True Crime: New York City

“True Conflict. True Power. True New York.”

NA release: 16th November 2005
EU release: 25th November 2005
JP release: N/A
Developer: Luxoflux, Exakt Entertainment
Publisher: Activision
NGC Magazine Score: 70%
Mods Used: None

With how much I enjoyed replaying Streets of LA, plus how much I love Sleeping Dogs, I was very much looking forward to the second True Crime game. Unfortunately, a lot of unique elements of the first have gone completely and the new stuff just doesn’t feel as good.

For starters, this doesn’t have a Kung Fu style as the previous game, and the fighting sections are just gone completely, now you just have the option of using fists in gunfights. Instead, it’s about American street gangs, with you playing a mass murderer turned cop (quite normal for America, I guess) to uncover the secret behind who is controlling the gangs (the game also introduced you to a dodgy head of police who doesn’t want you to be a detective…hmm).

The game takes place across the entire main island of New York, with every single street intact. While this may sound like a good thing, it makes for a really boring and long drive, not helped by early missions often taking place on opposite ends of the map. It takes so long that it makes it so you don’t want to take part in the random police events that happen as you drive around.

Which is a shame as some of these are really good, such as ones that take place inside buildings. It helps a lot with variety and just makes it feel more real. For outdoor ones, other police officers can really get in your way. In fights that end up on the road, inpatient officers will just plough through you and the crooks, while other times that shotgun them in the head as you’re trying to arrest them (I guess that last one is realistic).

Ultimately, the city itself is what lets the game down. This version of New York – with mostly straight one-way streets – is just not fun to drive around, which does not gel well with how long it takes to get between points. It makes the game not that enjoyable, which is a big let-down.

Fine

If you accept that True Crime is going to be niggly, repetitive and predictable, then you’ll find yourself moderately entertained.
Tim Weaver, NGC Magazine #115

Remake or remaster?

A remaster of both games would be good.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to get True Crime: New York City.