Live and Die for the Row
When you begin the game you will create your gangster. It is possible, if you are very nit-picky, to spend over an hour perfecting your character. I have seen pics from other users here on gamespot that have created Blade and Scarface! If you an RPG fan like i am, and a total Oblivion addict like me, you will be tempted to create your gangster Dark Elf. Anyway, after that process is over, you go into the Being a Gangster 101 tutorial, and after that you are on your own to take over the Row. I think the unique feature of gaining enough respect before tackling story missions is a great idea, because it forces the players to engage in extracurricular activities that the game provides. But these activities are fun to play, so you do not end up pissed that you have to do them. Respect can be earned in other ways too though, like by taking a hostage, or defending your territory from a rival gang invasion.
The activities i mentioned are all alot of fun. You can escort hookers to turn tricks all while avoiding the papparazzi, or you can kill pimps and take their hoes, or you can jump in front of traffic and make fake insurance claims for top dollar!!! The game is alot of fun, believe me, you will feel great after holding up the gun store with the same gun you just bought. Or at night you can break in certain locations and after a little minigame break into a safe and hustle the merchandise over to the pawn shop! There are more activities to do, but you will have to get the game to see what they are. Well we covered grahics and activities, what is next? Lets talk cars. There are alot of cars in this game. At this time i do not know the exact number but i am sure with little help you can check a forum and figure how much. They are easy to drive, and should take little time accustoming yourself to them. Of course they all drive as expected, the SUVs drive like SUVs, and the Sports Cars like Sports Cars...but it is, at least to me, the ability to do Drive-Bys, that get me, i feel it is alot easier than GTA, and alot more realistic since you have to aim on your own, others may feel differently. It is alot of fun also to see the A.I at work. If you have a few homies in the car with you and you fire at anything, or someone fires at you, they will poke out the windows and commence firing upon your attacker, and not just firing in the general direction, YOU WILL SEE RESULTS!!! These guys have better aiming than your average run-of-the-mill NPC! Something you will like about this game is that no matter how many wanted stars you have, it is possible to outrun the cops and watch your wanted meter go down, unlike GTA where you had to search for those damn stars! However there are things you can do if you do not feel like driving around the city, like go to your local Forgive and Forget and buy your way out of Nottoriety, or the obvious, change clothes, plastic surgery, etc. You will notice though that the police are very forgiving and most of the time a war between your gang and the police can last a long time! OH YEAH I ALMOST FORGOT!!! Your life regenerates on it own if you are out of harm's way long enough! It makes the game a little easier, but not by much. It isn't an overly difficult game, though, which is fine cause it makes it fun. My music review is short and sweet. I personally do not think it is the greatest soundtrack. I wish that i could play my own music, and unless i am doing something wrong, you are stuck with the music Volition added. It isn't horrible, but i don't digg on it very much. Not all of it is bad, but seriously, why is there a classical music channel? Well this paragraph i want to focus on a few things that may or may not annoy you about the game, but it won't be long, because the game doesn't have many things that i found wrong with it. First i miss the airplanes and choppers and the ability to parachute out of them from GTA3. In addition to that, i miss the crotch rockets. Those are the things i miss the most, but also there are no water vehicles and so far i have not found a way to rig a car bomb! There is no point system and with that no insane stunts for money. There is still the search for sixty cds that give you goodies though, you can spend time looking for all of them as well as tagg locations for you too find and spray paint. There also is not as much blood as i would have hoped there to be. At the risk of sounding sadistic, i never liked games that involved shooting people that produced no blood. In Conclusion, I find that this game is alot of fun, definitely a buy and not a rent. Of course it isn't for everyone and if you do not get into senseless gang violence and GTA style gameplay then obviously this game isn't for you, for everyone else, however, this should feel right at home. I am sure i might have missed some things to point out, but if this isn't enough to get you going to buy the game then i do not know what else to say.