Open world that overwhelmed in size. True Crime: Streets of L.A. started a short GTA-style series
True Crime: Streets of L.A. was one of the titles that tried to bask in the glow of the Grand Theft Auto series. The game successfully launched a series that found a fan base.
In 2005, the Call of Duty series, under Activision's ownership, was already enjoying success, despite not having revolutionized the first-person shooter genre yet (this was actually accomplished with the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007). Meanwhile, the publisher of this series wasn't idle and experimented with expanding its portfolio with other genres. The Luxoflux team took advantage of this, creating True Crime: Streets of L.A., an action game with a huge open world, often compared to the Grand Theft Auto series.
"Grand Theft Auto clone"
Luxoflux is a team that, before the game described here, also had other recognizable titles to their credit, such as Vigilante 8 and Star Wars: Demolition. At the time of its release, True Crime: Streets of L.A. was without a doubt the largest of the studio's creations, giving us an open world of... 622 square kilometers. This Reddit comparison effectively demonstrates its extensiveness (interestingly, most players commenting don't recall this map fondly, mentioning endless travels through various regions of LA).
The game allowed free exploration of areas in the titular Los Angeles, such as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, which were recreated with impressive accuracy. It was easy to find important buildings, objects, and other landmarks in these locations.
Criminal mysteries of Los Angeles
The main character of the game was Nicholas Kang, an LAPD detective, who was tasked with investigating a series of bombings in Chinatown. Working for the Elite Operations Division, Kang gradually uncovered a plot of a much larger scale, reaching back 20 years and related to the mysterious disappearance of his father. What's interesting, the story presented could have concluded in different ways, based on whether we were a good or bad cop.
In the game, an indicator was implemented reflecting how diligently we performed our police duties. By carrying out investigations, arresting criminals, and neutralizing opponents (rather than killing them) during stealth missions, we increased the good cop meter. However, when we were killing civilians and criminals, we were racking up the bad cop score.
This could have led not only to choosing a different storyline but also to the city's citizens turning against Kang. As a result, SWAT teams were sent after him with the task of killing him. So as you can see, playing the bad cop didn't really pay off.
There was no boredom
As befits a game that was compared to GTA III or GTA: Vice City, True Crime: Streets of L.A. allowed players to move around the city on foot and behind the wheel of vehicles. The game's driving force was missions that advanced the plot, and while we could freely explore Los Angeles during breaks from these objectives, it was futile to expect the abundance of side tasks found in Rockstar Games' titles.
Despite this, you still couldn't complain about being bored. The devs have prepared four types of missions. The game let us engage in shootouts, where we could take cover and use weapons left by enemies. Besides, Kang could showcase his skills in hand-to-hand combat, bombarding enemies with a flurry of punches and kicks, as well as performing spectacular "finishers."
At times, the protagonist needed to do some stealthy stuff, slipping behind enemies and taking them out by surprise (the game let us decide whether to simply knock out the target or kill them). The developers tackled the stealth missions with meticulous detail, requiring us to stay vigilant, not just focusing on enemies patrolling the area, but also being mindful of where we stepped. Stepping on broken glass or a plastic bag would make a noise that could attract the attention of nearby opponents.
The final spot on the list of mission types was taken by stages where we drove a vehicle, participated in chases, and followed our targets. The icing on the cake were side tasks in the form of random crimes.
As we progressed, we collected points that could be exchanged for special badges. These served as a kind of currency, which we used to purchase upgrades related to weapons, vehicles, or hand-to-hand combat. To obtain a specific modification, it was also required to successfully pass a special test.
Successful debut
True Crime: Streets of L.A. was released on GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 consoles in November 2003. The game received a warm reception from industry media (with an average rating on Metacritic of 77/100).
In May 2004, the title also appeared on PC, and compared to the console original, this version mainly stood out due to the control adapted to the mouse and keyboard, as well as character skins inspired by other games from Activision's portfolio. Moreover, the PC version was enhanced with 32 extra tracks. However, this edition of the game was received less warmly than the console one (with most complaints focusing on the graphics quality), achieving an average score of 68/100.
No matter what you say, True Crime: Streets of L.A. was a success. Encouraged by its good sales (exceeding 3 million copies), Activision gave the Luxoflux team the green light to prepare a sequel.
What happened next?
True Crime: New York City, the game in question, was released in 2005 on consoles and in 2006 on PC. Although the game received a cooler reception from industry media than its predecessor (scoring an average rating not exceeding 60/100), it still managed to sell over 3 million copies, similar to the previous one.
Despite the decision to distance the Luxoflux studio from the brand after the release of the second True Crime, the series was supposed to be continued. The development of its third installment, True Crime: Hong Kong, was entrusted to the United Front Games team. The project, which began in 2008, was, however, canceled three years later due to delays and budget issues. However, the game was saved by Square Enix, under whose wing it was renamed to Sleeping Dogs... but that's a story for another time.
Meanwhile, in the following years, the Luxoflux team focused on games based on movie licenses, creating Kung Fu Panda and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
How to play True Crime: Streets of L.A. today?
As of writing this, the game True Crime: Streets of L.A. is not available on GOG.com and Steam, nor in the digital stores of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Prices for boxed editions on PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox start from 4-5 bucks. The GameCube version costs about $20.
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