




04

Sorry for the crummy gaming skills, I was playing while looking through the camera lens…
After seeing the trailer for this game and some info floating around after E3 it sparked my interest, but I wasn’t sold on it… that is until I got to play it.
The game looks fantastic on the Nintendo DS, I mean really crisp, clean, and fast. The game never dips below 60 FPS and draw distances and models are top notch. I was afraid of another “jaggy edge” game, but when playing it my fears were put to rest. Developer, Nouredine Abboud, said that the development team is squeezing every bit of possible information and performance out of the Nintendo DS. He even said that the team is analyzing code and text dialog trying to cut away any characters because the game is so big.
The demo I played offered a variety of different Gameplay options. The game is open world, so you have free range of anything you want, but the game walks a fine line of side mission/exploring open world and 24 style pacing to keep the games main story thumping along. During the demo that I finished I encountered a driving element, a shooting element (Metroid/Resident Evil 4-esqe shooting controls), puzzle element, and “act quick” elements. The demo left me wanting MORE! Luckily I stayed a little late and developer Nouredine Abboud showed me some other stages in the game. The game takes place in New York City and the surrounding boroughs (and New Jersey). We played a level in New Jersey that took place in the snow during the main characters flash back. The mission was to race this car through the streets of NJ, but being careful not to damage the car too much and/or come in last place (GTA style). After completing that mission we got to ride a dune buggy with some great physics involved.
The open world area of the game offers zero load time and access to any vehicle on the street. You are also able to utilize boats, unfortunately no planes or helicopters. The core game is comprised of about 60 main missions with a bunch of side/achievement stuff to keep gamers who need that 100% completion satisfaction. The game is roughly 50% driving, 30% shooting, and 20% mini games. The mini games are rather clever though and are weaved throughout the main game. Mini games are things like scanning a casino via there security camera’s to find the person you’re looking for, codes for breaking into prisons, setting up blockades, etc…
C.O.P. stands for Criminal Overturn Program and sets the them for the game fairly well. You’re main character is inherently a “good” guy, but will do what it takes (Jack Bauer style) to get the job done, the devs had a name for this, “Faster than Justice”.
Plot
The game will follow Dan Miles, a former street racer who becomes a new recruit in the Criminal Overturn Program (C.O.P.). Under the terms of the C.O.P., Dan becomes a detective working to protect the citizens of New York against large-scale threats. Working with his mentor, Detective Brad Winter, Dan is investigating a series of terrorist attacks in the city when Brad is falsely arrested, putting the investigation on hold. While trying to uncover the truth behind Brad’s arrest, Dan goes undercover and returns to his life on the streets. Little by little he gets wrapped up in a deadly, widespread conspiracy and must work to prevent a potentially catastrophic attack on the city.
Gameplay
The game will be a third person shooter and a driving game, in an open-world city with around 6 square miles. The game will have about 60 missions with over 20 hours of gameplay. It will be also possible, using the DS system’s microphone (and the in-game PDA), call the S.W.A.T. team, create barricades, road blocks, call an ambulance and access the city’s camera system.
Check out WiiNintendo’s Exclusive Developer Preview Video: