5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable GTA-like clone
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2012
A mix of gunplay, break-neck speed driving, and sandbox world exploring provides an enjoyable gaming experience here in the style of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. Think "Grand Theft Auto Does China"...this is what "Mafia II" really should have been.
Protagonist Wei Shen is a former San Francisco cop who moves back to his native China and is pulled into helping the Hong Kong Police take down the Triads (the Chinese mafia). Wei is still reeling from the overdose and death of his sister Mimi, who was led to drugs by the very same men Wei is intent to take down one by one.
Just like other games in the same vein (GTA/Saint's Row), this game is completely open world, and you can either focus on the primary questlines (tasks for the Triads, or the Police), or you can go around looking for collectables, taking down random gangs just for the hell of it, or helping people through random encounters. There are various races (both bike and car), and there are also new martial arts moves you can unlock by finding statues. Hilariously, there is also a Karaoke mini-game where you can control Wei in trying to sing some well known tracks by artists such as Air Supply and Pat Benetar (although there aren't many missions this is required). In this game, rushing is ill-advised as exploring and taking the time to participate in side-missions and expanding your skills will help much more in the eventual outcome (not to mention, focusing on the main storyline will get you through the game at a ridiculously quick pace leaving the ending feeling a little anti-climatic and you feeling cheated).
The graphics here aren't exceptional, but with a game with so much content, I couldn't expect anything more. While not as graphically beautiful as GTA IV, the games' Hong Kong is beautiful and rich with things to look at, colours are rich and vibrant, and there is no shortage of NPCs wandering around to make the world feel more "alive". Occasionally, you will see the odd NPC here and there looking a little 'boxy' in shape, and the draw distance is quite hazy at times, but then, the content more than makes up for it.
I've played a few games in the same style (Mafia II, GTA IV, L.A. Noire, etc) but never has the driving element felt so natural and fluid (I don't know how to explain this, other than in the other games, driving occasionally felt a little clunky and resistant regarding movement and turning corners). The only thing about driving in this game that really irked me is that there isn't any allowance to change the camera angle while driving. You CAN see behind the car by pushing down on the right stick, but however, you cannot see from above, nor the side, making it sometimes tricky with reversing in tight spots.
The martial arts element of the game is excellent but not overly tricky. Instead of having the gamer learn longwinded combo keys (those who've played fighting games will know what I mean), a lot of the combos are usually based around the "square" key (on PS3, anyway) and it's usually just a case of remembering the tap sequence (for instance, tap the key, then hold it down for one move to break a leg, or tap, tap, hold to stun an opponent). I found this a much easier way to learn the special moves than sitting there hitting triangle, square, x, x, triangle in the right order). Generally speaking, the martial art element of the game is easy to learn, but takes a while to properly master (be sure to note which enemies do what to you - certain enemies can't be efficiently counter attacked for instance). Take your time and hit up random gangs and the fight clubs to give you the opportunity to learn how your enemies operate, it's truly worth it in the end.
The voice acting is decent (a few characters do have rather questionable accents and sound horribly stereotypical but try to overlook it), the cut scene acting is pretty naff at times (characters move a little stiffly) but never mind.
As with other games like this, there is a radio feature in the cars and on the bikes, but there isn't much to offer in the way of music on them and for the most part, it's in Chinese (no surprise there, lol). The music in the game I found to be rather unmemorable and not really enjoyable (to me anyway) but this is only a perk to the game and not really vital to the gameplay itself.
To be honest, the game is exciting, and entertaining and offers a lot to keep you occupied. For people looking for a sandbox driving game that really offers similar to what GTA IV does, then this is for you (but don't expect it to be as massive, challenging and as time consuming as GTA IV all the same). Well worth the asking price and very entertaining.
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