"Eidos Interactive", presents a "Rocksteady Studios" game called "Urban Chaos".  Platform: Play Station 2

I'll paraphrase the information that Eidos provides about the game in the opening sequence:  As gang warfare explodes into the streets, chaos reigns, as the city burns. There is war on the streets! You are Nick Mason, T-Zero Enforcer and your mission is to take your city back, by any means necessary. 

That sounds like it could be an exciting game, to me. However, once I started playing, I soon realized that, this game does not play as good as it sounds. Your objectives are to kill gang members, rescue hostages, and arrest the gang leaders. That's it! That's all! There's nothing else to do.

I have to admit that I rented this game, reluctantly, because only a few shooter games are any good, in my opinion. An example of a good shooter game is "Call of Duty 2". This is an excellent game and is among my favorite of any genre. However, Urban Chaos had me so bored by the third level that I could not force myself to continue on my first time around. I did, however, manage to make it through this mediocre title on my next attempt. I didn't even know if I should do a review of it, because of my disappointment. How could I really be disappointed? I knew what it was before I went into this. It's a blood-fest, nothing more. If that is all you want out of a game, maybe this one is for you.

I believe it is worth mentioning, that I have a particular bias toward "PC" shooters, because I think it is much easier to target with the mouse. Experienced gamers that are used to using a game-pad for targeting might not have this issue. Further, my opinion might be different about the PC version, but not by much. With that in mind, let me start off with the good and bad points, this game has to offer.

• The channel 7 news broadcast added some, amusing, immersion into what was going on around you. You actually see a newswoman talking about the chaos that is happening to the city and your character is mentioned, frequently.
• You can skip all of the news broadcasts and cut-scenes. This is a good thing, because if you plan to play through the game more than once, you are not forced to view the same movies over, again. This should be standard by now, and isn't really worth mentioning, to be honest. You shouldn't get a pat on the back for doing something that you should be doing, anyways.
• The paramedics were a nice touch and is a lot more realistic than just walking over a medpac to heal yourself. You walk up to the paramedic, then they give you a healing device, that has one use on it. You have to go back to the paramedic each time you need to be healed. Medical supplies are limited, so you can only use the paramedic a few times per level.
• It was kind of fun, if you knew that there were a couple of enemies around the bend, because you could line your pistol up just right, and then quickly turn the corner and shoot them both between the eyes. Joy! Joy! Aren't all shooter games like this, though?
• The story and action does move quickly, there's nothing slow and drawn out about it.
• When you die, you can continue from the last checkpoint, you passed. You don't have to play the entire level over, again. This is another one of those things that should be automatic. Giving someone a cookie for combing their hair, makes no sense, but I had to put something in this section.

• Some of the voice acting was a little pathetic. It sounded like the person was reading from a script for the first time.
• The graphics really aren't up to par with todays standards. I saw some pretty ugly textures for environments and skins for the models. Not all of it was bad, but there were some glaring moments. I could see right through some boxes, in the warehouses, at certain angles.
• The game-play is very linear. You must go this way, until you do this, then this way opens up, and so on. Not only that, but it is very repetitious. I got so bored after the third level, I could not force myself to continue, until the next day.
• The story was below average. It was so boring, that I couldn't take it anymore. Drivel!
• The NPC's that are supposed to help you, get in the way constantly.
• You can't see where you are going with the breather equipped. It does allow you to see where your enemies are, because of heat signatures, but if you can't navigate, this just becomes aggravating. A smoke filled room should make it more difficult to see things, but you have to balance the feeling of realism with fun factor.
• You cannot run or jump! Oh? Did you want to get up on that platform or run behind that debris for cover? No! You can't. I guess it doesn't matter because all you need to do is use your shield and you are unstoppable!
• No tactics required! Just throw you shield up and you can march right in there and take em out.
• All of the enemies look the same, even the gang leaders! This is particularly annoying, because you are supposed to capture them, but you will often end up killing them because you can't tell them apart from any of the other bad guys. 

* Fun Factor
- There's something to be said about turning a corner and nailing a bad guy in the forehead with a pistol. Other than that, the game-play is repetitious, linear, and boring after the initial few levels.

* Difficulty
- There are several difficulty settings, including one called "Terror". You have to beat the game in order to unlock it. Hmmm...this one might be hard? hehe

* Modes of Play
- There is an on-line mode in which you can have teams of 8. I haven't tried this mode, but its probably more fun than the single player campaign.

* Re-playability
- There's lots of medals that you can earn that unlock extra goodies and there is an on-line mode; however, the game-play just isn't very fun.

* Depth and Length of Game
- It took me about 2 hours to reach the third level, because I started over a couple of times. Actually, I lost track of which level I was on. There's more than 15 missions, but an experienced player can go through them all in around 6 to 8 hours. Depth? This game is just plain, mindless.

* Game Controls
- In my opinion, shooter games are meant for the PC, because you can use your mouse to target and it makes that task a great deal quicker, more accurate, and efficient. Targeting is difficult, unless you are an experienced gamer that is used to using a game pad to do so. Loading and switching your weapons are very intuitive and easy to do, however. Also, switching between the breather, flash-light, and shield for their perspective uses, takes no effort at all.

* Physics
- Should I even mention this? There's nothing special, in this regard.

* Graphics
- The graphics are sub-par for today's standards. Some skins for the models and textures for the environments were poorly done and used over and over. The NPC faces were un-impressive and you could see right through some of the boxes in the warehouses at certain angles.

* Audio
***** Voice Acting
- Some of the voice acting was poorly done. A few of the NPC's sounded like they were reading the script for the first time.

***** News Broadcasts
- This was actually done fairly well. It actually looked and sounded like you were watching the news on TV, which was tuned to a local station.

***** Atmosphere and Other Sounds
- The atmosphere is what you would expect in a city that is burning to the ground, where chaos rules, and gangs are at war with the police.

* Movie Sequences
- The only movie sequences are done through the Ch. 7 News broadcast. These movies were done quite well and looked as good as live TV on a local station.

Yes, there is plenty of gratuitous, flavor. However, It's like playing the old arcade game, I forget the name, you shoot ducks, anyways. "Urban Chaos" is pretty boring and repetitious, but it does have blood and violence! If you need a quick fix, in between good releases, go ahead and rent it. However, I think you should stay clear of any purchases, because there are plenty of other games out there, of this type, that are much better quality.

Hamarabi