Action games aren’t too common on
the Nintendo DS. Sure, it’s a powerful handheld. But the hardware is five-years
old now (a fact that’s hard to believe every time I think of it), and its
graphics processor is no better than the 13-year-old Nintendo 64. Still, after
several years of being on the market, Rockstar brought its acclaimed Grand Theft
Auto series to the DS in a way that no one expected: in the form of a top-down
shooter.
Now Ubisoft hopes to take the action
genre even further with a new game – C.O.P. The Recruit – that was no doubt
inspired by Grand Theft Auto’s exhilarating escapades. If for no other reason,
The Recruit will be noticed for its ballsy decision to use a third-person,
behind-the-character view that’s closer to the traditional GTA3 perspective.
Combine that feature with a wide-open interactive 3D world, a fully movable
camera system, third-person shooter gunplay, and the ability to borrow and
control numerous vehicles, and you’ve got a game that’s guaranteed to please
fans of action games…right?
Given that C.O.P. The Recruit uses
the same formula as other crime-filled driving adventures, you’ll come to this
game knowing exactly what to expect. How it all plays out, however, is where the
major differences become apparent. Stealing cars will come naturally to most
players, as you can simply walk up to a new ride, press a button to hop in and
drive away. Though you don’t have the freedom to steal every single car you come
across (an issue likely due to the DS’ limited ram), most are up for grabs,
regardless of whether or not the vehicle is already occupied.
After gaining control of a new set
of wheels, you’ll instantly notice the green meter that has appeared on the
right side of the screen, which monitors the level of damage your automobile has
received. That meter is extremely vital – unlike the cars of GTA (or most of its
knock-offs), the vehicles in The Recruit are highly susceptible to damage. When
your car is toast, so are you – also in contrast to Rockstar’s hit driving game,
The Recruit doesn’t let you bail out of a car just before it’s totaled.
Considering how easy it is to die
while driving (the stiff steering mechanics don’t help), you might first get the
impression that this is going to be one highly ruthless game. But it could
actually be described as GTA’s kinder and gentler little brother. For one thing,
you can’t harm innocent civilians. Second, death sequences and other violent
elements are tame at best; with a T rating attached, the developers were careful
to avoid anything that could prevent it from earning a teen-approved score. Of
course, that in no way prevents the game from involving plenty of gunplay
action, which it does fairly well thanks to a D-pad/touch screen combo that’s
similar to other DS shooters.
But no matter what players think of
the car-boosting, gun-toting action, they will walk away from this game with one
very distinct memory: that this world is unlike any the DS has seen before. It’s
well known that Chinatown Wars reinvented the idea of a handheld action game,
crushing the competition so forcefully that most people have probably forgotten
that competition exists. But it was a top-down shooter, and as awesome as its
world was, the game didn’t push too many boundaries, instead choosing to create
brilliance within the known confines of the DS’ technology.
This game is different – similar to
the way Crazy Taxi pushed boundaries on the Game Boy Advance (successful or not,
it was still mighty impressive), The Recruit’s developers decided to ignore the
presumed limitations and built a lively (but limited) fully functional 3D world.
It’s so big and offers so many roadways that you could literally get lost – a
first for a DS game. Most players will catch on quick, use the map often and
find where they’re going. In this regard, however, The Recruit is the first of
its kind on the DS. Unquestionably, that will be what players remember in the
coming years.
There are, however, some things we
might all forget. The Recruit is a cool, well-rounded driving/shooter
experience, but other than the world design, there is nothing really impressive
about the game. It’s fun, but other than being made for the DS, it’s not that
different from the other driving games – good and bad – released over the past
10 years.
As you can see from this review,
it’s impossible to play The Recruit without thinking of the Grand Theft Auto
series, and as we’ve learned time and time again, the competition can’t really
compare. The Recruit stands out by taking a different route from Chinatown Wars,
which will be appreciated by a lot of players. But those same players may be a
tad bored by the slow driving speeds, a little annoyed by the pacing of the
story, and somewhat turned off by the stiff steering mechanics. Even if GTA
didn’t exist, these problems would still haunt The Recruit – but in a world
without GTA, you’d probably be more willing to ignore them.
That said, you should come to The
Recruit with an open mind, taking note of the fact that, no matter what the
developers wanted to accomplish, there are some things the DS just can’t do.
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Gameplay: 7.5
C.O.P. The Recruit is a tamer version of Grand Theft Auto. It’s not as
innovative as Rockstar’s hit series (actually, it’s not innovative at all), and
its only claim to groundbreaking fame will be what it accomplishes on the
five-year-old Nintendo DS. Thus, your jaw won’t drop much after the first hour
or two. But you will be entertained.
Graphics: 8.5
You’ll see fog and other technical flaws that plagued N64 games, but
ignoring those (seemingly unavoidable) issues, The Recruit is quite impressive
with large-scale environments that, from a third-person perspective, have never
been seen before on the DS.
Sound: 7
Nothing great will be heard while cruising through these city streets.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Not too easy, but the enemies are somewhat forgiving.
Concept: 7.9
In simple terms, the concept isn’t original: we’ve been playing games like
this for more than 10 years. But the execution is great for a DS title, making
The Recruit much more memorable than the average GTA clone.
Overall: 7.5
An exciting, albeit clunky, driving/action game born out of GTA inspiration,
C.O.P. The Recruit pushes the limits of the Nintendo DS.
