Uggggh, going from Vita games back to early PSP games really make you appreciate the improvement in graphics. Although after ten minutes, you will get used to it once more. There's no denying that the environmental graphics are really impressive for it's time. The game was released in 2005, the same year as the PSP (at least in Western countries) and the fact that they managed to fit such a large free roam city is amazing. Sure, the buildings have a blocky and flat texture to them and the character models can feel undefined (especially the hands) but they are easily overlooked. I am surprised at the attention to the game world, ranging from weather effects such as rain and cloudy skies and day/night cycles. Pop in is noticeable while you're driving. Unfortunately, the game doesn't allow in-game screenshots which sucks... Anyway, one of the bigger annoyance is the camera control in which you hold down the L button and move the stick. This is caused by a lack of right stick, it takes some getting used to especially when Toni is running around and the camera swings wildly which is disorienting as you can't immediately adjust it. This makes a lot of the missions frustrating especially when you can't swing the camera on a whim so you can aim properly.
The game is mission based, you play one after another and some of them are fairly short and easy. However, you will have to do the majority of them multiple times due to the unfriendly checkpoint system (you die and you have to repeat the whole mission again) and struggling against the controls. This is also not mention the fact that sometimes the game just throws something hard at you. It's like, oh, how about I chuck you a bunch of enemies wielding rapid fire machine guns that will mow you down your pitifully low health bar within 5 seconds? Or maybe you'll like 20 enemies with chainsaws constantly chasing you and can kill you with one swipe? This makes the game feel like a drag when you have to repeatedly drive from place to place and repeat the tasks. It gets frustrating when you die not because you suck but because the controls aren't accommodating enough for you to do what you want (getting stuck on uneven ground and the chainsaw guys caught up to you?) or the aiming system is so clunky that you have to stop to aim but by then, enemies would have shot you. I would say the difficulty of the game is a bit above average, purely because there are some annoying and frustrating missions out there, there is not instant gratification.
Even with cheats, the game can be somewhat tough especially when the odds are very against your favour in some missions. It gets sickening by the end of the game (it takes around 14 hours to finish without diverging too much on sidequests) where you have to keep repeating and repeating the same mission to try and pass it. They really should have made a more friendly checkpoint system as it feels like the game wastes so much of your time sometimes. The core optional features from the PS2 games are here, from taxi missions to ambulance missions to fire truck missions. There are heaps of optional activities that unlock as you keep playing the game. The amount is staggering but the game doesn't make it obvious which sidequests are available. For example, you can sell cars, be a delivery boy or be a tour guide, yet there isn't any markers on the in-game map for you to easily find them. The mission variety can feel limited as you play through the game, it is mostly comprised of driving (some cars are hard to control, liking to skid and slide with poor handling) or shooting (auto aiming here only, folks). The game focuses on a protagonist called Toni who isn't a likeable guy in the beginning.
He starts off in the lower ranks but as he climbs his way up, you start to appreciate him more. It still isn't spectacular by any means as the cutscenes can end rather abruptly and you're thrust into some sort of task which just comes out of the blue. The voice acting is top notch. You will meet some crazy characters with weird traits and personalities. You have to wonder why Toni is often just blindly following orders. He meets a new character, that character tells him what to do and he does it, there's not enough justification here to make it believable. Furthermore, the ending wasn't satisfactory, especially with the way his boss treated him after all Toni's done. I half expected Toni to pull out his gun and blast his brains out. The final moments of the game felt stretched, especially with that stupid 10 minute long speedboat shooting section. The famous radio function is here and there are ten channels to choose from. I found that there needed to be more variety in that when you get into a car, more often than not, the radio begins with the same segment. They have a long playtime but by starting at the same place the majority of times and having short vehicle trips, it doesn't allow you to appreciate the full scale of these tracks. Overall, the game isn't bad but I didn't find it too enjoyable thanks to some of the difficulty spikes and lack of hook.
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