Dreadful. Terrible. Appalling. Dire. Horrendous. Unspeakable. Atrocious. Abysmal. These are the words with which I am forced to describe Crime Life: Gang Wars. To start this off, let me analyze the actual title of the game. In fact, I'll go into more detail than that. Let me analyze the words "Gang Wars". If Konami thought that a gang war involved senselessly clobbering random individuals to a messy, bloody pulp, then they are spot on with this game. The game is set around Grand Central City (I must admit, the writers made FANTASTIC choices throughout), a fictional American city. You control Tre (Tre bizzare, more like it), a new member of the once influential street gang, the Outlawz (yes, purposefully misspelled with a 'Z' at the end. I guess this is supposed to be funny, so 'LOL'). Basically, Tre must restore the Outlawz's former glory. But there's a catch (there's always a catch, ain't there?). There is a rival gang, the Headhunterz (again, with a 'Z') that will make things hard for you. This usually involves sending volleys of their own gang members to try to kill you. Obviously, 10 gang members can't kill Tre, as he (along with several parts of the game) was developed jointly by a real life 'ganster' group, the hip-hop 'gang-banging' group D12. Of course, they would know what the 'streets' are actually like, as they have had 'years' of experience as gang members. So it's safe to say that this is an accurate portrayal of American street life. Ehh, not so fast, bucko. Oh yeah, there's other gangs too, like a gang of Rastafarion-wannabe's and there's also a barber-shop (how original, a barber-shop in a gang-related game. Apparently, the barber is also related to the gang, in some kind of way. And he's old, and wise, too! Take that, originality!!!!), and two goof-balls that hang around the barber-shop, contributing absolutely nothing at all to the game. There's a metro as well, and other stuff in the game, but it's too much of a compost heap, so I don't remember much of it (mostly due to the sleep-inducing nature of the game).
The graphics are pathetic. Indeed, Konami should be ashamed of themselves. One look at any other 2005 game will prove this. I'm inclined to believe the original Doom had better graphics than this colossal garbage heap. The controls take some time to get used to, but not much. It's nothing revolutionary here, so we'll move along.
The sound is the only redeeming factor of this game (as it is not completely trash), but I am forced to give it 5/10 and nothing more.
All in all, the game is one of the worst games I have ever layed my hands on. It is an embarrasingly-abysmal compendium of overused clichés and racial stereotypes. I am ashamed at Konami, and ashamed of myself for actually spending cold, hard cash to buy what I now consider lies at the level of the contents of my week-old ramen, lying in the bottom of my garbage bin. Do not approach this game. It radiates stupidity (I swear my IQ fell 2 points after playing the game for but an hour!).
I was terribly disappointed of having actually paid for this game. I wish I never had. While the atmosphere it sets you in, the hip-hop flava, and the soundtrack are pretty good, I'd have to say that, in all due respect,... Read Full Review
The game isn't worth 10 pound + but its fun kicking the **** out of the enemy. The gameplay ain't good the controls are silly and the combos dont even work unless your a higher rank but then you cant execute the moves... Read Full Review
