True Crime

Can Activision really take on the might of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series? Here we have a young pretender muscling in on another guy's turf. Maybe he'll be the new kingpin or maybe he's going to end up swimming off Marina Del Ray with a new pair of concrete shoes.

Activision is attempting to muscle in on Rockstar's Grant Theft Auto territory with True Crime. This time though, the player looks at the world of crime from the other side of the tracks, as LA police officer Nick Kang.

Some fans of GTA may scoff at playing a cop, as they'd prefer Rockstar's brand of hoodlum action. But there is a lot of scope to play True Crime exactly how you want to – as good cop or bad cop. Some sections do require a certain good reputation but going back and busting some perps in a righteous fashion can solve that.

Missions appear within episodes and you don't actually have to complete them to continue the game. The branching storyline means you must attempt missions but failure changes the story just as it does in real life. This is a welcome change and also means you'll be going back to play the game again with different outcomes. It is possible to see the first endings of the game early on – but that's down to failing a few missions giving a pretty truncated story. Then it's a case of going back and completing other sections to branch in a different direction – thankfully, you don't have to repeat anything you've already succeeded at.

Nick Kang is unfortunately an annoying protagonist. He's hardly the likeable cop Activision intended him to be, his catchphrases and treatment of his partner mark him out early on as a berk, especially when quoting Monty Python. Luckily, the gameplay makes up for the shortcomings in Detective Kang's personality problems.

Random acts of criminality appear along side the plot's scripted missions. The player has a lot of choice how to arrest the perps. Just shooting them dead or running them over adds to one's bad cop rating. Firing a warning shot and flashing your badge makes for a fine member of the police force. This level of freedom is welcome but the random crimes do get a little samey over time. Yet, there is humour in these missions, as the player often has to arrest some celebrity thinly disguised celebrity.

The streets of LA in True Crime just don't seem crowded enough. There are neither enough cars on the road nor are there enough people walking the streets. I suppose this is to be expected in a game where the baseline system is the PlayStation 2 but one would have hoped for a little more optimisation in the Xbox version. The graphics are similar to Grand Theft Auto, albeit a little more detailed and with a much better view distance. At times, it almost feels like the same game.

Gameplay is split into several forms. Driving is used to get from place to place, but there are missions where the player is being chased or chasing a suspect, tailing a suspect without being spotted and attempting to reach a specific location in a set time. Initially the driving feels a bit stiff, but earning upgrades to driving skills makes driving a more pleasurable experience later in the game.

Gunplay seems tough at first despite the auto-aim feature due to the clunkiness of the precision aiming mode. However just like the driving, Nick's shooting skills can be upgraded and initial doubts about the gunplay in the game fade with experience. Later items such as a laser sight make the shooting sections a lot more fun as does the Max Payne style slow motion sharpshooter mode.

The final gameplay mode is kung-fu action. The developer, Luxoflux, has created an excellent fighting system. Many games of this type just feature one punch and one kick, and here we actually have a variety of moves and combos – though don't expect Virtua Fight 4 Evolution. Indoor fights are great fun due to the breakable scenery – Nick can slam a perp into objects that will shatter in a satisfactory manner. Later on Nick picks up the ability to do more grapples and attack perps on the ground. If we haven't told you already, yes True Crime is a very violent game and certainly isn't for kids.

The soundtrack is quite stunning (if you like rap); it features numerous West Coast rappers such as Westside Connection, Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, The DOC, Lil Eazy-E, and Warren G. As the game is adult rated already – the tracks on offer are the full un-beeped versions. Most of the 50 tracks in the game are rap but other genres are touched one with songs from Megadeth and Taproot. Xbox owners can also choose tracks from their custom soundtracks.

[Harry]

While it does not have the freedom of GTA, True Crime is an engaging and exciting city-based rampage. It lacks a little polish in places but overall the impression is of a very well crafted game. Nick Kang is annoying, but there's enough freedom and action on offer here to keep most gamers very happy. Some annoying dialogue, the varying difficulty level and an underused city mean the game is only good, rather than brilliant.

[Jen]

Ooh, this is a rather violent game with a lot of effing and jeffing, definitely not one for the kiddies. The game does take a swing for the surreal later on, but I enjoyed it a lot. Musically it wasn't exactly to my taste, but I enjoyed playing a cop and loved the vast city to explore. It's not quite as slick as GTA, and I think the mission structure could be better.

[Alex]

Early on, the driving and shooting can be a bit of a pain. But as Nick learns some new skills, the game is much more of a pleasure to play. The recreation of such a large area of LA is very cool. The acting can be a little hammy despite the presence of some big name stars but overall this is a pretty good game.