the freedom to roam its busy streets. And, to a degree, the player does. But it’s rather limited, when all is said and done – the story drives the player on. There is only ever one mission for the player to do, and it always relates directly to driving the narrative on. There are no side quests, although the player can steal cars in their ‘free time’ for extra cash. ‘Free time’, by the way, constitutes the times that the player is driving to, or from, missions. There isn’t a lot of it, because the game enforces a relentless pace in getting stuff done. That is juxtaposed with the fact that the player needs to do a hell of a lot of driving in this game. Drive to a meeting to get instructions, drive to where the mission needs to be performed, and then drive home again. That’s the basic premise that takes place in all fifteen chapters of the game’s story. Thankfully the driving is a lot better than expected, and a fair variety of vehicles can be driven. The player can also collect up to ten cars, which can be visually modified and upgraded twice each for better performance.
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Investing money in cars is a great idea, because it is the only investment that the game will not take away from you. There are times when the game’s narrative will demand that Vito lose everything, but his cars stay put. Clothes (which the player can buy), guns and cash can all be lost, however. Changing clothes and the appearance of cars is a good way to avoid the attention of cops in the game, particularly if they’re on your tail. They tend to be relentless once they get on Vito’s case, but they aren’t overly jumpy. The player will be chased for speeding, traffic accidents and obvious crimes, but red light running is apparently not illegal in Empire City. The overall style of the game is rather linear, and this translates into the missions too. The player will generally get to shoot lots of bad guys, using a sometimes repetitive ‘take cover and shoot’ system that is necessary for survival. The choice of cover is important, of course, from a strategy point of view, but the game can, at times become
gamecca review • issue 15 • September 2010