This is actually one of the few games that I enjoyed on the console, but later when it came out for the PC, it didn't feel that good, the graphics were better of course, but I really missed the controller, and the feedback from it. It is a relaxed game most of the time, and the extra precision of controls didn't matter all that much most of the time.

I must emphasize that I think this is a game you either hate or you love, there is no middle road here. Thankfully I fell into the latter group.

I for one am really fed up with cookie cutter games being pumped out like from an assembly lines. Everyone trying to copy other successful games, or genres, like Bioware with Anthem broooaf. So it's refreshing to see a game from time to time going it's own way ignoring the trend.

The technology used in this game makes it possible to not only record broad animation with mocap technology, but the actual facial expressions of actors as well. This could mean record breaking development costs again, because now it's not enough for the voice actor to just sit in a recording room, sipping tea. They actually have to put them in a bright "clean room" with dozens of cameras trained at them. But I let the publishers worry about costs, as a gamer I'm just interested in the results.

And the result unfortunately are not without early failures. Since they recorded the facial and character animations separately in the game itself the faces of characters seem to have a life of their own. It's not overly distracting, or annoying just noticeable enough that I couldn't pass by the issue without at least mentioning it. The end result is an interactive movie but this time the characters are not in contrast with the 3d background because they're rendered by the engine as well, even though they have realistic facial features and expressions. Actually I was a fan of interactive movies in the early, mid nineties, but they vanished as fast as they came into the gaming world, without making much of an impact.

But to be fair the facial animations are not the only new thing brought to the table by this game. The gameplay is completely different from anything I saw before as well. It has five aspects to it.

The game puts you in the role of an aspiring police officer shortly after WW2. You go through the ranks in the game between different crime units, from being a patrol officer, to being a homicide detective.

The first aspect of the gameplay is driving, which is basically the same as in GTA. You use a car to travel between point A and point B within the vast game world. This can mean many destinations like residences of witnesses, suspects, or crime scenes, and the offices of the L.A.P.D. as well. Unfortunately the car physics are awful compared to any of the GTA games, I don't understand why couldn't they borrow that from Rockstar North. The cars in the game feel like they're being pulled on by a string. And it's not even about making it easy for those who don't want to bother with driving, because for them there is an option to skip the driving aspect entirely by skipping to destinations, much like you can when using a taxi in GTAIV. I only used this option once or twice regardless of the bad physics, because the time you spend driving gives you time to think about cases, and decide how to proceed, who you want to focus the investigation on, and also to clear your head, because the story and the numerous contradicting witness statements can become overwhelming at times. But these are all good things, making the game more realistic.

The second aspect of the game is crime scene investigation. This consists of finding evidence or clues in a small area, usually a house or a warehouse, or an alley. This part of the game reminded me of point & click adventure games. There is not much I can tell you about it apart from you're confined to a crime scene, or a house and you basically paw everything you can get your hands on to see if it's related to the case. I'm not trying to belittle this part of the game, because it has a really important role in the building of the atmosphere of the game, and also in the investigations. But there is really nothing else to say about it.

The third and most important part of the game are the interrogations. This is where the new facial expressions come into play. Because you have to rely on your people skills to determine if a person is telling the truth, withholding information, or outright lying to your face. You ask questions from the subject, and watch for their reactions. There is one thing wrong with this part of the game I have to mention. That the game allows you to ask questions in any order you wish. But then the conversations loose their coherence often. So just stick to the order the questions are listed if you want the scene to make sense. I don't get it why are you even allowed to switch up questions when the responses are clearly based on each other. So if you guessed right that the subject told the truth or not, your reward is some small bit of information that may or may not be relevant to the case. But you can solve cases even if you botch all the interrogations, you can even end up sending the wrong person to jail. But most of the time that only hurts your own pride, and of course the person you sent to prison. What I'm trying to say is that the game won't shove a game over screen in your face every time you miss something, which goes a long way in making the game feel real.

The fourth part of the game are the chases or pursuits. Of course it happens sometimes that when confronted the guilty party will try to escape. So you have to catch them either in a car chase or a foot pursuit. The car chases are not worth much because of the already mentioned bad physics and because they're scripted. They end when the script runs its course. The foot chases are more fun, because here you actually have control over it, if you can catch up with the runner you can wrestle him to the ground. Or if you can train your weapon on them long enough then you can stop them with a warning shot. The third option if you can't catch up, means ending up in a firefight or hostage situation with the suspect, and the only way out is to shoot them if this happens.

And with that we arrived at the fifth and last aspect of the game the firefights. Again there is not much to tell, it works just like in any GTA, because of the setting its most similar to Mafia. There is a cover system, but there is no health bar, if you get shot the screen turns black & white, and if you get shot again then you're dead.But if you take cover everything goes back to normal in few seconds. Because of the realistic feel of the game I expected something more realistic here as well, but you can't have everything.

And the interactive parts of the game are often interrupted with sometimes long cutscenes, also rendered with the game engine.

The biggest appeal of the game is the constant switching between the five gameplay elements. This means it doesn't get repetitive or dull even when playing for long hours. And I did play for long hours often because the game is engaging and the atmosphere and voice acting is great.

Actually there is one more thing to the game: Dispatcher calls. These are usually crimes in progress, that end up in a firefight or a chase. These are good, but towards the middle of the game I started ignoring them, because on many occasions they take place on the opposite end of the city than where you're headed. And since the game area is huge, this means driving 10-15 minutes in the opposing direction, for one short firefight. It's just not worth it. If I remember correctly during dispatch calls you can't skip to the destination.

During the game you work many cases, the ones at the first part of the game are interesting and thrilling, but towards the end of the game they become less interesting and boring, expect the big case that follows you through almost all of the game. Basically after your third posting the day to day cases start to become less interesting, with the last case of the second posting being the best case in my opinion.

There is one thing left that demands words, the story. In itself it's not very unique, but the way it's delivered and comes to a conclusion deserves every praise.

+

  • Story  
  • Atmosphere (it deliveres the post WWII US very well)  
  • finally an unique ending that is good (and can also suggest a sequel) Sadly with the closure of Bondi games that's not likely to happen  
  • New type of gameplay  
  • It balances the aspects of the game very nicely so it doesn't get boring.  


-

  • After two thirds of the game the cases become less interesting  
  • Sometimes the graphics gets ugly, especially during driving where the asphalt is a blurred mess just 10m in front of you  
  • Sometimes you feel that some characters heads have their own lives separate from the body.  
  • Scripted car chases, and car physics  


Scoring card:

Graphics : 6/10
The internal scenes look OK, but the external city / driving look awful, at least on the PS3 which I used for this game

Realization: 8/10
They almost got it on their first try. Too bad they disbanded team bondi shortly after due to the astronomical costs of the game.

Story: 7/10
It's not really the story that matters, it's the delivery, and they got many A-list or close to that stars in it. Probably further contributing to the high cost, but in this case I think it was worth it.

Atmosphere: 10/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Controls: 9/10

Overall: 8/10


The game represents a completely new breed, and despite being the first of its kind it has remarkably few failings.