Reviewed: November 30, 2005
Reviewed by: Tyler Whitney

Publisher
Activision

Developer
Luxoflux Corp.

Released: November 16, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature

6
7
7
7
6.6

Supported Features:

Being 2 years later, many advances in game design have been made, and while the first title was a solid one, it remains to be seen how True Crime: New York City can improve upon it. But hey, that’s why I am here- right?

You really feel like a cop when you respond to calls over dispatch, or spot some crime in an alleyway. These can range from your everyday robberies; to the more interesting sex offenders roaming around- it’s your job to clean up the streets. And remember, you can’t just shoot these guys, you have to subdue them, cuff them and haul them away for justice to take it’s course.

Being a good cop increases your rating, which in turn raises your pay and…you just feel all warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that certain crack heads won’t be causing anymore harm. With a higher salary, you can purchase a lot of goodies, from weapons, add-ons and even new martial arts techniques.

The main game progresses well enough, although some of the tasks are downright boring, due in large part to the unoriginal storyline. You basically spend 99% of your time chasing down the lieutenants and other power players in the crime world. You show up, you blow away a bunch of their cronies, and then you face off with the big, bad hombres in some mind numbing “boss” battle. After you have them in your grasp, you can interrogate them for more information, not unlike the recent Punisher videogame. Admittedly, it’s nowhere near as inventive (no piranha fish tanks here…), but it’s still a nice touch to garner the inside dish.

At least with games like GTA, or Max Payne, the storylines are a bit more interesting, not to mention the action is much more intense. For starters, the auto-targeting feature can royally mess up in the worst moments imaginable, often shooting someone whose back is to you, while you get peppered by the Uzi-toting maniac beside you. I’m not sure why they couldn’t just paint some sights on the screen and get rid of the ridiculous lock-on system.

When you get up close and personal, things fare a bit better though. You can grapple, block their attacks and employ some pretty brutal street fighting moves. The A.I. in general is pretty lacking. Your fellow cops will wander around, popping off shots left and right, despite the fact it’s, well, not exactly kosher to even draw your firearm in most cases. Hell, if your not careful, they will even shoot at you, thinking you are another common criminal. I felt like Eddie Murphy all over again, minus the great theme music.

Driving around is also an interesting experience. As I'll mention later, the physics are just plain off. Your car flings around the road like it was on ice, along with any collisions you have resulting in over-the-top crashes. Luckily, you can always hop a ride on the local subway to instantly appear, without hassling with traffic.

The character models are a bit jerky in the animations, along with being somewhat muddy in regards to textures. The car models fare a bit better, due to the simplistic nature, but even they have some problems. As I mentioned before, the physics tend to be “off”, by that I mean they feel floaty, as opposed to you handling tons of steel, it instead feels like a plastic toy.

Thankfully, the entirety of NYC is detailed and pretty dang accurate, a feat worthy of mentioning due to the sheer size alone. Chinatown, Harlem, Manhattan - it’s all here. Not to mention the streets are full of people milling about, cars cramming the lanes and so on. It feels like a real, breathing city.

The cutscenes are also pretty solid too, helping to string along the events nicely.

It’s saving grace is it’s robust soundtrack, from some of the hottest rap artists of recent memory, guys like Jay-Z, Big Pun, Red Man, Wu-Tang Clan and more. It’s not solid hip-hop either, there are also some rock and trance type tunes thrown in for good measure, from artists such as Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth, Misfits, and Danzig, just to name a few. Oh and there are some guys named Fishburne and Walken doing the voice work, that’s nice, I guess.