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Coming Soon > What's New > Reviews > Staff Review | |
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| Playability: Well...... this is a tricky one. If I were one of those reviewers who judged a book by it's cover then Urban Chaos would have been hung, drawn and quartered long before now. The last time I experienced this clumsy style of gameplay was with the original Grand Theft Auto... and look what a massive hit that turned out to be. This could get ugly, but please bear with me as things do get better. Let's start at the very beginning. The game strangely opens up with three driving tests. Although the emphasis is supposedly on 'driving' a car 3 times around a coned obstacle course, I doubt very much that the developers had much knowledge on car physics and vehicle handling. The control is atrocious. Ever tried guiding a rolling trashcan, down a bumpy road, in a zigzag movement, using the sole of your foot? This car drives very much similar. There is an accelerate button, but it only works occasionally, while the brakes give all or nothing. Best press the D-pad upward to move forward and down to reverse. But then again... have you ever tried pushing up on the D-pad while steering left and right at the same time? It's even worse with the analog stick. AAARRRGGGHHH! This section of the game should have been left on the clipping room floor. But it does get better... For the majority of Urban Chaos the player controls a character rather than a vehicle. Before being allowed to advance further into the game several other test levels must be passed covering combat and physical maneuvers. The three combat sections shouldn't take too long to complete and involves learning how to use weapons and hand attacks on the enemy. Of course we've seen these types of action brawlers before and they always seem to collapse into chaos as more and more bad guys flood onto the scene, but you don't always have to beat them to a pulp to defeat them. Simply grab them, raise a knee into the groin, down 'em and cuff 'em. Better still a blast of the shotgun will take them out in a single shot. Thankfully the physical maneuver is only a single test, but it does highlight the ongoing problem with control. A Tomb Raider style assault course must be completed within a limited time scale. It doesn't matter whether you decide to use the D-pad or analog stick, complete control is again very clumsy and lacks finesse. You will definitely loose a few missions because your character accidentally walked off a rooftop... or was attacked from behind by a rival gang member and couldn't turn around in time... or slipped from a narrow ledge... or simply because you they got jammed in amongst a crowd. To compensate this you usually end up shuffling along rooftops an inch at a time, thus ruining the flow of the game. But it does get better... really... Another annoyance is targeting an enemy with a weapon. Once in range it locks onto them, but the instant you fire the gun one of your team members accidentally walks in the way and takes the hit... Game Over! On another occasion my character was involved in a one on one hand fight with a rival. All the while another gangster was taking pot shots at my character with a gun. It would accept this had I been able to run away and take cover, but I couldn't break my grip from the one I was fighting. Well... not until he, or more likely I was dead. Doh! But it does get better... honest... I could go on for ages groaning and moaning about annoyances within Urban Chaos. However, the strangest thing is that the gameplay still draws you in and won't let go. Just like GTA you become very forgiving. Perhaps too forgiving. I plead with anyone who picks up Urban Chaos to trudge through the tutorial levels and refrain from judgement until you gain access to the main game. This happens when you eventually take control of cop rookie Stern D'arci. Her first mission is fairly simple involving the collection of an abandoned car and the single arrest of a mugger. Sounds easy enough. It is, but you don't have to carry out the main tasks immediately. There's a whole city out there alive with rampant criminals and seedy goings on. Take time out to patrol on foot and see how many other crimes you can solve. Talk to people on the street. It's amazing how many different quips they come up with. Some are helpful... others just darn insulting. Wandering around the cityscape you will discover many power ups. Some are health, many are weapons, a few improve your characters strength, constitution, reflexes and stamina. Weapons include the usual selection of guns, grenades, and explosives. There are a few short-range weapons to be taken from an offender such as knives and baseball bats. Everything confiscated or found can be stored in the weapon inventory and can be called upon and used in the level found. Obviously Stern will take a few hits during her tour of duty therefore health packs must be used to recharge her lifeline. There were several things I found with Urban Chaos that impressed the hell out of me. Should Stern fall from a rooftop (damn control system) she actually bleeds and her health bar slowly reduces. This leaves a trail behind her that will be spotted by any thug who comes across it. A medikit must be quickly sought to stop the bleeding. Also, through random scripting, the environment is forever changing. Any street can be filled with holiday shoppers the first time you pass, and a gang fight the next. There are over thirty different missions to play each with multiple branching sub-missions. A level could actually be completed very quickly if you head straight to the task in hand. However, much will be missed if you don't take the time to investigate the whole area. There are over forty unique characters milling around this world with weather and time effects. So, I hear you ask, which comes out on top... the good points or bad? I suppose it's all down to the player. It got so annoyed early in the game I didn't really want to persevere, but thankfully I did. Adam (12 years old) on the other hand couldn't get enough of it and seemed to ignore the flaws. He did comment on the poor driving control though. My recommendation... If you enjoyed GTA then go for it. The rest of you best rent first... you'll probably buy later. Game Options: This is a 1 disk game for 1 Player. It is compatible with the standard (digital) joypad and the analog stick controls of the dual shock joypad. Games can be saved via memory card (1 block per save). |
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