Gaming Target - Xbox: Minority Report: Everybody Runs

Written by Leigh Culpin on January 20, 2003

Full Review: Except that the later levels of the game won't let youЕ

Minority Report starts off as a sweet game Ц the combat is fun, the graphics are pretty good, and the environments are awesome, with the best use of a ragdoll-type physics system yet seen (yes, far better than Unreal Championship or Unreal Tournament 2003). However, as you progress your way through the game, you find that it gets not only very repetitive, but also very boring. By the time you're through the game you're likely going to be a bit sick of it, which is disappointing considering how fun it is when you first pick it up.

The game's storyline is perhaps a large part of the problem Ц it loosely follows that of the movie, but it does a rather poor job of doing it, so much so that you will appear in seemingly random locations at times and wonder why. If you haven't seen the movie at all, most of the game probably won't make a whole lot of sense to you without a decent amount of explaining. However, Treyarch managed to translate at least a couple things over well Ц the special effects in the game are generally quite stunning, from the jetpack trail to the concussion rifle. The rest of the game looks okay, but it certainly isn't terribly beautiful, though the glass can be a lot of fun (throwing a guy through the glass and watching as the shards fly about can be pretty entertaining for quite a while). Enemies thrown against walls, over tables, through glass and into each can be extremely cool to watch, thanks to the ragdoll system the game uses. It doesn't look realistic in the least, as the bodies of your victims go utterly and completely limp and make it very obvious why УragdollФ was the chosen name of the system, but it's fun nonetheless. Unfortunately once the novelty items wear off, you'll find there isn't much backbone to be uncovered.

Minority Report's 40 levels are generally varied in design Ц from decent to horrible Ц and feel inconsistent at best. You'll find the objectives of each level to be generally the same, though the length of each level tends to jump between two extremes Ц while some levels can easily be beaten in maybe two minutes, some levels will take up a large amount of your time, and without a checkpoint or save-anywhere feature, it can be frustrating to get to the very end of a level and get blown away. Of course, the unbalanced fighting system allows you to escape this fate Ц there are a couple moves that will easily knock down your opponents (who are generally very numerous), such as a cool spin kick (which some enemies will duck) and a rather cheap sliding move. However, should you decide to play fair and stay away from these two, you'll find an otherwise well-done fighting system. There are a decent amount of combos available and they generally look and feel well done.

The method for acquiring combos, however, is rather flawed. Throughout the levels various amounts of cash is hidden, and while many УsecretsФ are plainly visible, some are actually hidden like you'd expect a secret to be. Once you collect some cash for yourself, you can access the black market to buy combos, weapons, and permanent and non-permanent upgrades. You'd think you might have to search out seedy characters in a bar somewhere or do this in between levels. However, disappointingly, the Уblack marketФ is the name of a menu, accessed in-game via the pause screen, which allows to you purchase items at any time during gameplay, assuming you have the dough. A really cool idea gone bad; you might upgrade your health a couple times and purchase some combos, but generally you can get on without the menu and might even forget about it after a while.

The game also has a somewhat ironical aspect Ц the whole point of the film was for John Anderton, the hero, to clear his name from a murder charge. However, throughout the game, while all the weapons are allegedly non-lethal (including the grenade and rocket launchersЕ how does that work?) you can pick enemies up and dispose of them by throwing them off rooftops, platforms and out windows to fall screaming to their death. Odd, especially since the guys coming after you are generally your Уfriends,Ф the people you once worked for. Bloodthirsty guy for someone who didn't commit a murder, don't you think?

Despite this seemingly overlooked feature, it is admittedly fun to chuck a guy out a window now and then, and certainly saves you a lot of time and trouble. As do the weapons, despite a great lacking in availability most of the time. However, doing nothing but fighting and running all the time does get tiring, and neither weapons nor your seemingly superhuman tossing abilities save the game from this. Some levels are so short that you could beat it in under a minute, with an only vaguely outlined objective, but finding it could take ten times that long, much to your frustration as you realize how idiotic your final destination is.

Interestingly enough, the game has jet pack levels distributed throughout, and much like the first Xbox Bond game, which featured driving levels, it breaks up the non-stop mindlessness well. The effects and sounds for the jetpack are extremely well done, but unfortunately you can generally just fly straight through most levels at top speed rather than actually having to fight anything or complete many objectives, again making for unbalanced and somewhat unfinished-feeling gameplay.

The audio in the game is generally mediocre as well, with Anderton's voice over being the only decent set of sounds in the game. Clancy Brown made John sound significantly fiercer than Mr. Cruise did, and he really sounds like a hardcore bad ass when he gets into it. However, aside from that and the excellent jetpack sound, there's nothing much to look forwards to in the audio department. If you actually (for whatever reason) finish a fighting segment and stop to listen, you'll find the levels can actually be eerily quite, with little or no score and just the odd ambient sound effect. It would have been perfect, except for the fact that the game wasn't meant as a thriller, and in the end just brings that unfinished feel back.