Despite the bugs, with careful use, it can be a deserving game on the PS2.
As everybody knows, you take on a role of Marcus Reed, a gangster turned cop. The story shows Marcus at first taking a risky gangster routine by eliminating Kev Lar. After icing all the enemies, he is picked up and taken care of Terry Higgins (who is actually an antagonist of the game) to be raised as a cop. The story goes on 5 years later with Marcus tracking down the top syndicates in town and eventually ends up with "Terry's killer". Depending on Marcus' actions, he could regret or be proud for another job done.
The Story feels short and simple. Even with the ommission of the old "Story Branching system" from Streets of LA, the story still gives the game an excellent standard. As for the gameplay, it feels a little innovative. The good things about it is the transportation system, the vast amount of buildings you can enter, the free roam feature, the detective ranking status and much more. If you are not good in driving, you could just take a cab to your destination. Still, driving is an essential skill needed in the game since some criminals usually escape in cars. Crimes are completely random this time around. The best bit about it are the crimes involving a ring of suspects. This is a great addition to the game since not all crimes happen on the streets alone. They also have crimes in different locations like chop shops, drug labs, dens and a lot more. And the city looks just like the real deal. Things would usually go intense with a chase or gunfire in the streets. Cars would bump with one another causing a frenzy. And this frenzy can actually cause the suspects to flee their vehicles and give up or spray around.
Lastly, as a cop, you know you got to earn. With all the crimes you solve, you can get the money you work for from the stations or go to a pawn shop and sell the evidences you have collected. (Good and Bad respectively) And with the money, you can buy new guns, cars, skills and a lot more.
Overall, it is a very good game. You might encounter tilted buildings, choppy frames or crash moments in the game, but with all you'll see and do in New York, it will be a bit better than you might think.