Strengths: Nice gameplay, with branching features and excellent voice acting by Russell Wong.
Weakness: It's almost like I've seen this game before.... It seems like an amalgamation of Max Payne, GTA3 and Rise To Honor.
One of the first things you notice about this title are the fact that it plays almost like GTA3 or Max Payne. Aside from those similarities, the game is actually quite enjoyable to play and features a solid storyline, where your actions depend on what type of game ending you receive.
For example, if you do things that put you in favor of being a 'good' cop, you'll slowly progress through the game with alternate routes, ultimately leading to the 'good' ending.
If you choose the 'bad' cop route, you'll still slowly progress through the game, but you'll have yet another alternate set of routes that were not possible while playing as a 'good' cop. Of course, you'll ultimately achieve the 'bad' ending, but that's all up to you.
Good voice acting by Russell Wong (of "Vanishing Son" and "Joy Luck Club" fame) coupled with an interesting, branching storyline make this game a must have.
It's not the best game in it's genre, but it's definitely up there. So much so, that there's an upcoming sequel.
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Strengths: Does well in the GTA genre - good voiceovers, good cutscenes
Weakness: Nothing really new to see here
It's hard not to be compared to Grand Theft Auto when you are a game like this. Since GTA did it so well, you have to use it as a baseline. That said, this is a decent attempt. The story, though weird, is pretty fleshed out and so are the environments. The play area is not as huge as GTA was, but there seems to be more to do in what is encompassed.
I also enjoyed that the plotline wasn't set in stone. What you choose to do during the progression of the game can outline how your game ending will turn out.
On the downside, the graphics has some choke points which can be annoying.
All in all, this game was tight and is proof by the sequel that was made.
Recommended!
Strengths: +Good soundtrack, two different endings, cool fighting system.
Weakness: -Frame rate would slow down from time to time, ENDING IS A WEAKNESS!
If you need to compare this game to anything, GTA would be the closest. Both have pretty much the same type of gameplay. Except in True Crime there is a kung-fu style hand-to-hand combat. The story of the game goes pretty well with a weird twist in the end.
If your not a big story fan, i recommend picking this up since its cheap now.
Strengths: Accurate rendering of L.A., great graphics and sound including the voice acting.
Weakness: Camera and controls can both be unwieldy at times.
With True Crime: New York City now available, you should be able to find Streets of L.A. in the bargain bin of your local video game store of choice. At current prices, it is definitely worth picking up. The controls and the camera can both be a little unwieldy. That said there is plenty to do to keep yourself entertained, and any game that has Christopher Walken providing some voice work deserves a chance.
This was my first ever GTA clone, even before I played GTA. Even though I hadn't been exposed to a better game from this genre, I still only found this one to be only adequitely entertaining. When I played this game, I played it mainly for the missions, the sandbox elements never really hitme as very entertaining. They were simply not done well.
I wouldn't really recommend this game to anyone, not because it is so terrible, but because there are so many good games out there, games that are easy to get cheap, to waste time on one that is just average.
Weakness: Buggy, sloppy controls, overall lack of polish.
True Crime: The Streets of LA is a game that is full of potential that seems only partially realized. It combines a nice presentation, sometimes good graphics, excellent sound, and several types of gameplay. The game follows the exploits of a anti-hero detective cruising around the streets of LA. Gameplay largely consists of driving to various plot points/objectives, carrying out on foot arrests and stealth missions, gunfights and hand to hand combat, and car chases. The game unfolds in a largely scripted manner, yet allows you to roam around and complete many objectives on your own schedule. This allows for a wide open gameplay that is pretty fun, allowing you to go bust a few small time hoods, whilst on the way to a crime scene that plays an important role in the overall story.
The car driving is pretty fun, especially in a chase, although the controls could have been tweaked. The on foot missions are fun to an extent, but flawed. Many hoods run from you at the first sign that you are a cop, and apparently every criminal in LA is an Olympic level track star. You almost always have to hop in your car to even stand a chance of catching them. Those who aren't track stars are arms dealers, toting an arsenal and unafraid to use it on a cop, and you basically have to gun them down. The controls while on foot are also pretty loose, making it hard to transition from a hand to hand battle to pulling your piece or badge. The game adds a good cop/bad cop ratings system that rates your characters traits based on how he behaves as a cop. Clean arrests with low property damage and busting criminals with little trouble nets you higher ranks. Smashing the city and executing baddies like dirty harry gets you a bad cop rating.
The graphics are good in some spots, as much of the LA metroplex is here. However, the visuals aren't stunning and there are glitchy effects every once in awhile. Sound is pretty good, including voice acting, by a Hollywood cast. Music is a licensed batch of good and bad, both rock and rap, including Snoop Dogg. One of the better aspects of sound is the police dispatcher that alerts you to crimes in progress. It is up to you whether or not you respond to the scene.
True Crime is a good game that offers a good value package. Lost of things to do at your own pace as well as the city of LA to explore. Car driving, shoot outs, and martial arts fisticuffs are all varied types of gameplay. The presentation is very good, with a story compelling enough to move things along, and sound and graphics that do the job. But as you play True Crime, while it is fun, you can't help but feel that the game could have been great. The game just lacks enough overall polish and tightness that a great game would have. I recommend this game, but wonder what it could have been with a little more effort and time.
A fun game that is great for free-roam car driving...
Strengths: Driving, gun play, car jumps.
Weakness: Weird story, repetitive, weapons all seem the same with exception between semi and full automatics, bland enviroment that is repetitive. Glitches...
All in all, this game is very fun for free-roam car driving buffs. The game is pretty much a real life replica when it comes to streets, so you can pretty much use a real map to get around most of the time, which is interesting. There is a lack of variety in cars, and they don't seem all that different. If someone combined the gun play and driving mechanics of this, with the vehicle variety and enviroment of Grand Theft Auto, then that would make for a very fun driving experience I would imagine.
Strengths: Good cop/bad cop fun, lots of action overall
Weakness: Some dull missions
If you loved GTA, you will most likely enjoy this action/shooter. True Crime: Streets of LA lets you play as a cop that can go either way - good or bad. A good plot and some great action (including racing) make this extremely entertaining. Upgrades are used well in this game, as it's a great way to add more to the overall gameplay experience. My only issue with this game is the lack of originality in some of the missions which leaves you, well, bored. Otherwise a well-developed and executed game. A definite buy.
Strengths: Good Cop/Bad Cop system, intelligent NPCs and enemies who know that taking a car may be the fastest way to get away from you, Christopher Walken VA work
Weakness: Graphics in some spot a little sparse or not textured well, targetting system slow early on, controls not always clear
At first I ignored this as a GTA-alike cash-in, but I picked it up recently for cheap, and was pleasantly surprised.
It shares the same basic structure, but while there's less random things to do, what you can do has more complexity to it. NPCs and crooks will react in different ways depending on what measures you take with them. Some cower at the slightest action, some pull a gun on you, some jack a vehicle and take off as fast as they can. You're also regarded differently with how you treat these criminals. Flash a badge and cuff them? You're a good cop. Take out a gun and pop them between the eyes? The public and force doesn't look as highly on you, even though it gives you a lot of leeway before those nasty actions matter.
Graphics are pretty good, although some objects fade in rather blatantly, they're usually minor decoration work. (Nice touch with your save file name being your license plate in-game.) Music sounds kind of compressed, but this is the Gamecube version we're talking about, and they did cram a lot of audio onto a 1.5 Gig disc. VA work is excellent, bringing in several stars, including a certain Mr. Walken. (Who unfortunately has a character model that just does not look right for his voice. Don't know who decided on that one.)
My main beefs so far seem to be control-related, mainly that there's a lot you can do, and sometimes the game isn't sure what it is you're trying. It's not too bad, but there's been several instances where a control press triggered an action from one move set, when I intended another. Also, the first thing you do in the game is perform some target practice, and the auto-targetting is just really slow early on. But that can be upgraded as the game progresses, which will definitely make it more manageable. Truth be told, it doesn't even seem all that bad once you're out on the streets, but it's just highlighted in the targetting range.
All in all, it doesn't "beat" GTA, so to speak, but it's not exactly trying to be the same thing. And I like how they've polished what's here. Besides, any game with Christopher Walken doing voicework has got to be appreciated.
Strengths: Good cut-scenes, can learn new moves thoughout the game, fighting and driving are both well done
Weakness: None I can think of
True Crime: Streets of L.A. is an action adventure game very much like Grand Theft Auto. You play as detective Nick Kang who also seems to have a bad attitude. The game is divided up into episodes and from each episode you will have to complete so many missions in order to move on to the next episode. The interesting thing is that you can still fail some mission and move on to the next mission but it may change the outcome of the game giving your story a different direction & having different cinemas etc. You will also get to unlock a new car, weapon or special move if you can get 100% in an entire episode. They also have places called 24/7 training centers which you will have to enter and go though in order to learn new moves/skills which helps make the game that much deeper. I would suggest at least renting True Crime: Streets of L.A. to anyone that liked Grand Theft Auto as it's alot like yet different in many ways from Grand Theft Auto and I think that anyone who spends some time getting to learn True Crimes will like it and will probably be interested in buying it.
True Crime: Streets of LA receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS rating of 3.28 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #1,347 game of all time, #32 game of 2003 for the GameCube and #106 GameCube game of all time. The rating and ranking is based on an average of 50 critic scores, awards and other criteria. To see a breakdown of the game ranking, read individual critic reviews, or see how other games ranked,...
Boot up True Crime, and the first voice you hear is that of Christopher Walken. Is this the tough police chief, or maybe the bullet-riddled gangster that you'll take down in a climactic scene? No, this is George, the old coot that runs the police shooting range. The second thing you'll notice is a great similarity to GTA. But don't be fooled. Sure, there's a lot of free-roaming action, but True...
The biggest hurdle facing the Luxoflux developed True Crime: Streets of LA is it's proximity in both premise and expectations to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto franchise. PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube owners are supposed to want it because at a glance it looks so much like the videogame phenomenon that has dominated the charts for two years, yet gamers are supposed to approach it with an open...
Good cop or bad cop? In this game, it's up to you.
Strengths: Nice gameplay, with branching features and excellent voice acting by Russell Wong.
Weakness: It's almost like I've seen this game before.... It seems like an amalgamation of Max Payne, GTA3 and Rise To Honor.
One of the first things you notice about this title are the fact that it plays almost like GTA3 or Max Payne. Aside from those similarities, the game is actually quite enjoyable to play and features a solid storyline, where your actions depend on what type of game ending you receive.
For example, if you do things that put you in favor of being a 'good' cop, you'll slowly progress through the game with alternate routes, ultimately leading to the 'good' ending.
If you choose the 'bad' cop route, you'll still slowly progress through the game, but you'll have yet another alternate set of routes that were not possible while playing as a 'good' cop. Of course, you'll ultimately achieve the 'bad' ending, but that's all up to you.
Good voice acting by Russell Wong (of "Vanishing Son" and "Joy Luck Club" fame) coupled with an interesting, branching storyline make this game a must have.
It's not the best game in it's genre, but it's definitely up there. So much so, that there's an upcoming sequel.
75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?