State of Emergency 2
DC Studios delivers a sequel that's bigger and much, much better than the first game, but is it good enough?
Published: March 7, 2006
State of Emergency 2's additions read like a laundry list of all the stuff the first game should have had: vehicles, a storyline, solid graphics, variety to the missions, enjoyable mini-games, and, well, it doesn't suck. In other words, it deserves to sell a couple copies, unlike the first game, which sold more or less on the Rockstar name alone, and helped keep VIS, the game's developer, in business for perhaps a little longer than they probably should have.
That VIS finally did go under and the project was picked up by new developer DC Studios probably says something about either how strong the license is, or how much potential there was in the sequel. In both cases, SOE2 builds on the first game's one-dimensional characters and basic rage against the machine premise until it actually feels like a game. It's not without some serious faults here and there, but it is entertaining enough to keep the interest level up enough to see what happens next.
What begins as a jailbreak for MacNeil and Bull, two of the characters from the first game that were tossed in the clink after the riots of the first game, slowly starts to meander around as The Corporation, the Orwellian, faceless overlords of the near police state of the city become exposed for leaking "Empyrion," a drug that turns the populace into docile little lambs.
This is probably a good thing considering the reckless cracked-out abandon with which the people aimlessly sprinting around the city and a sort of quasi-riot will dash into gunfire. You'll likely kill half as many of them as you do the Corporation goons, but then neither of you really seem to mind too much, and the game doesn't force it.
In fact, the game doesn't force much, save for spikes of blood pressure as it swings wildly from being a cakewalk to hair-pullingly hard. This is a shame, since the storyline, as delightfully clichéd and peppered with stereotypes as one could get in a video game, is at least something the first game sorely lacked. One could fault the writers for not giving the characters any depth, but they are, if nothing else, fully fleshed-out caricatures of the models in the first game, right down to cookie cutter dialogue and mildly offensive blanket characterizations.
Whereas the first game just sort of turned you loose in the city SOE2 points you toward specific tasks, and along the way gifts you with a few vehicles (a tank, a boat, a chopper) and lots and lots of weapons. Escort and stealth missions are present, but they're actually fairly fun, and you're not penalized for blowing your cover in the latter. You're also able to recruit and issue basic orders to gangsters if you so choose, though this feels more like an novelty than anything else.
SOE2's biggest problem (aside from that schizoid difficulty level) is that the controls can be hideously twitchy. It's rare that enemies aren't moving (though the AI is fairly brainless enough to run right past you at times), and the default speed isn't slow enough to allow you to get a bead on them, yet not fast enough at lower speeds to get you turned around in order to pick off the guy who's plinking you in the back of the head with bits of lead. Small movements can be difficult, so peeking around corners means a bit of back and forth strafing until you're juuust far out enough to get a look without getting spotted.
The clunky controls extend into the vehicles too. The tanks can be a little too clumsy thanks to dumbed-down controls that basically drive where you're looking rather than letting you use both analog sticks to move and aim. The speedboat sections are absolutely pointless trial-and-error affairs with touchy controls that don't even seem to be analog.
Since the game is relatively short (just 12 missions, most of which won't take much longer than about 20-30 minutes to pass with a couple deaths scattered here and there), DC threw in an Arcade Mode that basically collects some of the mini-games found in the main game, assigns a time limit and point goal, and lets you go nuts. It is fun to rampage through a city or fire off endless rockets into a sea of badguys, but it's really just a minor distraction rather than anything that adds serious depth.
I bagged on the first game for looking like crap, offering only the ability to render an impressive number of characters on the screen at once. SOE2 is a significantly prettier game, though nobody will confuse this with a next-gen title, even with the throngs of rioters. Simple particle effects like rain and sparks add a nice touch to the sparsely textured, boxy level designs, and the dev staff should be congratulated for making the game impressively interactive in parts. Most signs, lights, windows and so on can be shot or shattered or blown up, and it all runs at a nice, even clip.
The audio, too, does the first game one better. The voice acting isn't bad (even if it is clichéd as hell), the crowd noise is nice, weapons sound solid (with perhaps the exception of the shotgun, which never really felt like it had oomph), and the surround effects in some spots make nice use of the back channel.
DC Studios deserves a pat on the back for at least bringing the game up to the level that the original should have been. That doesn't mean they made a great game, but it's certainly good enough to be entertaining for the window of, say, a rental. If it happens to go bargain bin price in a few months, it might be worth picking up for around $10-15 or so (it's $30 now), but it's not quite engaging enough for even three Hamiltons.
That VIS finally did go under and the project was picked up by new developer DC Studios probably says something about either how strong the license is, or how much potential there was in the sequel. In both cases, SOE2 builds on the first game's one-dimensional characters and basic rage against the machine premise until it actually feels like a game. It's not without some serious faults here and there, but it is entertaining enough to keep the interest level up enough to see what happens next.
What begins as a jailbreak for MacNeil and Bull, two of the characters from the first game that were tossed in the clink after the riots of the first game, slowly starts to meander around as The Corporation, the Orwellian, faceless overlords of the near police state of the city become exposed for leaking "Empyrion," a drug that turns the populace into docile little lambs.
This is probably a good thing considering the reckless cracked-out abandon with which the people aimlessly sprinting around the city and a sort of quasi-riot will dash into gunfire. You'll likely kill half as many of them as you do the Corporation goons, but then neither of you really seem to mind too much, and the game doesn't force it.
In fact, the game doesn't force much, save for spikes of blood pressure as it swings wildly from being a cakewalk to hair-pullingly hard. This is a shame, since the storyline, as delightfully clichéd and peppered with stereotypes as one could get in a video game, is at least something the first game sorely lacked. One could fault the writers for not giving the characters any depth, but they are, if nothing else, fully fleshed-out caricatures of the models in the first game, right down to cookie cutter dialogue and mildly offensive blanket characterizations.
Whereas the first game just sort of turned you loose in the city SOE2 points you toward specific tasks, and along the way gifts you with a few vehicles (a tank, a boat, a chopper) and lots and lots of weapons. Escort and stealth missions are present, but they're actually fairly fun, and you're not penalized for blowing your cover in the latter. You're also able to recruit and issue basic orders to gangsters if you so choose, though this feels more like an novelty than anything else.
SOE2's biggest problem (aside from that schizoid difficulty level) is that the controls can be hideously twitchy. It's rare that enemies aren't moving (though the AI is fairly brainless enough to run right past you at times), and the default speed isn't slow enough to allow you to get a bead on them, yet not fast enough at lower speeds to get you turned around in order to pick off the guy who's plinking you in the back of the head with bits of lead. Small movements can be difficult, so peeking around corners means a bit of back and forth strafing until you're juuust far out enough to get a look without getting spotted.
The clunky controls extend into the vehicles too. The tanks can be a little too clumsy thanks to dumbed-down controls that basically drive where you're looking rather than letting you use both analog sticks to move and aim. The speedboat sections are absolutely pointless trial-and-error affairs with touchy controls that don't even seem to be analog.
Since the game is relatively short (just 12 missions, most of which won't take much longer than about 20-30 minutes to pass with a couple deaths scattered here and there), DC threw in an Arcade Mode that basically collects some of the mini-games found in the main game, assigns a time limit and point goal, and lets you go nuts. It is fun to rampage through a city or fire off endless rockets into a sea of badguys, but it's really just a minor distraction rather than anything that adds serious depth.
I bagged on the first game for looking like crap, offering only the ability to render an impressive number of characters on the screen at once. SOE2 is a significantly prettier game, though nobody will confuse this with a next-gen title, even with the throngs of rioters. Simple particle effects like rain and sparks add a nice touch to the sparsely textured, boxy level designs, and the dev staff should be congratulated for making the game impressively interactive in parts. Most signs, lights, windows and so on can be shot or shattered or blown up, and it all runs at a nice, even clip.
The audio, too, does the first game one better. The voice acting isn't bad (even if it is clichéd as hell), the crowd noise is nice, weapons sound solid (with perhaps the exception of the shotgun, which never really felt like it had oomph), and the surround effects in some spots make nice use of the back channel.
DC Studios deserves a pat on the back for at least bringing the game up to the level that the original should have been. That doesn't mean they made a great game, but it's certainly good enough to be entertaining for the window of, say, a rental. If it happens to go bargain bin price in a few months, it might be worth picking up for around $10-15 or so (it's $30 now), but it's not quite engaging enough for even three Hamiltons.
