Post by RSunn on Jul 29, 2004 22:20:01 GMT -5
True Crime: Streets of LA Review
written by Greg Bemis on Thursday, July 15, 2004
Smooth criminal?
Platform: PC
Developer: Luxoflux
Publisher: Activision
ESRB Rating: Mature
Rating: 2 out of 5
Pros: Marginally better graphics; more music; shorter load times
Cons: Horrid controls; virtually worthless multiplayer; all problems from the console versions remain
When True Crime hit the consoles, initial criticisms of the game seemed to suggest that the game wasn’t that great because it wasn’t Grand Theft Auto. It’s true that True Crime isn’t GTA, but taken on its own merits, True Crime is a nice little game that was perhaps a little too ambitious for its own good. With the recent port to the PC, X-Play is hoping that the laundry list of problems has been ironed out. It hasn't.
True to Form
The basic gameplay in the PC version of True Crime is intact. You play as Nick Kang, a brash young cop with a tremendous chip on his shoulder. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll drive, shoot, and brawl your way through a series of mission. These missions have a branching structure that will take you to various endings depending on how well you play the game.
You can also wander aimlessly around a good chunk of Los Angeles solving random crimes. Scattered throughout LA are training areas where you can learn new moves and get better equipment. Entry to these places cost badges, which you earn by busting criminals. So although blowing through the missions can be done in a day, there is some incentive to wander about, earn badges, and get those upgrades.
True Colors
Changes for the PC version are mostly minimal. The graphics in the game, though quite nice on the console, tend to look a bit better on the PC thanks to the higher resolution. However, character models, vehicles, and the environment all still look about the same. The game runs smoothly even with all the details turned up, although details like trees, shrubs, street signs, etc, still fade into view as you approach them. For some reason, this is even more disconcerting on the PC. On the plus side, load times have been dramatically reduced.
True Sounds
Dialogue and sound effects have remained untouched. Your appreciation of the storyline will be tied to how well you can stomach cheesy one-liners and action movie clichés. But the dialogue is delivered with gusto and come off all right. Unfortunately you’ll still hear the same stupid lines from the generic LA residents over and over and over again. It’s not uncommon to hear the exact same line spouted off three or four times in rapid succession as you’re driving around the city. It’s aggravating and should have been fixed.
The music from the console version has been augmented with a smattering of rock and alternative tunes. This is much appreciated as anything to add a little variety to the monotonous hip hop soundtrack is a good thing.
Truly Criminal
Controls in the PC version are almost uniformly horrid due to the fact that this game was really intended to be played on console controller. Because there are three different control modes (driving, shooting, and fighting) you’ll constantly be moving between mouse and keyboard in a futile attempt to find a comfortable way to control the action.
Driving with the mouse is too sloppy and driving with the keyboard leads to over steering. While moving around on foot, the camera is too floaty and imprecise -- even if you jack up the mouse sensitivity. Worse yet, the camera will get stuck on walls and other obstacles, leaving you out of luck when you’re trying to get a better view. Even in fighting mode, where the camera is supposed to be locked in a side view, it’s possible to move the camera around, but only a little tiny bit. So while you frantically skate your mouse across your desk to adjust your view, your opponents will pummel you into the ground.
The oddest control snafu occurs while you’re aiming at things. In the console versions, there was a lock-on aiming feature, because precise aim with the analog stick is difficult. In the PC version, because you’re using a mouse, such a feature is not needed, yet it’s still here. Auto aim actually makes it harder to land the shot you want because the targeting cursor keeps snapping to different places on your target. There should have been a dramatic rethinking of the entire control scheme for the PC version.
Truly Pointless
The PC version has several online multiplayer modes which are lukewarm in execution. You can race around the city, go on a competitive arresting spree, or shoot it out in a deathmatch-style free-for-all. None of these are terrible interesting, and worse yet, even with only a couple of people and a solid ping, gameplay is choppy. Adding multiplayer to a game that doesn’t appear to inherently need it is a waste of time. This is time that could have been used to make the single-player experience better.
Truly Disappointing
True Crime is a game that wants to be loved. It’s different enough from GTA to escape being called a clone. It’s got some excellent gameplay ideas that are marred by sloppy execution and balance issues. A lot of these problems could have been fixed in the PC port, but they haven't been. Some new tunes and useless multiplayer modes aren’t enough to make this a title worth buying. If you really want to play True Crime, do yourself a favor and pick it any of the console versions. It’s the same game, but it controls better and it’s cheaper.
written by Greg Bemis on Thursday, July 15, 2004
Smooth criminal?
Platform: PC
Developer: Luxoflux
Publisher: Activision
ESRB Rating: Mature
Rating: 2 out of 5
Pros: Marginally better graphics; more music; shorter load times
Cons: Horrid controls; virtually worthless multiplayer; all problems from the console versions remain
When True Crime hit the consoles, initial criticisms of the game seemed to suggest that the game wasn’t that great because it wasn’t Grand Theft Auto. It’s true that True Crime isn’t GTA, but taken on its own merits, True Crime is a nice little game that was perhaps a little too ambitious for its own good. With the recent port to the PC, X-Play is hoping that the laundry list of problems has been ironed out. It hasn't.
True to Form
The basic gameplay in the PC version of True Crime is intact. You play as Nick Kang, a brash young cop with a tremendous chip on his shoulder. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll drive, shoot, and brawl your way through a series of mission. These missions have a branching structure that will take you to various endings depending on how well you play the game.
You can also wander aimlessly around a good chunk of Los Angeles solving random crimes. Scattered throughout LA are training areas where you can learn new moves and get better equipment. Entry to these places cost badges, which you earn by busting criminals. So although blowing through the missions can be done in a day, there is some incentive to wander about, earn badges, and get those upgrades.
True Colors
Changes for the PC version are mostly minimal. The graphics in the game, though quite nice on the console, tend to look a bit better on the PC thanks to the higher resolution. However, character models, vehicles, and the environment all still look about the same. The game runs smoothly even with all the details turned up, although details like trees, shrubs, street signs, etc, still fade into view as you approach them. For some reason, this is even more disconcerting on the PC. On the plus side, load times have been dramatically reduced.
True Sounds
Dialogue and sound effects have remained untouched. Your appreciation of the storyline will be tied to how well you can stomach cheesy one-liners and action movie clichés. But the dialogue is delivered with gusto and come off all right. Unfortunately you’ll still hear the same stupid lines from the generic LA residents over and over and over again. It’s not uncommon to hear the exact same line spouted off three or four times in rapid succession as you’re driving around the city. It’s aggravating and should have been fixed.
The music from the console version has been augmented with a smattering of rock and alternative tunes. This is much appreciated as anything to add a little variety to the monotonous hip hop soundtrack is a good thing.
Truly Criminal
Controls in the PC version are almost uniformly horrid due to the fact that this game was really intended to be played on console controller. Because there are three different control modes (driving, shooting, and fighting) you’ll constantly be moving between mouse and keyboard in a futile attempt to find a comfortable way to control the action.
Driving with the mouse is too sloppy and driving with the keyboard leads to over steering. While moving around on foot, the camera is too floaty and imprecise -- even if you jack up the mouse sensitivity. Worse yet, the camera will get stuck on walls and other obstacles, leaving you out of luck when you’re trying to get a better view. Even in fighting mode, where the camera is supposed to be locked in a side view, it’s possible to move the camera around, but only a little tiny bit. So while you frantically skate your mouse across your desk to adjust your view, your opponents will pummel you into the ground.
The oddest control snafu occurs while you’re aiming at things. In the console versions, there was a lock-on aiming feature, because precise aim with the analog stick is difficult. In the PC version, because you’re using a mouse, such a feature is not needed, yet it’s still here. Auto aim actually makes it harder to land the shot you want because the targeting cursor keeps snapping to different places on your target. There should have been a dramatic rethinking of the entire control scheme for the PC version.
Truly Pointless
The PC version has several online multiplayer modes which are lukewarm in execution. You can race around the city, go on a competitive arresting spree, or shoot it out in a deathmatch-style free-for-all. None of these are terrible interesting, and worse yet, even with only a couple of people and a solid ping, gameplay is choppy. Adding multiplayer to a game that doesn’t appear to inherently need it is a waste of time. This is time that could have been used to make the single-player experience better.
Truly Disappointing
True Crime is a game that wants to be loved. It’s different enough from GTA to escape being called a clone. It’s got some excellent gameplay ideas that are marred by sloppy execution and balance issues. A lot of these problems could have been fixed in the PC port, but they haven't been. Some new tunes and useless multiplayer modes aren’t enough to make this a title worth buying. If you really want to play True Crime, do yourself a favor and pick it any of the console versions. It’s the same game, but it controls better and it’s cheaper.