The Good:
A nice representation of Los Angelas. Great story. Terrific casting. Great walking, cruising, fighting and shooting mechanics. A great clone of GTA III. Great soundtrack.
The Bad:
Background environments and some word texts around the city in the Ps2 version are kinda blurry unlike the clearer and cleaner ones seen in the GameCube version. Driving and turning is a tiny bit stiff like in the GameCube version, but it's mostly not that bad. Aiming and shooting is kinda hit-and-miss like in the GameCube version.
Intro:
Nick Kang is an undercover detective, trying to figure out who killed his father. In the meantime, he gets hired for the E.O.D. from chief Wanda Parks and he even has his own partner named Rosie Velasquez, who used to be a gang banger, to work with as well. Now an E.O.D. undercover detective, he finds the truth as he slowly unravels the story while he progresses through the Streets of L.A. He must use all his wits and skills to get through this adventure.
Game play:
Exactly like GTA III with use of a third-person perspective view, but with the use of different styles of game play. The missions are like what you expect if you played GTA but since you're a cop, you'll be having a different perspective of missions which in turn feel fresh from the usual criminal antics seen in the GTA series.
Graphics:
64-bit graphics in the Ps2 version look as good as those seen in GameCube version. However, background environments and some word texts are pretty blurry when compared to those seen in the GameCube version. Character models are great and well-built. Los Angelas itself especially looks great it even spreads out to 240 square miles in total, which is really fantastic.
Music and Sound:
Soundtrack is top-notch in this game. Sound effects are as clear as a whistle and voice acting is terrific. Russel Wong does a great job of bringing the character of Nick Kang to life. Other notable actors include: Christopher Walken and Michelle Rodriguez.
Controls:
Left analog joystick for moving Nick. X for taking cover. Square for punching. Triangle for jumping. R1 for bringing out your gun and shooting. You even have automatic aim on enemies, although they can be sorta hit-and-miss (hold the button for manual aiming). L2 for getting in a car. X and Square for forward and backwards. Joystick for steering around car.
Lasting Appeal:
It's a perfect GTA clone. 9 out of 10.