In True Crime: Streets of LA you play the role of Nick Kang, a gung-ho cop who has been suspended for using excessive violence and damaging property. However, chief of detectives Wanda Parks needs Nick for her Elite Operations Division (EOD), established to protect the citizens of Los Angeles at all costs.
Nick, despite his complaints, is partnered with brash newcomer to the EOD, Rosie Velasquez. Together, they must put a stop to the recent spate of gang violence taking place in the city and track down the mastermind behind it.
A city to get lost in
Played from a third-person perspective, the missions in True Crime are so clich'ed it seems to be taken directly from the B-grade detective movies of the eighties. However, developer Luxoflux purposefully implemented them to create an interactive movie environment familiar to players.
Adding to this is the city itself. By all accounts, the City of Angels has been as accurately recreated as possible. Publisher Activision claims that there are 240 square miles for the player to explore.
The scale becomes apparent the moment Nick starts cruising around the city. From upscale suburbs like Beverly Hills and Bel Air, to the beaches of Santa Monica and Venice, it is all there.
Of course a large city would be useless if it is not populated accordingly. Thankfully, Luxoflux has succeeded with this. There is traffic, families enjoying the beach, prostitutes, basketball fans and Chinese restaurants aplenty in the game.
Fighting crime
While not required, Nick can flash his badge and frisk people to his heart`s content and may even succeed in arresting a few drug peddlers and other unsavoury characters. There are also random crimes vying for Nick`s attention when he is not busy with the main quest. Points are earned for solving these crimes and can be used to upgrade Nick`s skills.
This can be done at facilities scattered throughout LA. There are shooting ranges for firearm skills, martial arts gyms for hand-to-hand combat skills and driving courses to improve high-speed driving skills.
Shooting, fighting and driving lie at the heart of True Crime. The missions and random crimes designed to utilise these skills are varied but driving and shooting missions form the bulk of the game.
Even if the player does not successfully complete a mission, there are alternative ones taking the player`s failure into account. For example, you might be required to reach a restaurant in time to prevent arson. Succeed and you catch the arsonist red-handed. Fail and he gets away and you lose a valuable lead.
Good cop/bad cop
Nick does not have to be the model cop though. He can easily turn into a rogue cop by shooting and running over pedestrians. There is a good cop/bad cop rating system that warns the player if things are getting out of hand.
Eventually, if the player commits enough murders, civil unrest breaks out, resulting in SWAT teams being deployed to take Nick out. Playing the psychopath while avoiding these teams can become a challenge in itself.
Unfortunately, Nick does not get bad cop points for commandeering the cars of civilians. One would think that after totalling the umpteenth car, Nick would at least get a reprimand.
Something to be proud of
True Crime does suffer on the graphic front mostly due to numerous clipping issues that quickly become annoying. Also, there are different controls for shooting, fighting and driving. It is awkward moving between these control sets, but players should get accustomed to this by the end of the first episode.
If you enjoy hip-hop music, then the soundtrack is tailor-made for you. Featuring 50 original songs from hip-hop stars like Snoop Dogg, Coolio and Warren G, it complements the theme perfectly.
But is it fun?
True Crime uses elements of Grand Theft Auto and Dead To Rights to offer gamers a title that is as much fun and engaging as it is frustrating and annoying. It has the makings of being a great game, but technical and game dynamic issues will limit its appeal.
Be that is it may, True Crime offers fans of the genre something that will keep them busy for many hours.
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