Reviewed: July 31, 2002
Reviewed by: Josh Lamb
Publisher
Sierra Entertainment
Developer
Piranha Interactive
Released: May 7, 2002
Genre: FPS
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature
7
5
5
4
5.5
System Requirements
The first Bruce Willis movie I saw was Die Hard. The character of John McClane always stuck out of the crowd to me because McClane wasn't your typical action hero. McClane got tired and sweaty and became mentally distraught. Plus he killed people without shoes, and I believe at one point he killed someone for their shoes.
Offering minor innovations to the FPS category, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza is a unique and interesting game; it actually follows the movie out just like it should be. Other movie based games attempt to add new moments to the script, and in effect just butcher the plot.... much like a crack-addled humming bird with a scalpel; if you can even comprehend that magnitude of plot-butchering.
Needless to say, I was excited to discover Sierra had integrated Stamina and Morale bars in addition to the existing Health indicator. "Hooray", I thought, "something new and exciting". Good times - let me tell you. After an hour or so of gameplay, I found out that, much to my dismay, the stamina and morale factors only really mattered when you were trying to go somewhere. During my attempts to complete the objectives, rarely did they play a significant part. Try and get to the next area though, and you'll understand that John McClane really is just an old, white, out-of-shape cop.
My favorite event of the game was discovering that I actually didn't have shoes for very long, I honestly laughed so hard I stopped breathing. Long story short, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza lets you game through the movie. I suggest watching the movie with a loved one and then playing through the game, making lists and comparisons and graphs. Colored graphs if possible.
Now, Nakatomi does add a few new missions not seen in the movie, but they make sense and feel like maybe the movie was wrong and the game got it right. As you can probably guess, some missions are little inconvenient, such as your first objective. You have to find your way to the Christmas party your wife is attending. I didn't feel too excited about mingling with financial advisors and asking for directions, so I pretended I was a secret agent and that I had to infiltrate Fort Knox. After terrorists kidnap your woman and try to steal some important papers or something (I think they were papers, I wasn't paying attention because I was completely stoked about my bare feet) you get control of your handgun and from there on in you get to shoot people and take their material possessions, like their guns and Zippo lighters.
Certain scripted events, such as the firefight between the terrorists and the LAPD are a little unforgiving because you have to follow specific courses in the levels to advance. In the firefight scene, you have to make your way around a corner and witness the last terrorist go down (at this time, they're immune to even twelve rounds of your ammo to their eyes). I like cut scenes, but they really should blend in with the gameplay and still allow you to be creative and original in your antics.
Weapons and gadgets are fun, too. They're somewhat limited, but good ideas nonetheless. You get to talk to some interesting people on a Motorola Talk-a-Bout, and light dim areas with a Zippo. Weapons include a 9mm handgun, an MP-5, flash grenades, an M-16, a sniper rifle, and a heavy machine gun that eats ammo like candy. You'll stick to the MP-5 once acquired, and rarely fall back on the other weapons. Ammo for the MP-5 is plentiful, because apparently it's the utensil of choice for terrorists. Bullets for your heavy machine gun (usually my weapon of choice) are incredibly scarce and difficult to conserve. The hand axe is a little messy for my taste, but I do enjoy experimenting with sharp metal objects and, well, terrorists.
Enemy AI is quite amusing; they lean around corners and make decent use of cover, sometimes they roll around on the floor, but they don't work together to kill me. They won't ask each other for help or try to bum smokes; they just all shoot at me at the same time and call it teamwork.
The final confrontation with Gruber, who keeps pointing dangerous things at my wife, leaves some realism to be desired. But emptying nine rounds of sniper rifle ammunition into his skull and barely getting an "ouch" was pretty amusing. At one point you get a clear shot of his spine without fear of killing Holly, but the Lithtech engine wasn't used to full potential. She continued to act strangled and backed towards the window. I like using underhanded tactics to kill people in games, but I was denied my joy. I emptied roughly seven shots into his back, and he didn't even ask for an apology.
Nakatomi is a fun game to play if you can get used to less-than-average graphics. Characters are blocky, and animations are a little crude, but my real issue was the low detail. "What a nice couch, but are there cushions on it?" We don't know.
Level design was pretty decent for the scenario, what with you being in an office building and all. There are plush, executive offices that probably have cute girls with names like "Heidi" to give massages on weekdays. There are not-so-plush offices, some offices that aren't finished yet, a roof, a parking lot, a laboratory (to make important papers?) and sewers, because we all know your FPS isn't a real FPS without sewers.
Unfortunately, all the offices have the same color schemes and basic designs. I think they should have hired that guy from the Discovery Channel. He could have, you know, put some curtains up or something.
Let's talk about character animations. Movements are stale, especially mouth-movements. Imagine a poorly dubbed Jackie Chan flick, and that's a great example here. "Take the elevator on the left, sir." Now, play that back over someone saying "Dude, trees are cool!!" and you've got it. If I were deaf, I wouldn't have known what the hell elevator to take.
Audio is standard on this one. The guns all sound like they should and have rich, full firing sounds. Impacts aren't varied though, you don't know if you're shooting metal or cardboard. Special effects noises are cool, fire sounds interesting.... wrong, but interesting.
Your adversaries shout things at either you or your gun in German accents, but they have rather limited vocabulary and you're stuck hearing the same phrases over and over again. You have to wonder, are they mocking each other?
Music is context driven; it changes with the game flow. I believe that's standard these days and we all expect a little more. It's just nothing new or note-worthy in Nakatomi. I wasn't surprised or even mildly shocked about the soundtrack, it follows in the footsteps of the movie, after all.
You can pick up a copy of Nakatomi for about twenty to thirty dollars. Like I said, if you have the opportunity and ten hours of free time, Nakatomi is an interesting experience if you remember the movie well. If you can borrow a copy, I highly advise that because replay value is non-existent in this title.
I would have enjoyed playing McClane online and shooting other barefoot people, but a lack of multiplayer gaming negates this idea. This would have been an interesting multiplayer game; I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to hit barefoot cops in the head with an axe before on my computer. I can see the limitations though; it would probably be a one-time excitement.
If you liked the movies, you'll like the game and probably be entertained. I'm just saying it's not really worth thirty dollars. I mean, with thirty dollars, you could buy dinner for two at a pretty decent restaurant, or you could purchase Nakatomi and have ten hours of a mildly-good time. It's just not essential to survival. You be the judge.