True Crime: New York City: 50%

Nometet.com says: 50%

Disappointing. That one word pretty much sums up every aspect of this game. I usually write mini reviews but in this case, I don’t think I’d be able to fit all the discrepancies this game has in a few paragraphs.

The game’s engine has some MAJOR collision issues. Bullets travel though bridges and brick walls, motorcycles float off the terrain when a bump is hit, vehicles handle like wet bricks, people emerge out of cars with out opening the doors…the list goes on and on. I have never seen a game released that is this buggy. I’m sure they are out there but until this game, I’ve managed to avoid them all.

Graphics aren’t that good even when they decide to work right. I’ve witnessed things such as weather effects turning on and off when I pullout / holster my gun. The HUD turn a solid gray when I get into a vehicle. Street signs freeze on screen when I enter a vehicle. There’s slow down… The draw distance just stinks… Shadows appear and disappear… Characters just pop up on top of some things when approached… trucks are malformed when drawn in, then fix themselves upon approach. These are just a few instances witnessed in about the first 5 hours of the game.

Almost every sound in the game sounds muffled , giving everything in the game unrealistic sound quality. Another error is when getting into a vehicles, sometimes the sound effects are totally absent. The only thing done right is the voice acting and the gunshots. The soundtrack is also very lopsided, especially in the beginning before you get a change to purchase more music. Which makes me wonder why they even decided to include some genres if they were going to only include very few songs in that category.

Some of these errors directly effect game play. When you get into a warehouse and you’re losing life from enemies that can shoot you through walls, it doesn’t make the game enjoyable. They got rid of the way you advance the character’s skill and replaced it with a money system. Now, instead of actually having to earn skills, you can just accumulate money by driving around, arresting criminals and buying these skills. Flashing your badge or giving a warning shot is useless 90% of the time as criminals will continue doing what it is they are doing…or they will attack you. The police AI is horrendous. Usually shoot outs with criminals end up with a shoot out with the cops because for some strange reason, they attack anyone with a gun. AI of drivers is just as bad, with the majority of them having no disregard for the police sirens or even attempting to stop when an accident is imminent.

I could go on and on but I’m tired of typing. In the end, this is a poor, poor game.

Review by Smerlus