True Crime: New York City (Video Game 2005)

Former gangster, now street cop Marcus Reed tries to uncover who is behind the murder of his friend and mentor, Lt. Terrance Higgins.

Writer:

Matthew Cirulnick

Stars:

Avery Waddell, Laurence Fishburne, Mickey Rourke

Cast

Credited cast:
Avery Waddell	...	Det. Marcus Reed (voice)
Laurence Fishburne	...	Isaiah Reed (voice)
Mickey Rourke	...	Terrence Higgins (voice)
Christopher Walken	...	Gabriel Whitting (voice)
Mariska Hargitay	...	Deena Dixon (voice)
Esai Morales	...	Captain Victor Navarro (voice)
Brian George	...	Freddie the Cabbie (voice)
Redman	...	Himself (voice)
Traci Lords	...	Madam Cassandra Hartz (voice)
Beetlejuice	...	Zeke (voice)
John Melendez	...	(voice)
James Hong	...	Mr. Lin (voice)
Tia Texada	...	Street Racing Promoter (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paolo Andino	...	Rey
Philip Anthony-Rodriguez	...	Director

Storyline

Isaiah Reed (Fishburne) hands the keys to his criminal empire down to his son Marcus (Waddell). This was a decision they both came to regret, as his now-former friend attempted to kill father and son. They failed, and Marcus exacted vengeance. His mentor, Lt. Terrence Higgins (Rourke), opts to leave him alone if he joins the NYPD. Five years later, he has become part of the department's Street Crime Unit (SCU). But during a police beat, Higgins dies in an explosion. Now, with the help of his boss (Hargitay) and a mysterious detective (Walken), he needs to find out what happened, whether he walks the straight line of the law or not.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | nypd | police shoot out | tranquilizer | flashlight | 

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Taglines:

New Crime. New City.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Official Sites:

Activision

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 2005 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Luxoflux

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Marcus (Avery Waddell) performs the first "Freddie the cabbie" side mission, he says, "Next they'll have me flying remote-control toys." This is a direct reference to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (where Zero (David Cross) used RC helicopters to do battle with his nemesis Berkley).

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Goofs

In virtual Manhattan, there is a street called Frederick Douglass St. In the real Manhattan, that street name is called Frederick Douglass Blvd.

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Quotes

Marcus Reed: You have the right to remain, blah blah blah.

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Connections

Referenced in The Sopranos: Luxury Lounge (2006)

User Reviews

Impossible to control - threw my copy in the trash

This review is for the PC version of the game.

I've never thrown a game into the garbage before, but that is what I have just done with True Crime: NYC. Fortunately I only paid about $10 for it at a discount store and not $50 or whatever its original price was.

The game had a lot of promise. The idea of a virtual NYC you could drive around was a cool idea, and that part of the game I really liked (although it got annoying after the 50th time I got smashed into by other cars). And I like the idea of having big name voice actors involved, though I have to wonder how hypocritical it was to have Marsika Hargitay of SVU playing a female detective whose skirt is only a few steps down from a thong (if there are cops who actually dress like this on duty outside of the vice squad, I'm signing up!).

And I liked the basic plot - what little I could get before i gave up in disgust.

And give up I did. I'm OK with games that are difficult, in terms of being able to achieve goals or fight and survive. But when one literally requires 4 arms in order to hit all the controls you need to accomplish anything, at that point I say the game is poorly designed and not worth my time. What's worse, actions that work perfectly well during the training mode mysteriously no longer work once the "real" game starts. As a result instead of frisking and arresting suspects, I ended up either pushing them in front of cars (which was fun, I'll admit, but not quite what the game wanted me to do) or my gun came out and I shot them, which again wasn't exactly the mission.

There is a difference between being frustrated with a game that is difficult and being frustrated with a game that is physically impossible to play. The first issue can be alleviated by finding a hint guide somewhere, or even finding cheat codes. But there's no cheat in the world that protects against bad design.

As I say, this is with regards to the PC version. Maybe the console versions are simpler to operate and therefore actually can be played. If you have a choice, take the console version. Unless you have 4 arms, of course.