The idea is solid: take three
anti-heroes, all with something to lose and unleash them into a city that, for
all intents, has fallen into a hell all its own. The former marksman who liked
to rob banks, the street fighter who was facing the electric chair for murder
and the dirty cop, who was facing a whole slew of trouble have been given an
ultimatum. Go into Paradise City, start throwing your weight around and take
over the burgs one by one. Become a heavyweight in the city’s crime buffet and
take down the shady organization that runs everything from the top down. Sound
easy, no? Well you are right there, this is not an easy task by any stretch
and you will probably will be killed, but since that’s pretty much better then
the alternative then what choice do you have.
Paradise City (PC) is a hybrid
game and the first thing I want you to know is that you play as all three
characters. This isn’t a game where you play through it using only one
character, instead the game is made up of 16 chapters and you switch
automatically between the three characters. Not a totally bad idea but I had
to ask myself if the game could have been given more legs if you could choose
which character to play through the entire game. And I say this because each
of the three characters possesses unique abilities. One shoots everyone, the
other beats em down and the third is a master manipulator.
"Who wouldn’t want to live here?"
Now like I said, PC it a hybrid
game as made clear by it’s decidedly RTS view, RPG ability to level up
characters and get more powerful weapons and then action-style tempo. The
combat is pretty much a letdown since you are so much tougher than most of the
baddies you run across. Since it is controlled from a fixed 3/4 view (you can
change it to a third-person perspective as well) you can see lots of things
happening at one time. Gang bangers roam the streets, cars drive by, merchants
sell stuff, random violence on a street corner, you know, the stuff that you
see on your average big city street corner. Now like I said you are pretty
tough and that is also assisted by the lack of different attacks. At my count
there are only four at any point, You click on the kind of attack you want to
do and then click on your target. Yes, this is real time, so you do want to
move around as much as possible especially when you start seeing multiple
enemies coming at you, but in the end the combat is fairly boring and ho-hum.
The idea is to take over Paradise
City a piece at a time and that is done by eliminating the local toughs who
enforce the boss of the area. Once you have established your alpha-dog-ness by
whuppin up on street thugs you hunt down the boss and beat him within an inch
of his life. And then in a dramatic turn you can run after him and watch as he
tells the local merchants in the area that you are the new head honcho, "make
checks payable to…"
"As night falls, and the streets become
dangerous, look to me for assistance, for I, am Darkwing Duck!"
PC, has a contantly changing city,
admittedly, I enjoyed the way everything flowed together and city blocks had a
genuine look to it all. The days and nights are always moving forward so
expect some action to go down in the middle of the night as well as the middle
of the day. I was at first taken back by the city’s gritty look and feel, but
the more I played the more I liked the way things looked. Gritty, almost post
apocolyptic. Paradise City is a city that has fallen so far off the radar,
that crime is the most powerful force and that is reflected by the truly awful
things that happen here.
The sound effects that the game
has is somewhat restrained. You can go running into a back alley with your
guns blazing only to run afoul of some thugs with automatic weaponry and
things go really crazy. Then, there’s the weird, almost snide commentary from
the game’s narrator. It’s like the sound is both hot and cold, one minute it’s
funny and really dialed in, the next, a wimpy little smack registers. Go
figure.
"How much for a banana split?!"
While the in-game action is easy
to recognize, the game also provides several icon boxes spread around the
screen. The boxes are smaller and easy to use and do not distract from the
game’s action, I felt the setup for the game was well thought out and easy to
navigate. Movement of the characters wasn’t quite as smooth as I would liked.
You can do it one of three ways. One way is to move the mouse towards the edge
of the screen doing so opens the map more in that diection. Another is to use
the W,A,S,D, keys and the last is to click on the miniature map located in the
upper right corner of the screen. Personally, I choose to use the keys as it
made things a little more easy for me. The point being, that while some parts
of the game work smoothly, others do not. And again, I will say that the
combat is pretty disappointing.
Onceyou have found a movement
choice that is tolerable, you will find Paradise City is a city that has a
lot hidden in it. Back-alley residents ask for favors on mini-missions and
provide new skills for the characters. As you reputation becomes more
prominent you will gain followers as well as a whole new slew of weapons and
abilities. The place has tons hidden around it, you just have to be not afraid
to ask. Unfortunately as the game really starts hitting its stride, you will
begin doing missions that aren’t so original and a feeling of repetition
becomes apparent.
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Gameplay: 6.5
It’s more complicated than it
needs to be on some parts and then becomes repetitive in others. The combat is
less than good but when you mix it all together and throw in some serious
exploration, then it becomes passable.
Graphics: 7.0
Days, nights, buildings, fires,
the architecture of the city is pretty impressive, so is the general look of
the city. There is a grainy look to the game, but that could just as easily be
smog.
Sound: 6.5
I believe the narrator’s dark
humor was entirely on purpose, though it can be difficult to tell. The gunfire
is pretty cool when things go all crazy on you, but you get the impression
that there should be some more oomphh to the track. Where was that Guns N’
Roses tune anyway?
Difficulty: Medium
It has its share of challenges and
it is impossible to play without dying several times. But it can be beaten
with a little determination.
Concept: 6.7
The idea behind the game is solid,
it’s just the final product that is missing some of the little things that
could make this a new hit franchise.
Overall: 6.7
An average game that needed an
infusion of hardcore "controllable" action and an improved combat system. The
missions needed to be varied from the beginning to the end.
