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| | Title:
Reservoir Dogs
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System:
Playstation 2
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Genre:
Action/Driving
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Publisher:
Eidos Interactive
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Developer:
Blitz Games
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Release:
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
M (Mature)
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A lot of previews have recently started with “based on the film made in 19...” This is due to the mass LPs being produced, based on popular or cult-classic movies. Reservoir Dogs, the hit independent film made in 1992, was budgeted on only $1.2 million, featured a cast of memorable characters, and had a “non-linear” story that many films have tried imitating. The game itself will follow the likes of the colors-for-alias-robbers and the heist that went very wrong. The game will feature driving vehicles and holding hostages, which is just part of the fun in Eidos’ Reservoir Dogs.
The game affords players the option of playing the main characters from the film in 10 on-foot stages, and six driving stages. The game will feature the same scenarios visited in the movie, as well as characters, cinematic camera angles and the whole bloody nine yards. There is one thing that does take away from the game a bit; most of the actors were not available to lend their voices to the characters in the game. However, Michael Madsen did lend his likeness (and voice) to his character, Mr. Blonde. And that is a move that Eidos probably won't regret.
Mr. White and the story
This game is not trying to imitate the movie in a hopeless attempt to make a completely original game (like the mess that was Jaws Unleashed.) Reservoir Dogs is instead a replicate of the movie, where gamers play segments of what they saw on-screen. Even though the movie was heavy laden with dialogue, the game will break gamers into segments of the characters’ happenings when they weren’t on-screen.
Players will also have the opportunity to get more back-story surrounding the main characters, Mr. White, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Brown. This will attribute players with more playtime, as well. Simply, the movie was not 20 hours, so there’s a lot of fill-worthy content for players to partake in that the movie did not explain or show. Even questions that most R. Dog fans have regarding segments of the movie that were not explained may be answered during the game (for better or for worse.) Some of these questions include the “psychotic” behavior of Mr. Blonde during the heist, the actual happenings to Mr. Blue, or where Mr. Pink conveniently hid the diamonds.
Mr. Pink and the heist
It’s no shock that this game follows the events of the heist that took place in the movie. The focal point of the movie will remain the focal point in the game. Nevertheless, the game won’t have players simply going from point-'A' to point-'B' in classic level-to-level fashion. This game has a neat little twist that will challenge players with the option of being ranked as a “Psycho” or a “Professional” (Mr. Blonde fans, beware.) The game will take note of a player’s characteristics in their playing style: How much shooting they do, how many people they kill, and what sort of tactics they strategically use to get out of a situation.
Players who are quick to pull the trigger on their adversaries may not always be met with the best results. Players who weasel their way through a level, however, managing to kill no one, will be granted the well-welcomed title of a “Professional.” More than that, the developers have mentioned that gamers who are good enough can actually play through the game (pay close attention you trigger-happy junkies) without killing ANYONE. Let me repeat that...players can actually play through the entire game (an action game) without ever killing a single person–hostages, cops or civilians.
Mr. Blonde and the hostages
Because cops or pesky civilians will try to one-up players in this game, it’s important to have alternative ways of dealing with them. Rather than walking away from every encounter with a body full of bullet holes, Reservoir Dogs has the neat feature to pull guns and have intense standoffs. Such standoffs can actually end without anyone ever firing a single shot. Players can grab anyone for a hostage and use them for leverage--even cops aren’t off limits for becoming a hostage.
Grabbing a hostage, though, isn’t the extent of taking a hostage. Players can grab someone and do very bad things to them to persuade any pursuers from taking further chase. Say the cops have a player cornered, if a civilian or cop is close enough, players can grab them and threaten the cops to back off or drop their weapons. Well, say the cops keep getting closer and have their weapons poised in the firing position, players can resort to more extreme measures by bashing the hostage’s head into a nearby object. Causing damage to a living hostage means that cops are forced to back off to avoid further injury to the hostage. Such events may allow players to escape the situation without getting fired at, or much less, shot.
Taking hostages doesn’t always have to end with inflicting violence for a speedy escape, though. Players can also take a hostage to gain access to certain areas. Using a store manager as a hostage will allow you to get into locked or restricted areas. Being smart about taking certain hostages or using them to one’s advantage will determine how successful a player is and how they will be ranked as a "Professional"/"Psycho."
Mr. Brown and the cops
There is, of course, players who probably are reading this and thinking “I don’t want to be professional, I want to kill, kill, KILL!!!” Well, there’s plenty of that in this game. As a “Psycho,” players can conveniently rampage through each on-foot and driving stage, shooting at everything in sight and using every violent means possible to progress through the game. The cops won't go down easy, though, so shooting fans will have plenty of action when engaging them in a firefight. The weapon selection appears to vary from shotguns and rifles to pistols and automatic weapons. Players can also aim out of a vehicle and shoot at pursuing officers or other road-goers.
Mr. Blue and the cars
As fore-mentioned, vehicles will play a large role in this game. The six stages that consist of vehicular driving will consist of many stunts, bumps, and tire-squealing turns. The driving mechanics, like most vehicular action games, are primarily focused toward the arcade-style driving genre. It hasn’t been disclosed, however, whether or not vehicles will take any sort of realistic damage. Nevertheless, amid the fast, crazy, stunt driving, players will have an extra element of hardships working against them, as some driving segments will require them to carry out specific tasks. In one case, players were enforced to keep a passenger alive (presumably Mr. Orange) as Mr. White fled from cops who were in hot pursuit. If the passenger’s life-bar (or if the player’s life-bar) is drained to depletion, the mission ends.
Mr. Orange and the release date
For now, the game has some neat features going for it. Taking hostages and partaking in Mexican standoffs seems intriguing, but how well it all melds together in real-time is something which we’ll have to wait and see. The driving sequences seem alright, but nothing too different from what we’ve been given from other action driving games. Again, we’ll have to wait and see how that all pans out. Fans of the movie and action gamers alike can still look for Sci’s and Blitz Games’ Reservoir Dogs to hit shelves on September 26, 2006, for the Xbox, PS2, and PC.
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