Full Review

19 January 2006 - One of the most popular games on the PlayStation2 has to be Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The gangster storyline, the ability to roam freely around San Andreas and the fact that you can pick up missions whenever you fancy it just oozes appeal to adult gamers everywhere.

Strange then that we start this True Crime: New York City review with reference to another PS2 title. Well not really considering that this game is virtually identical in gameplay, and appeal to the Grand Theft Auto series.

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and aside from a few things, gamers would struggle to see the differences.

There are differences of course; True Crime is based in New York City on the east coast compared to GTA's west coast location and here you play a reformed gangster turned cop rather than an out and out mob hand looking for work.

The simplest way to describe it, is it's like the vigilantly mode in GTA, just turned into a full game.

Given free roam of the city, your job is to earn promotion by driving around town arresting perps and gangsters. To do this you've got a number of different skills and weapons at your disposal including the ability to steal (erhm… or should we say commandeer?) cars to get you to the next location in plenty of time.

Nobody likes to be a goodie two shoes and so along the way you can opt to turn bad cop. This involves selling drug evidence, randomly shooting people and basically becoming the gangster you once were. However, get caught and you'll slip down the dectective scale.

When it comes to graphics the True Crime: New York City follows the same rules as the popular CSI television series. Where in the show, Miami is orange, sunny, bright and colourful, here just like CSI: New York, Manhattan is dark, cold and drab. It is certainly a different landscape from San Andreas and one that is recommended for night-time playing only (too much sunlight and you can't see a damn thing).

VERDICT
If you've run out of missions on GTA San Andreas and looking for new locations to play True Crime certainly offers it. Whether it's the street level or even the subway there is enough to keep you entertained as you explore the city.

The twist on being able to turn bad cop means this isn't just another cops and robbers game however the similarities between this and GTA can't be avoided.

Good, but dark.