Beyond the Office
August 24th, 2004
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August 24th, 2004
The Game Room: Fighting Crime With True Crime
Sr. Assoc. Ed. Andrew Brandt
I'm an Angeleno by birth and by nature, so when I heard about
Activision's True Crime: Streets of L.A., I was understandably
intrigued. Sure, players of the new Spider-Man 2 game can swing on
webs through a digitally rendered Manhattan, but in True Crime, you
get to live a Los Angeles resident's life--which is spent mostly
behind the wheel of a car.
True Crime's most interesting technical achievement is the way it has
re-created a street-by-street representation of a huge part of Los
Angeles County. Players can cruise Sunset Boulevard in their
vehicles--from Santa Monica, the Pacific Palisades, and Beverly Hills
to downtown Los Angeles--or hit the freeways in a misguided attempt to
get across town faster. It's as if the developers simply scanned in
the ubiquitous Thomas Guide map books found under many L.A. car seats:
Every curve, slight rise or dip, and virtually every road in L.A.,
Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood is there.
The character you play, Nick Kang, is a L.A.P.D. detective who follows
leads to solve major crimes, including his cop-father's murder. The
game directs you to story-driven elements by instructing you to hop in
your car and drive to a destination. Along the way, you gain "karma"
points and "shields" (a form of currency you can spend to improve
yourself) by busting petty criminals, who pop up with amazing
regularity--and repetitiveness.
As Kang searches for his father's killer, he brings the full force of
the law (and his hands and fists) down on organized crime through his
use of martial arts and firearms. But the storyline is completely
optional: Many of the game's most memorable moments come when you
receive a police radio call while driving around town and have to deal
with some crime in progress. It's almost like being in a reality show.
Here's a screen shot:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201919/21421685/722434/0/
Home in the Game
Frankly, all I wanted to do was drive to the neighborhoods I grew up
in and see how the developers re-created my old haunts. Unfortunately
for residents of L.A., relatively few landmark buildings and locations
look as they do in real life. For example, in the Fairfax district
(where I grew up) the prominent CBS Television City building and the
Farmer's Market next door, a longtime tourist destination, are nowhere
to be found. But a mile down Beverly Boulevard, the Beverly Center
shopping mall--a horrific, windowless concrete architectural
abomination--is rendered in detail.
The virtual Hollywood Boulevard has stars on its Walk of Fame, and you
can stop by the Chinese Theater; L.A.'s famous city-hall spire reaches
toward the sky; and the Santa Monica Pier's famous entry arch invites
passersby to enjoy carnival amusements and cotton candy. But few other
locations look as they do in real life. If you're not from L.A., you
won't mind. I was peeved; but it's nothing I won't be able to get over
by rousting a few more innocent citizens, taking down some brawling
drunks, and chasing down (and shooting out the tires of) stolen
delivery trucks.
In the end, True Crime: Streets of L.A. delivers total mayhem in a
compact package, with a fantastic soundtrack that includes songs from
top rap, hip hop, rock, and metal bands; an addictive fighting and
driving engine; and a voice cast of big Hollywood names that includes
Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez,
Ron Perlman, CCH Pounder, and Snoop Dogg. I played the PC version of
the game, and it's also available for the PlayStation 2, XBox, and
GameCube.
Even though I'm a permanent transplant to Northern California, I think
I'll be spending a lot of time back in L.A. from now on.
For more info, go to Activision's official True Crime: Streets of L.A.
site:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201919/21421685/722435/0/
For more game reviews, go to PC World's topic page:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201919/21421685/722436/0/
Have a question or comment? Write to Andrew Brandt:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Read Andrew Brandt's regularly published "Game Room" columns:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201919/21421685/364542/0/
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