25 to Life Preview

I have a taser and I'm not afraid to use it!

So, you've always fancied being a cop, strutting in your uniform with handcuffs and a gun, standing at the corner eating a doughnut while the bank was being robbed just across the street. As for me, I never wanted to be a cop, although I *did* have a thing for handcuffs (still do). Well, here's your chance to be a cop for a while - Avalanche has promised us an interesting third-person shooter dubbed 25 to Life, scheduled for March for the PC, Xbox and PS2.

Nothing can BEAT the satisfaction of hitting a man with a baseball bat. HAR, HAR!

The downside to baseball bats is that they have a very short range.

If you are not very proficient at devouring doughnuts (Yeah, right - Ed), maybe you will want to prove yourself as a criminal - starting off as a plain punk to becoming the 'big dawg' in the 'hood.' This option may sound like more fun, as gangsters have a more powerful weapon arsenal at their disposal and often use civilians as human shields (That sounds like fun? -Ed). On the other hand, the cops have greater weapon proficiency, as they received suitable training for it. They also wear armor e.g. bulletproof vests, meaning they can take more damage than the bad guys can.

Whichever you choose, Avalanche promises you will have loads of fun, as you will be put in a realistic environment where you will be forced to think in order to stay alive. Although the word 'realistic' pops up in every other game currently on the market, in 25 to Life, it refers to several different things. Firstly, the term 'realism' implies that you'll often be distracted by common factors such as barking dogs or car alarms that can reveal your position to your enemies. That, and the aforementioned use of civilians as human shields, may significantly add to the realism and create a credible, authentic, interactive world for you to play in. The game is supposed to feature twelve to sixteen different maps, presenting typical settings from the modern city environment and various mission objectives. It is of course too early to talk about the level design at this stage of development, but we've been informed the levels are going to be large and full of detail, so you'll be able to make good use of your interactive surroundings, which allows for a more strategic approach.

Be not fooled by the 'every-day' looks of this game - 25 to Life puts you in the middle of a war. Well, not in the classic sense of the word, as this 'war' is an urban conflict that takes place on the streets of modern cities. While this conflict plays in third person by default, it is possible to shift to first-person view, although you should bear in mind that the third-person view is the more convenient one, as it is easier to see what's going on around you.

The core of the game is the single player story, which puts you in the role of 'Freeze,' a striving criminal who has to climb on the ladder of success. Of course, as this is a shooter game, this rise to the top will be achieved primarily through the elimination of all those who stand in your path. It seems that the single player portion of the game will not only allow you to play as a gangster but as a cop as well. In any case, you will start from scratch and try to grow into a powerful figure from a talented, but inexperienced rookie. The story will supposedly (hopefully) be quite original, involving and unpredictable, but only scarce details are known about it at this point, so we shall have to wait and see for ourselves. Still, we do know that the script was written by one P. Frank Williams, a journalist, author and TV producer, best known as the person responsible for the 2003 "VIBE Awards" on UPN and the writer and producer of the 2003 "Radio Music Awards" on NBC. (This OBVIOUSLY makes him the perfect guy for the job. - Ed)

In the aforementioned conflict between cops and robbers, each side will be granted their own advantages and weaknesses. As I've already mentioned, the gangsters will have more powerful weapons, so you will never see a cop wield an AK-47, although you may see him with a sniper rifle, going prone on some rooftop somewhere. On the other hand, the gangsters will have a lot more ammo, but the police will have frag grenades and tasers in their arsenal. I don't doubt many people will prefer powerful weapons to tasers, but who said being a cop was easy? Anyway, Avalanche wanted a balanced game where one side wouldn't be more powerful than the other, so let's trust their judgment on this matter.

You will certainly have to grow into your role, as you will be rewarded for playing like a true member of your fraction. This means the game will require of you to show some genuine criminal mentality at some point.

As police have informers and helicopters to aid them in locating and hunting down the local gangs, so do the gangsters. These "good neighbors" inform them about the movements of the police.

Of course, you are rewarded if you prove yourself worthy, so if you really do your best, you will get to discover many of the game's locked features. Some of them are purely cosmetic (such as new clothing), but some are very useful, like new and characterized graffiti tags or better vehicles, such as SWAT vans.

Oh yes, I'm getting married today! Woohoo!

Do quit playing hide and seek, you're making me nervous.

Trying to make the game as 'real' as possible, Avalanche has implemented a fully customizable character system. Character creation will be very detailed, allowing you to change almost every aspect of your character from head to toe. Apart from being able to choose body type, hairstyle and skin color, you will also have a large number of tattoos to choose from (Especially if you play the cop. - Ed), as well as a wide range of jewelry and clothing (Cops love wearing jewels. - Ed). The changes will be visible on your character, so it will be quite apparent in game who you are, what your rank is, and which gang you belong to. It is also possible to use your character in multiplayer, where it will be loaded automatically.

While we're on the subject of multiplayer, I should mention that the game supports up to 16 players online, and it will also bring several popular multiplayer modes such as Deathmatch (labeled here as "War") and some Capture the Flag variants. It is not difficult to imagine what Raid and Robbery are about. The game will also feature the Tag mode, where you basically have to write your graffiti around.

The soundtrack for 25 to Life is very predictable - it features a number of "classic" rap and hip-hop tracks, although several younger artists should also find their place in it. Avalanche plans to feature a number of radios on each multiplayer map and listen to your favorite Tupac, Mos Def, DMX, or Ghostface Killah track. We have heard a lot of attention has been devoted to the sound effects, creating a special sound for every weapon and the like. The same goes for the graphics, which is still under development, but Avalanche is trying to make a truly spectacular game in this segment.

This modern and improved 'cops and robbers' variant is due to ship in March 2005, with both Eidos and Avalanche very excited and optimistic about it. Well, maybe it's time I fulfill my 'uniform and hancuffs' fantasy. (Umm, can we make sure there is a camera present when you do this? Please? - Ed.)