True Crime owes a lot, if not everything, to the Grand Theft Auto series. Indeed it is very difficult these days to have a free-roaming action game and not compare it to GTA but True Crime is so alarmingly similar that I'm surprised Rockstar didn't try to sue.
The story of True Crime is right out of a direct-to-video action film of the late 80s. It starts out as your typical renegade cop shoots first and ask questions later kind of pulp but ends up being about ancient Chinese wizards, huge fire-breathing dragons and sewer-dwelling zombies. If it began far-fetched then what it ends up as is just plain weird. However, that's not to say you'll not have fun. The plot is spread out over 9 different stages each with about 10 individual missions. It's possible to replay your favorite missions too.
True crime has 5 different styles of play. First their is the free-roaming bit where you can run all over LA solving street crimes. There there's the car chases in which you run bad guys (and sometimes airplanes) off the road. Third is the stealth missions in which you must sneak into places unnoticed and render unconscious anyone you see. Fourth is the one on one combat and fifth, my favorite, is the shoot-em-up levels, where you can do loads of stunts and diving through the air blasting away at bad guys. The slow motion as you zero in on the targets is brilliant. But I would have preferred if the game was bloodier. A few splatters here and there ain't enough.
But much of this game is boring, aesthetically at the least. The geographically accurate LA is impressive but it's so unbelievably bland. The dullest colors are used to paint the environment and the city is pretty made up of grey-scale. The cars also cannot do stunts. Which is crap. How brilliant would it be to drive right off the freeway and fly into the sky before plummeting 100 feet? Too bad, you can't do it because of the pointless invisible wall.
Pros:
Loads of action.
Blowing up stuff is fun.
Cool cut scenes with funny dialogue.
Great tunes.
Cons:
Some missions are boring.
No stunts.
LA is bland and thoroughly NON-interactive.
The fights with General Kim are IMPOSSIBLE!
Loads of very long loading times!
No matter how disappointing some parts of the game are I will still be getting the sequel, True Crime: New York City. But please do not make as boring as LA was and cut out those awful loading times!
Graphics B+ Sound A Gameplay A- Lasting Appeal A-
