True Crime: New York City is the follow up game to Activision’s popular title True Crime: LA. The game, which is based in New York, features a hip-hop influenced soundtrack.

In the game you star as Marcus Reed. As the game begins Marcus is seen wearing a white shirt and he is bloodied. He enters a building and confronts a man and his crew. The mini-movie is brief and you are then thrust into game play. Your first mission is easy. You must track down your nemesis and kill him. Your health is monitored by the silhouette of a body on the screen. There is no time element to this first mission. To accomplish this goal you will have to shoot your way through the crowded house and battle his crew. After killing all of the men in the upstairs bedroom you will have to jump through the window. After jumping through the window you will then have to climb over the balcony and jump to the ground. When you land on the ground you will be in close proximity to a man standing in front of a fire lit garbage can. He is a homeless man and not a threat so you don’t have to shoot hit. To continue game play you will have to crouch down and slide under a hole in the fence. Upon standing up you will have to turn the corner and continue the gun battle. There is a car near by that you can use as cover as you fire at the enemy’s. There is also a car in the dark alley that you can blow up for fun.

After clearing that area you will have to turn left into another building and you will be attacked by gunfire. The gunfire is relatively intense, but you can easily clear the area.

After completing this first mission you will be greeted by a man who has strong ties to your father and your mission in the game. After a brief conversation the game transitions and the words on the screen read, “Five years later.” Now Marcus is seen wearing a blue police uniform. His next mission requires him to complete several mini-missions in order to make detective.

The graphics and player movement seem much improved than the previous True Crime game. The storyline is interesting and the movies incorporated into the gameplay are engaging.

The Soundtrack
The games soundtrack is pretty awesome. The soundtrack includes songs from Jay-Z, Cam’Ron, De La Soul, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Run DMC, Gangstar, Big Pun and other hip-hop stars.

Credited Voice Actors
A lot of the fun with these new games is learning what celebrity has leant their voice to the game. True Crime: New York City includes voice talent from Laurence Fishburne, Mariska Hartigay (from Law & Order SUV )Esai Morales, Traci Lords, and actor Avery Kidd Waddell lends his voice to the main character Marcus.

In comparison to a Rock Star Game
Gamers often compare the True Crime games to the Grand Theft Auto games released by Rock Star Games. This game will remind you some of Grand Theft Auto 3 because once again you are playing in “Liberty City.” The developers of the True Crime: New York City game did a great job of recreating the New York scenery. The graphics are very good and the player movement is similar to that of CJ in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas in the fact that Marcus can climb, squat and perform a number of moves. The cars drive fast and you can blow up cars with gunfire. It’s a pretty good game. The shooting element seems a bit awkward at times. It’s hard to explain but as a player you don’t really get the feel that you are 100% controlling the shooting. The screen seemed dark in some missions, this may be something that could have been adjusted by tinkering with the game set up or television screen preference.

What set’s this apart form similar games is that you really are on the “right” side of the law for the most part. It’s up to you whether you want to be a bad cop or a good part. In between missions you can frisk suspects, arrest people and decide what to do with contraband that you confiscate.

One thing that is annoying about the game is that you often have to play for very long stretches before you can save your progress. The entire opening Introduction mission includes the opening fight sequence, the making detective process and a short street mission. You must complete all of this until you can save your progress.

Overall, it’s a really fun game and can provide hours of enjoyment.

Screenshots

The Activision game will be available on Playstation 2 and X-box format. For additional details about this game visit http://www.truecrime.com/

Purchase True Crime New York the game on PS2
Purchase True Crime New York the game on X-Box