Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: State of Emergency

Written by Nick Doukas on March 01, 2002

Second View: The PlayStation 2 game you will riot for!

There are many great moments in a gamers life. The first time you somersaulted down the snowy mountainside in Strider. The Dobermans from Hell that made your heart skip a beat when they burst through the window and trapped you in that dark and foreboding hallway courtesy of Capcom's Resident Evil. Or perhaps it was your first meeting with the Flood. Whatever your own scrapbook of virtual memories contains, prepare for a new entry. Locking down on a Mall Corridor full of screaming rioters and corporate storm troopers with an M16 assault rifle (or if you prefer an AK47 Kalashnikov) and opening up with salvo after salvo of hot lead (think Val Kilmer and his AR15 in the street shootout scene from the film Heat) is sure to become an instant favorite. This is par for the course in the latest envelope pushing title for Sony's Playstation 2, State Of Emergency, brought to you by the good folks at Rockstar games, purveyors of crime and general mayhem for some time now. The developers over at Vis have outdone themselves and created a compelling worldЕ.a living, breathing riot in which you, and hundreds of others, run rampant, creating as much destruction as possible. In the immortal words of Conan the Barbarian, who replied, when asked what was best in life: УTo crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamentations of their women.Ф You get the picture.

State Of Emergency is set in the bleak and oppressive world of 2035. The Corporation, on the rise to power since 2010, has the country fully under its control at this time. Elections are a thing of the past and the people; fed up with food rationing and other intolerable treatment, have revolted. As the riots begin, a state of emergency is declared. Your character decides to join the organized resistance movement called, appropriately enough, Freedom. It's now up to you to overthrow the Corporation and restore the rights of the people. In many ways, SOE harkens back to the days of 8 and 16 bit brawlers like Double Dragon and Streets Of Rage. It's cartoonish, albeit well done graphics, brings to mind those titles and State Of Emergency evokes that same thrill you felt, back in the days of Nintendo vs. Sega, when whacking someone in the head with a blunt object, as well as fists and feet. However, unlike those games, here you not only have a solid selection of hand to hand (as well as foot to head) combat techniques but also a huge arsenal of destructive and powerful weapons. Along with the standard pistol and shotgun, you also have access to Automatic weapons (the aforementioned M16 and AK47) as well as a mini-gun, rocket launcher and flame thrower (a personal favorite, run down the street spraying that baby everywhere and you'll see why). In addition to several other weapons, many of the objects in the environments are fully destructible. Benches can be thrown through windows and stools can be uprooted from the floor and used to lay the smackdown on any unlucky soul who gets too close. The combat system is simple but has some depth if you care to work with it a bit. Combos can be performed by simultaneously pressing the square and X buttons on the face of the Dualshock 2. Separately, the X button is used to punch and Square to kick. With a weapon in hand, the X button becomes your trigger. The left analog stick controls movement and the camera spins around the character using the right. Tap R2 to center the camera behind your character and hold it down to lock in place and pivot your field of fire when you have a weapon equipped. This enables more accurate shooting. You also have the ability to fire weapons while running. Trust me, barreling through the mall blowing crowds of people away in great gouts of blood never gets old. Other moves include a 360-degree attack, as well as strafing and sprinting. The camera behaves pretty well the majority of the time but can get a bit hung up during the rush. When moving around corners I've found it best to get into the habit of tapping R2, thereby resetting the camera for an unobstructed view of what's ahead of you. Chances are it's a hit squad of Corporation goons ready, willing and able to drive you under their jackboots!! The expansive, 3D areas are littered with weapons. To retrieve them simply stand next to an available object (denoted by the yellow circle that appears around it when you approach) and press the circle button. Discard weapons and objects with the same button.

There are two main modes of game play: Chaos and Revolution. In Chaos, while there are no missions to complete, your main objective is to score points. This is done in several ways: Kill Corporation guards and gang members, destruction of property, including storefront windows, cars and benches (amongst other furniture) and successful completion of in-level objectives. While killing civilians won't gain you any points, the only time this will be held against you is during civilian kill penalties, which, when active, will cause you to lose points for civilian deaths. Conversely, score multipliers, when active, double or triple the score for destruction of specific objects (such as cars). When you achieve the proper score in each of the Chaos modes, the game unlocks new levels and game modes. At the start of the game only the Capitol City mall level is available. However, dedicated play will continue to unlock additional levels, such as China Town, the East Side and Corporation Central. Chaos is made up of several sub modes. First is Kaos, which has you assaulting the level and collecting time and health power ups from fallen Corporation forces and gang members. The timer is always running and to continue you must grab time pickups to top off your clock. The ability to split your attention between health and time pickups, as well as pure rioting, is of paramount importance in this mode. The level continues until you run out of time or die (at which time an insanely cheerful announcer brays УYou've been killed!!Ф) Thanks pal, but I was already wise to that fact, given the way my bullet riddled corpse just collapsed to the ground and all!! In addition there are two fixed time modes (3 and 5 minutes each), which play exactly the same as Kaos, except without the time pickups. There are also several variations of Last Clone Standing, in which you are placed in a level and instructed to kill some 200 clones of Corporation knuckle draggers. This is an unbelievable shooting gallery, as you hunt down and exterminate trooper clones until our old friend the announcer trumpets: Уyou've killed everybody!Ф Continued play will eventually unlock an unlimited time version of Kaos mode, in which you run and gun for as long as your health holds out. The Revolution mode is mission based, Featuring 175 missions (this is, of course, similar in structure to Grand Theft Auto 3) that must be completed. Each mission objective that you reach unlocks a new one, while finishing all the missions in a given level unlocks new levels as well as playable characters (5 in total). Mission types include seek and destroy, picking up and delivering merchandise, as well as escort duty for your allies. It's worthwhile to note that less weapon access is present in this mode, as weapons are not found lying around as they are in Chaos, but are instead generally acquired for specific missions. There are arrows and target identifiers throughout to assist you in your goals and they can be quite helpful in pointing you in the right direction. SOE uses an auto and manual save system. You can manually access the in game menu after completing missions in Revolution mode to save your progress, while achieving a worthy score in Chaos mode auto saves said score.

Technically, the game is a marvel of programming ability, with some 150-200 characters onscreen at any given time and nary a drop in frame rate. The environments are well textured and fairly detailed, the character models sport good polygon counts and weapons are nicely realized. There is an occasional clipping issue or two, though this is not at all distractive to game play. While not jaw dropping, the visuals are well done. Though the game retains a decidedly arcade feel, your implements of destruction have good heft and weight to them. When fired, weapons react properly and tear up lots of real estate. Firing the rocket launcher into a storefront produces a massive explosion full of light sourcing, particle effects, smoke and shattered glass (it also kills anyone within a 10 yard radius!!) Missile contrails are realistic and accurate as well. The in game sound is well done. Stampeding footsteps, the tortured screams of the wounded, as well as weapons (from loading and cocking the Uzi to the basso boom of the rocket launcher) are top notch and help immerse you in the experience. The music is a bit repetitive, favoring a techno flavored, pounding beat. While nothing to write home about, the soundtrack is serviceable, if not particularly innovative. For fans of the genre, of note is the remix of УUrbanФ by DJ Mark Basta, which plays during the game demo.

In some ways, State Of Emergency can also be somewhat repetitive in its gameplay mechanics. However, I quickly found myself coming back for more. There is something about the way this title portrays a right on the money feeling of riotous, unbridled blood lust. Actually, this had me slightly taken aback during the first few hours of play. However, I soon realized that the over the top presentation of the incredibly brutal violence really elevated it into the realm of hilarity. The goofy announcer, as well as the point icons that appear above the heads of victims, remove enough realism to allow the subject matter to transcend its ghoulishness and become a hyper real caricature of itself. Don't get me wrong, the Warning: check ID sticker, which incidentally, is on the box itself, not the shrink-wrap, is well deserved. In no way is this game intended for a child (even though there is an option to toggle off the gore.) However, it can really be a blast (no pun intended, I swear) for mature adults to sit around and play with several friends, each taking a turn rioting as much as possible, before passing the controller on. Some incredible scenarios can result. At one point last night, through the miracle of powerups, I found myself in possession of a limitless M16. What followed was a lengthy standoff, which resulted in the slaughter of 40 or 50 Corporation goons, complete with exploding store windows, screaming rioters who never fail to end up in the line of fire, and enough blood to make Senator Lieberman lose his lunch. Yes, it was as cool as it sounds. Whether or not this game is for you remains to be seen. However, every gamer who is mature enough to handle the experience and has a love for the old school beat Сem ups and frantic 3D action titles, owes themselves at least a rental. As for me, I'll be busy for weeks, throwing Molotov cocktails at cars and trying to take out that oil tanker down the street with my rocket launcherЕVirtually, of course.