sit-and-fire exercise aimed at getting you used to the aiming speed and controls. From there, you hop out of the chair and can move around a bit, repeating the same automatic fire, and then finally you're allowed to explore a little. These first three baby steps are clearly meant to ease the player into the controls, as evidenced by the fact that you're completely invincible through this part of the level. When it finally does open into the main cell block, you have to release four switches at the four corners of the room to let all the prisoners out. This is easier said than done, since there are constant waves of guards trying to quell the riot.
We didn't expect much from the game, and were still disappointed, calling it " out of control, and not in that fun way." It was crap, plain and simple, and most that played the game tended to agree. VIS the publisher went on to develop a few more games, and start a few more -- including State of Emergency 2 -- before succumbing to bankruptcy and selling off their projects.
SOE2 was on the block, and eventually got picked up by DC Studios, who until then hadn't really published anything especially noteworthy (though they certainly published a lot of stuff). Work on SOE2 began as the developer shopped around for a publisher. They found one in BAM! Entertainment, who also bit the dust. Now, finally, DC has a solid publisher in SouthPeak Interactive, and we have a three-level playable demo of SOE2.
The game picks up about 4 years after the second, with all of the original characters returning. Libra, the resident hottie/cat burglar, Spanky, the stereotypical East LA gangster and Freak, the hacker all conspire to break MacNeil and Bull, who led charge against the despotic Corporation at the end of the first game and are now set to be executed, out of jail.
The difference from the first to second game is readily apparent in just about every area; graphics, sound, level design, cutscene work, storyline, characters. This is a much, much more ambitious game -- and yet it still retains the ability to throw a crapload of screaming sprinting, stomping, firing, cussing people on the screen at once. DC has also included vehicles in the game, one of which (a helicopter) we got to fly at the conclusion of the first mission.
The three levels we played through all took place as part of a grand prison break, and each demonstrated a different play style; the first an all-out hail of fire, the second a more methodical crawl through lots of right-angled hallways where we had to peek around corners and pick off automatic turrents then get our snipe on, and finally a third break for freedom with Bull, who we could switch to at will finally ending in a helicopter theft.
Level one actually opens with a lengthy cinematic, pulling a Jak II-style flyby through the city as neon signs tease with "SouthPeak Interactive Presents" and "A DC Studios Game" before zooming in on some Corporation guards, slapping the SOE2 logo on the screen than then pulling straight up to show Libra breaking into the guarded building. She finds out where Mac and Bull are, then gets captured and things shift to Mac, who's informed by Freak that a gas mask and weapon are under his chair. He grabs them, dons the mask, and the game proper starts there.
At first, it's just a simple sit-and-fire exercise aimed at getting you used to the aiming speed and controls. From there, you hop out of the chair and can move around a bit, repeating the same automatic fire, and then finally you're allowed to explore a little. These first three baby steps are clearly meant to ease the player into the controls, as evidenced by the fact that you're completely invincible through this part of the level. When it finally does open into the main cell block, you have to release four switches at the four corners of the room to let all the prisoners out. This is easier said than done, since there are constant waves of guards trying to quell the riot.
