The people are fed up.
They are tired of a faceless corporate entity that constantly breathes down
their necks, telling them what to eat, what to watch and what to buy. The
people are angry and they can no longer contain themselves so, like a fire that
just suddenly ignites, a massive riot blazes into an uncontrollable bonfire of
destruction and violence. In State of Emergency, a port of a once PS2 original,
Xbox owners get the chance to join the revolution against Big Brother.
There are three ways of
playing this game: Chaos, Revolution and Multiplayer. Its story mode is
Revolution and the setup goes like this: The game puts you in the skin of either
an ex-cop or an ex-lawyer (you can unlock secret character later in the game)
who is caught in the middle of the biggest riot anyone has ever seen. Suddenly
your character comes face-to-face with an organized underground resistance
movement calling itself Freedom that hopes to topple the faceless Corporation
that has a strong hold over Capitol City. You are quickly sent through a number
of missions (the number of missions are staggeringly high in this game) that
have you either escorting a fellow Freedom member or assassinating an “evil”
Doctor or Corporation big shot. Chaos mode, or Kaos, has you mowing through
guards or clones, while being timed.
The heart of State of
Emergency, as you will quickly find out, is the number of mission objectives you
must complete while smack-dab in the middle of the riot itself. Not only do you
have to deal with the missions at hand, but deal with a number of Baton-wielding
Corporation elite guards as well as gang members. You can defend yourself by
kicking, punching and unleashing a small number of combos such as breaking necks
or slamming somebody’s head into the pavement. There are also a number of
weapons at your disposal such as flamethrowers, shotguns, grenade launchers and
M16 assault rifles. New to the Xbox version are new power ups that give you
unlimited ammo for a short time or protection from bullets. The biggest problem
is the fact that the camera, especially when you’re armed, plays against you.
By the time you swing the camera around, the elite guards are already on you
like white on rice.
While the game allows you
to blow buildings up and join in the riot’s mayhem, your objective is to advance
to a total of four levels or locations. You start off in the Capitol City Mall
and work your way to Chinatown, the East Side and finally Corporation Central
for the final showdown. And take note that innocent bystanders and looters can
easy get caught in the crossfire. Although you are penalized for killing
civilians in Chaos mode (although you can chose to turn off the civilian
casualty penalty), it’s anything goes during Revolution mode.
The added bonus in this
version comes in the form of the Multiplayer mode that has four different game
modes fit for up to four players through a split-screen. The best part about
these modes are that you can team up (in pairs) to take on friends or battle it
out in a deathmatch where only one player is left standing. The multiplayer
mode does slow the game down a bit and there are not as many rioters out and
about, but this is still some good multiplayer fun.
Graphics-wise the game
still doesn’t fail to impress, especially when you see the riot in full motion
in the outdoor settings. Your character will be literally surrounded by dozens
upon dozens of civilians flailing their arms about while looters carry stolen
appliances over their heads as they run with the chaotic masses. This effect is
just the most amazing feature and gamers will surely enjoy watching the madness
of a riot in progress. This is a far more impressive sight than the violence
that is overblown to cartoon-like proportions. The blood flies in this game as
does the limbs when people are too close to an explosion or gunfire. Building
can be blown from the inside, causing spectacular fires and balls of impressive
flames. The Xbox visual treatment comes with a much smoother framerate as well
as a crisper feel that was somewhat lacking in the PS2 version.
The game’s sound is as
chaotic as the visuals themselves in that you’ll hear hundreds of people crying
out in total fear and pain. You’ll be surrounded by a wall of screams and
things shattering in the distance while Corporation thugs bark out orders to
“Stop where you are!” Weapons fire is also nicely done and the sound of people
getting hit by gunfire or grenades are so gruesome that it’s actually more
comical than shocking. The soundtrack, mainly heavy rock riffs and techno music
beats, don’t work as well as it should but thankfully Xbox owners can customize
their own soundtrack (Xbox hard drive, I love you) to fit the right mood (my
recommendation: Rage Against the Machine).
State of Emergency is a
mindless, overblown, ultra violent riot simulator that will have gamers smiling
every step of the way. Although it’s not a really spectacular game, there is a
lot to do in this fast-paced arcade-styled title that lets you get lost in the
chaotic moments. The addition of a multiplayer option just makes this game well
worth your hard-earned cash.
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#Reviewer’s |
Gameplay: 7.8
As a fighting game the control
mechanics work, for the most part, but not without its share of problems.
Although punching, kicking and unleashing combos is fairly easy, the problem
falls on the camera that can sometimes work against you in certain corner and
sometimes your character doesn’t turn around as quickly as needed. Picking up
weapons, though, is a joy since you can drop them at will to pick up a different
weapon that just happens to catch your eye.
Graphics: 8.2
State of Emergency’s graphics still
manage to impress those gamers that have seen the PS2 version. It’s ability to
literally pack dozens of people on the screen at once just doesn’t get any
better than this, especially if you’re trying to make your way through the
crowds of looters and panicking citizens. The visuals have been smoothed out in
this version, although many of the locales are a bit on the plain side to begin
with.
Still the fiery explosions
and destruction to property found in this game make quite an impact. Yet if
gamers are into cheap violent thrills, this game sure has plenty of gore (an
excessive amount of it, in fact, although you can turn it off if you want).
Limbs fly and blood sprays the pavement as both Corporation lackeys and innocent
civilians can get caught in the bloody crossfire. The level of violence is more
cartoon-like in nature, though, and this is due mostly because it is extremely
excessive. I doubt gamers will be turned off by it.
Sound: 7.5
The people’s revolution is both loud
and intense and you’ll hear every minute of it. Aside from the shrieks of
innocent people that just happened to have been caught in the middle of all of
this, you’ll hear the mad grunts of local gang members beating on Corporation
officers. Bystanders are also the victims of grenades that just happen to go
astray and the explosions are both fiery and loud.
However, the game’s
soundtrack just doesn’t cut it here or help convey the right mood for a riot.
Still, the option to burn your own tunes and customize the tracks you want is
available so gamers can play the right kind of tunes for a revolution. This
makes up for the lack of voice acting–the only voices you hear in the game come
from the Corporation thugs or the PA announcer inside the mall.
Difficulty: Medium
There is a number of challenging
missions that will have you repeating it over and over again, but things never
get frustrating enough that you’ll be yanking out clumps of your hair trying to
accomplish these tasks. The more difficult ones have you doing multiple tasks
as you help a Freedom rebel pick up an item then escort him safely past guards
or suicide bombers. At times you’ll find yourself surrounded by guards and
Corporation Clones that are harder to kill.
Concept: 7.5
There’s something about a game that
just allows you to get as destructive as you want that just sounds so appealing
and if you ever wondered what it is like to be dropped in the middle of a
massive riot then this game has what you need. There are plenty of extras in
this game such as extra characters—although they don’t really change the game
very much. Still, if your idea of fun is destroying buildings, cars and taking
on “the Man” you can’t go wrong here.
Multiplayer: 8.5
The addition of the multiplayer
games just makes this game a far sweeter deal than its PS2 brother. Up to four
players can either team up or just get into an all-out deathmatch where each
player is on his or her own. The split-screen action is not as intense as the
single player modes mostly because here the framerate drops and the playing
arenas are not quite as packed with rioters. Still, the four multiplayer modes
(Multiplayer Chaos, Multiplayer Last Clone Standing, Deathmatch and Survivor) do
keep this game fresh and fun when you’re causing mayhem with friends. Did
anyone say party game?
Overall: 8.0
With its added Xbox content, State
of Emergency’s mayhem is just too fun to pass up even for those who have played
it before. While it’s not an entirely brilliant game, the multiplayer feature
and the sharper graphics make this the essential version to own.
