America's 10 Most Wanted - PS2

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America's 10 Most Wanted (PS2)
Also for: PC, Xbox
Viewed: 3D Combination Genre:
Adventure
Shoot 'Em Up
Media: CD Arcade origin:No
Developer: System 3 Soft. Co.: System 3
Publishers: Play It (GB/GB)
Released: 6 Aug 2004 (GB)
Unknown (GB)
Ratings: BBFC 15
Features: Vibration Function Compatible
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

Controversy is something we're seeing increasing amounts of in video games. The bottom line is it sells games, often regardless of their quality. However, the trick to obtaining real media stardom is to actually develop a good game and not just disguise a poor development with a politically incorrect adventure. And that's exactly what System 3 has done with the aptly named America's 10 Most Wanted.

Whether such a game would have existed - or even been dreamt up - before the events of 9/11 is arguable, but that's for another time. What we're here to talk about now, is Most Wanted's performance as a game.

Assuming the role of Lieutenant Jake Seaver - a member of a hand-picked elite anti-terrorist team - you are responsible, unsurprisingly, for hunting down and bringing to justice those on America's 10 most wanted list. The list is daunting, and plays host to some of the most violent and merciless killers including Sadam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, all of which seem to have a link at some level with terrorism.

You task is to gather evidence and capture your target alive through a variety of playing styles. Primarily a first-person shooter, you'll come equipped with all manner of weapons that include Dart Guns, Assault Rifles and Flame Throwers. These are to help you reach your enemy, but once you get there, the game takes a twist.

Because you can't blow those on the Most Wanted to smithereens, you'll often find yourself engaging in a round or two of fisticuffs. Here, the camera pans out seamlessly into a third person perspective in which you must attack, block and headlock your opponents into submission.

And if you can do all that ten times over, it's job done. But of course it's never as easy as you might think. AI is sometimes cunning, and Most Wanted's overall difficulty setting isn't to be laughed at. All in all, it's a good, solid game with an interesting plot and some very convincing visuals.