Th3
Plan is a game that is all about using high-tech gadgets and stealth to pull off
heists in the same vein as Ocean’s 11. You control Robert Taylor and his
team of professionals in their goal to get revenge on Taylor’s ex-partner who
betrayed him. Like the aforementioned movie, each person involved has a
specialty such as pickpocketing, hacking, explosives, or marksmanship. Each
person also has an overly descriptive nickname—can you guess what Geek and
Headshot are good at?
There
are seven people total on the team, but there are never more than three during
any one mission. This is where the core gameplay feature comes in, and (I
suspect) where the “3” in the game’s title comes from. In Th3 Plan, the screen
is split into three separate sections, one for each person taking part in that
mission. These three sections include a large section for the character you are
currently controlling which takes up the top 2/3rds of the screen and two
smaller sections at the bottom of the screen for the other two team members.
This allows you to see what is happening with all three characters at the same
time no matter how far away they are from each other.
Switching between the characters is as easy as pressing L2 or R2 to cycle
through them. You can also control them without actually switching by holding
down L1 or R1. This is useful because there are many situations that call for
two or three simultaneous actions. Unfortunately, much of your time is spent
doing only one action with one person while the other two stand around and wait,
so the two extra screens become useless. The few times that you do use more than
one person largely consist of mundane tasks such as using two keys or turning a
couple valves at the same time.
The
gameplay in Th3 Plan consists of carrying out specific objectives in order to
accomplish the mission. These objectives (ranging from pickpocketing to hacking
computers to simply walking through doors among other things) are never really
complex and are usually pretty clear as to what you have to do, though most of
them are incredibly simple. To make it even easier, the in-game map shows you
exactly where you need to go for most tasks, so objectives are quick, painless
and usually pretty boring. Some, however, are very frustrating not because they
are difficult but because the game is sometimes incredibly vague as to what you
are supposed to do. This is often coupled with a time limit which turns many
situations into trial and error. Luckily, the game uses nearly every objective
as a checkpoint, and you can fail as much as you want until you accomplish the
task.
There
are several gadgets at your disposal in Th3 Plan including a lockpick, item
scanner, safe breaker, spy camera and more. These items are used often, but it
is always a quick and easy job. The game tries to challenge you by placing
guards around objects you need to pick or scan and making you use one person to
talk to the guard while the other person takes care of business. Unfortunately,
this is not actually challenging at all. The artificial intelligence is very
simple and, in many cases, almost non-existent. Guards have a cone of vision
that is visible on the map, and as long as you don’t enter it you’re good to go.
You can take out another guard not more than five feet away, and they will show
no signs of alarm.
Even
worse is that about halfway through, the game abandons the stealth and heist
aspects almost entirely in favor of a more action-oriented approach where you
basically run through killing everyone in your path. This might have been
acceptable if there were more than three weapons in the game.
Visually, this game is below average as the in-game graphics resemble early PS2
games. The environments lack detail, the character animations can be jittery and
unrealistic, and the lighting and shadows are painfully dull. There are also
many instances of clipping, most notably when you pickpocket a person and your
character clips right through their entire body.
The
cutscenes, though, are done in a hand-drawn, multi-panel style that works out
pretty well because they don’t look half bad. Unfortunately, these cutscenes
deliver the game’s cliché, nonsensical story told with bad voice acting and even
worse dialogue. During missions we are treated to passable sound effects and
mediocre music consisting of slow orchestral strings and electronic beats.
Overall, Th3 Plan had some pretty good ideas that were simply executed poorly.
The three screen idea could have worked well if not for the lack of creativity
in mission objectives. Hardcore fans of the genre might find at least a little
amusement in the 5-10 hours this game offers, especially considering its $15
price tag, but for everyone else Th3 Plan is a rental at best.
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Gameplay: 6.0
Mundane
objectives and odd controls keep this game from being much fun. The plot and
characters are sub-par, and there is almost no reason to play it a second time.
Graphics: 5.5
Visually
unimpressive compared to other current PS2 games. Bland environments, bad
character animation, dull lighting and shadows.
Sound: 5.0
Bad
voice acting and dialogue,
mediocre sound effects and music.
Difficulty: Easy
Simple
objectives, infinite continues and bad AI removes any challenge this game might
have had.
Concept: 6.0
There are some
good ideas here, but they are executed poorly.
Multiplayer: 4.0
Multiplayer
allows you to play the exact same missions from single player but with one or
two friends. Unfortunately, you first have to unlock multiplayer by completing
extra objectives in single player.
Overall: 5.5
With
some revising, Th3 Plan
could have been a decent game. The challenge of orchestrating intricate heists
sounds fun, but this game lacks the intricacy, the challenge and the fun.
