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| The quietest New York precinct in existence. | To the bat ...er cop cave! |
As soon as the game starts, you’re already treated to a nice casual drive round the blocks while choosing your options. New game, personalized license plate and you’re set. You’re immediately drawn into your character; you soon learn there has been an attempt on your life. Sold out by those you could trust, this not only delivers important story elements but an easy introduction to the game.
Sadly one thing that can cause some discomfort are the controls, you can feel this doesn’t quite fit seamlessly onto the PC. For some it could make this game an issue, others may invest time wisely looking over the configuration screens. This has always been a sore area for console games porting over. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a fatal blow to the game; though some may find it a little sting.
Graphics, could you almost feel you’re actually chasing some thug down in Times Square? No would be my answer, this game isn’t going to show up many other titles out there. Given the huge scale of the city though you can understand why having visuals to make your eyes bleed with joy would cause problems, in more ways than one. It can appear at times a dated engine; you assume the other areas of the game compensate for this.
Sound is pretty good; you get a realistic hussle n bussle of New York when driving down its many streets. Plus a wide mix of music to keep you entertained, hip hop, alternative, punk, you’re bound to find something you’ll enjoy listening to while on the beat. Cruising away, you’ll often get reports of local crime or special investigations you could look into over the radio, Streets of LA fans will be well accustomed to this feature.
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| Pull your own Starsky & Hutch moves. | No mere curb can contain the NYPD! |
With any game like this one crucial thing is all that matters for many gamers, how does the driving handle? I’ll say now, this game does have an acquired taste for driving but isn’t too demanding *cough* Driv3r *cough* of the player. For those who believe all is well in the virtual World as long as their car is fresh and pristine, be prepared to have your tranquil life shattered. This is an area of the game I have issues with, if your car becomes damaged it stays damaged until you take a trip to the local auto repair. Returning to the precinct doesn’t get your mess fixed, so every little scratch, dent and window blown means another trip to the shop and more paper presidents spent.
The mechanics, or should I say the laws of physics are somewhat lax here in New York. Accidentally crashing into another car and bouncing off a lamp post high into the air I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Marcus. I think the best word to use when describing AI automobile habits is “erratic”. One minute they’re upstanding, law abiding citizens and then suddenly everyone can have an epileptic fit behind the wheel.
True Crime can boast proudly however that they offer players the chance to become the most bent and crooked cop ever to grace the city. You could be a good one too I guess but just know cash doesn’t flow like water. For some green you could pawn off that evidence, not let it all sit stuffed up in some room for decades, aren’t we supposed to recycle more these days anyway? Maybe you could offer some extra ‘protection’ to local businesses in exchange for some sizable contributions to the charity of your choosing, when you get round to finding one of course.
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| I've broken the law ...of gravity ...yeah. | Curse those flying projectiles. |
Overall, this looks to be an interesting enough sequel to True Crime: Streets of LA – hopefully minus any strange mythical dragon bosses of yonder? With the added zones to patrol and ‘cure’ of crime, NYC should get better player coverage than LA which suffered from interest and curiosity to explore meaning a lot of hard work went to waste. Though I’m not overly amazed with this title, I find myself unable to hate it just as much. We’ll just have to wait and see how this tale wraps up, hopefully with a little more polish (and better laws of vehicular gravity).
