True Crime: Streets of LA

Maxim Online

The shooting control takes some getting used to, but stick with it and you’ll advance through a solid plot laced with a meaty hip-hop soundtrack, celebrity voices, and...drumroll...a playable Snoop Dogg! You’ll never need MapQuest in L.A. again.

Gaming Age

Make no mistake about it, this game does not trounce, destroy, walk all over, or replace "Grand Theft Auto." It is a better game though, as it is more refined and makes a nice addition for those who like the genre and are looking for more.

Gamezilla!

Any game that's voiced by Christopher Walken, features 50 rap and heavy metal songs and sneaks in a playable Snoop Dogg has got to be oozing with cool. Not only is True Crime: Streets of LA truly hip, it's a blast to play, managing to blend the cinematic feel of an immersive movie with some of the best elements of shooting, driving and fighting games.

Total Video Games

So from a game design point of view then True Crime is a rare refreshing change from the norm; thankfully True crime features strong gameplay to actually back it up with a number of improvements to the "GTA3" rulebook and a smattering of innovative ideas.

IGN

The consequences of your actions and nonactions are huge in True Crime and dramatically change your level of recklessness...It doesn't, nor should it, replace "Grand Theft Auto" by any means. True Crime has enough good to counter the bad and stand on its own.

Cheat Code Central

One of the most entertaining games I've played in a long time. It has a ton of injoke humor, action, car chases, explosions, violence, adult situations and language - it's what adult videogames are all about...Should you buy TC? You'd be a damn mother****ing fool not to. You can print that.

Next Level Gaming

Fighting is done with a combination of the face buttons on the controller. It's much deeper than the "GTA" fighting system, as here you can use your punch and kick buttons in combos, as well as jump and throw opponents.

GameZone

Blends all the things we love about the Grand Theft Auto series and blockbuster Hollywood action films to bring us a most riveting and highly entertaining hybrid action fans will love.

Yahoo! Games

Striking a balance between cinematic, story-based gaming and free-roaming fun is harder than most people realize, and True Crime manages to pull it off in a way that brings excitement, challenge, and even a few laughs here and there (some of the voice work, particularly that of one Mr. Walken, is priceless).

Game Informer

It's not nearly as good as "GTA," but entertaining nonetheless. [Dec 2003, p.134]

GameSpy

Too bad it's so short, but there's plenty to do in the city of L.A. once the story is over. This is the first game that treats the "GTA" model as inspiration rather than a quick ticket to the bank.

Game Chronicles

It is deep, it is branching, it is enjoyable, it is everything you’d expect from another free-roaming game about a blowhard in a car, in a city, trying to right some kind of wrong. The only problem? It never quite hits its mark as solidly as everyone had hoped.

TotalPlayStation

True Crime does many, many things right, but for as many cool features that it flaunts, there’s another that drags the whole experience down.

Gamer's Pulse

It’s not as vast as or as free, but it is a nice fresh coat of graphics and slightly different concept to an otherwise tired genre make it worth a shot. While it doesn’t overcome Grand Theft Auto, it easily makes an appropriate rival.

Cinescape

It just seems to be not nearly as epic as "Grand Theft Auto". However playing for the different paths extends the lifetime of the game considerably.

Into Liquid Sky

While I can not vouch for the accuracy of this digital version of Los Angeles, I will say that's quite an impressive feat to be able to drive around such a convincing environment, littered with cars and pedestrians.

GameNow

GTA's still king, but True Crime: Streets of L.A. rocks the spot. [Jan 2004, p.60]

Game Over Online

The Karma system, the skill training mode and the branching storylines offered promise for what could’ve established the new standard for action titles. Unfortunately, graphical glitches, fighting issues and a breakdown with the plotline feature tarnish the game from truly being stellar.

PSM Magazine

Nick's auto-targetting system blows away Tommy Vercetti's like a headshot, and his combat style is remarkably deep for a game that doesn't have "Fighter" in its title. [Jan 2004, p.40]

1UP

You won't spend as much time with True Crime, but that time will be spent enjoying nicer visuals and a very deep story experience, as opposed to flipping cars across parking garages.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Savvy gamers can also unlock Snoop Dogg as a playable character.

PSX Nation

Its graphics and sounds play second fiddle to "GTA: Vice City," but True Crime's excellent incorporation of skill acquisition via the 24/7 training facilities, multi-layered mission objectives (some required, some random) and decent one-on-one fights give its gameplay an identity of its own.

Firing Squad

Despite gameplay bordering on being shallow, True Crime is still very worthwhile of your time because of the experience of brings. It’s a Hollywood cop movie where you’re in the driver’s seat, and it has the acting to back you up.

GamingWorld X

True Crime is, thankfully, not a total failure, although one does get the impression that with more development time and more polish to individual aspects (aside from the impressive driving sections), the game could’ve been a masterwork.

Playboy

What does this action game packed with guns, cars and crooks have that "Vice City" doesn't? The voice talent of Christopher Walken and Gary Oldman as characters, for one thing. [Oct 2003, p.37]

Game Revolution

The game tries to be everything for everyone by offering a great variety of gameplay styles, but doesn’t quite succeed at any of them. Each facet of the game has minor issues that hurt an otherwise enjoyable experience.

TotalGames.net

It's such a shame that the missions don't use the area to its full potential and, unlike GTA, there's very little to keep you coming back once you've completed them all.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

It's so-so styleless graphics fail to impress, and the whole thing's too short and easy. [Jan 2003, p.107]

GameSpot

A game that simply lacks polish and, in some cases, feels unfinished. It makes decent attempts with its different styles of gameplay, but none of them are particularly well done, and the game's storyline doesn't tie them together in a satisfying way.

Edge Magazine

As a place, Los Angeles simply isn't as much fun as Liberty or Vice. Too much of this silicon LA exists simply because the designers wanted to show that it could be done rather than because it serves any gameplay purpose. [Christmas 2003, p.107]

Eurogamer

This year's "The Getaway" - it's not GTA and it will frustrate for some on that basis, but it's a respectable enough game in its own right as long as you don't "play it the wrong way", which will lead you down a path of frustration and pad-smashing fury.

GamePro

Compelling gameplay features elevate True Crime beyond mere GTA-clone status, but a cliché-riddled script and control issues keep it from being monstrously cool.

GMR Magazine

The hand-to-hand combat is, despite a handful of unlockable combos, pure button-mashing chaos.

Armchair Empire

Isn’t a bad game, however it isn’t terribly spectacular either. It’s unrefined, but still a reasonably fun title, more worthwhile to rent or track down in the bargain bin one day.

GameCritics

It's a tossed salad of good ideas and cliché concepts that veers wildly between extremely polished and inexcusably sloppy.

WHAM! Gaming

Maybe the problem is True Crime tries too hard to be all things to all people, and in the process, neglects to do anything especially well.

Play Magazine

Not even the irreplaceable voice acting of Christopher Walken can rescue the mess of a script driving the action of True Crime, a misguided attempt to share the spotlight with the vastly superior "Grand Theft Auto." [Jan 2004, p.62]

games(TM)

Half the game it should have been. Whoever came up with the inventive level structuring or spent months mapping LA has every reason to be furious with the lacklustre implementation of their ideas. [Christmas 2003, p.106]

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

If I had to sum up the game in one word, I'm not sure if I'd pick "boring" or "stupid." I guess it depends on what mood I'm in. The mission structure is desperately linear, despite pretending to offer a huge amount of freedom.