Reservoir Dogs – XB – Review

With the limited success of past
movie-to-game translations one would think that moving forward with future
adaptations would be very low on most companies’ to-do list.  Sure, there have
been a few instances where this formula has worked perfectly, but with the
exception of The Chronicles of Riddick and a few of The Lord of the
Rings titles, most efforts have turned out mediocre at best. And while there
doesn’t seem to be a single formula that guarantees success, it is apparent that
one key ingredient must exist in the film before it can be brought to the
virtual world correctly – appropriate source material.

The previously mentioned games
definitely had this benefit, but unfortunately, Reservoir Dogs does not,
and it most certainly shows in the final product. You see, even though
Tarantino’s masterpiece was indeed dark and edgy, the graphic, violent images
seemed overshadowed by its witty banter via one very clever script. And, since
it would be very difficult for Volatile to construct an entire game based simply
upon dialogue, it’s clear that they had to take some serious liberties with the
story in order for it to achieve its ‘action game’ status.

Fans of the movie will at least be
relieved to know that most of the original material from the film appears in the
game, even if a good portion of it is a little misused. The main problem is most
of the scenes crucial to the script are over way too quickly in the game, and do
a very poor job of supplying newcomers with important plot information. The game
seems to be in a real hurry to jump right into the new action bits, and the
overall pacing suffers from this. So unless you have seen the movie a few times,
chances are most of the game will feel somewhat foreign to you, even after you
complete it.

These newly implemented story
segments are unfolded in one of two different ways – driving segments, which are
pretty straight forward, and third-person action segments, which offer a little
more variety. For the most part, the point-to-point driving sections fail to
deliver what they aimed for immensely, as the clunky controls and awkward
‘boost’ gauge take away any high-speed gratification you receive. Often times
it’s overly difficult to perform the most minuscule of tasks while driving, as
many of the sedans you come across seem impossible to maneuver around corners
and in tight situations. Add time limits, police cars and tons of traffic into
the mix, and you’re left with a frustrating time indeed.

Luckily, the on-foot gameplay
segments are slightly more enjoyable, but even they become repetitive before too
long, even with the multitude of ways to finish each mission. Volatile should be
given credit, however, for allowing players to choose their violence level with
‘Psychopath’ or ‘Professional’ modes, but honestly, neither of them sustains a
level of excitement that is required to enjoy the game thoroughly. Going in with
guns-a-blazing gets old very quickly and leaves you with little feeling of
accomplishment, and cycling through hostages left and right while the Swat Team
stands by helplessly is unrealistic and grows tiresome, too.

Lastly, there is the new
special-move gauge that lets you unleash a super attack onto your enemies. Once
you fill the meter successfully, one of two cutscenes will take place. The first
one allows any hostage you may have in your grasp to be tortured unmercifully as
the camera slowly cuts away, and the second one unleashes a bevy of bullets onto
your enemies in slow motion while your character strikes a pose. Not only are
these very unprofessional in the crime business, but they also seem very out of
place and unlikely, especially in Tarantino’s original world.

Credit should be given in the audio
department to Kevin Gill and his sound team at Eidos, as they have provided the
most enjoyable and most faithful material to the film. Although Michael Madsen
is the only cast member to provide voice-over for the game, all other characters
are represented extremely well, and sound pretty close to the original actors
they mimic. In addition, a lot of the songs from K-Billy’s "Super Sounds of the
Seventies" radio show play throughout the game, and help add credibility to the
project, especially when you’re trudging your way through excruciating driving
and shooting sequences.

As it stands, Reservoir Dogs
doesn’t utterly and completely fail to provide small periods of enjoyment, you
just have to deal with frequent objective material to find it, especially if you
are an old-school fan of the film. Seeing events unfold that were only mentioned
in the movie is nice, but sadly, the way they are handled and portrayed seems
like a total opposite of what we should be seeing.

Gamplay: 6.0
Both driving and on-foot segments become frustrating before long, but at least
the game allows for various ways to finish each mission. Playing as a
‘Professional’ is a noble concept, but unfortunately the hostage system breaks
down and feels too unrealistic and repetitive to enjoy.

Graphics: 6.5
The visuals in Reservoir Dogs are of the mediocre, run-of-the-mill action
type. Most of the cutscenes are represented well, but many of the environments
and character models are blurry and have repetitive nature to them, not to
mention showcase very awkward animations.  

Sound: 8.0
No doubt the most enjoyable part of the game. The soundtrack excels almost
beyond expectations, and all but a few voice actors perform admirably as well.
Even the new dialogue segments created specifically for the game follow the same
trend as the film, and seem like something Quentin Tarantino himself could have
written.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 5.0
Not the most noble of ideas, but at least Volatile tried to do something
different.

Overall: 6.5
Reservoir Dogs is a mediocre movie-to-game translation at best, and will
no doubt offend at least a few hardcore fans. Having said that, there are some
people who may not mind the added material, and will find some enjoyment despite
the liberties it has taken with the license.  Enjoyment will definitely waver
from a case to case basis.