State of Emergency 2
Posted September 13, 2006
Back in 2002 Rockstar Games decided to capitalize on the overwhelming success of Grand Theft Auto III by taking all of the fluff out of the game and basically turning you lose to riot to your hearts content. While blowing things up can be quite fun it can also be monotonous. The general consensus for the original State of Emergency was either you loved it or you hated it, in either sense the game seriously lacked depth.
Fast forward to 2006 and we are now presented with State of Emergency 2. Rockstar stepped aside to allow the people at DC studios to do the development work for the follow up, which promised to add the depth that was seriously lacking in the first installment. Was the teaming up of DC Studios and SouthPeak Interactive the magic formula that would bring the franchise to glory? In short no, but that's not to say there weren't any redeeming qualities to the game, you just have to really look for them.
Gameplay:
I had no idea what to expect from State of Emergency 2 when I first loaded into my PS2. But I was immediately blindsided by the intro scene. I thought to myself "Wow there's going to be a plot to this game?" I could watch the intro a dozen times and still not make sense out of what was supposed to be going on here but from what I gather, in the future things are bleak and the militarized police force is corrupt; and you're just the guy to take them down. These opening scenes literally dragged on for what seemed like an eternity and I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to play a game or was I only here to watch the worst CGI film of all time. Here's a tip for anyone aspiring to make video games for a living: if you're going to use a horribly outdated game engine to render your cutscenes please make them short.
Okay back on track here. Your character Mac is about to be executed in front of the television news cameras but members of your resistance movement (Freedom) have other plans in store. Just as you are about to check out a friend makes sure you don't by providing you with a gas mask and an automatic weapon, at which point the chamber you're in fills with gas. After your failed execution you will need to find your way out of the prison guns blazing, with inmates rioting all around you as you take out guard after guard. Sounds fun right, sadly it isn't. The terrible AI and sloppy controls make this a frustrating task to say the least. Instead of giving you a helping hand the inmates liberate from their cells run around like idiots and scream obscenities which albeit entertaining is ultimately just an annoyance. Every once in a while when you kill a guard an inmate will take a few kicks at them but otherwise they are just there to add to the feeling of chaos.
All of the elements are in place to make State of Emergency 2 a great game, the problem is none of them are executed very well. While spraying automatic gunfire at your enemies works well, using the shotgun or pistol requires you to aim; this function is absent from the game altogether it seems, as pinpointing a target is nearly impossible at times. When you pick up your first sniper rifle it may take you a couple minutes to even figure out how to use it, let alone get your crosshairs to line up as you would like them to. Peeking around corners is a good way to surprise an enemy or take a shot at a target without being seen but this also doesn't work as well as it should. Many times when you try to execute this maneuver you end up standing in the middle of a hallway and become a bullet sponge.
As you work your way through the game you will meet up with other playable characters, their only redeeming value is the fact that while you aren't using them they cannot take damage. So if you're using Mac and are nearly dead you can switch to one of the other characters and they will have a full health bar. If that makes things sound easy rest assured they aren't. There is nothing in the beginning sequences of the game that will prepare you for what you face as you progress, as every new checkpoint is a test of trial and error. Some of the missions will require you to play them many times to figure out the exact thing you need to do to finish them. There are many drivable vehicles in the game as well but yet again the controls are so sloppy that none of them are any fun to take control of.
There is a multiplayer mode in the game that could serve to add replay value, but I don't really think it does. It's quite possible that the multiplayer would be fun with a group of 4 friends but I only played it against bots and it was ultimately very boring. Where the small amount of replay value in the game actually shows in the arcade mode which features such modes as take out the snipers and protect the prisoners. All of the arcade modes are timed and you simply try to outdo yourself. I easily had the most fun playing these mini-game modes.
Graphics:
State of Emergency 2 certainly has a lot going on in terms of action, there are inmates and guards running around virtually nonstop, the problem is they don't look good. In fact the predecessor to State of Emergency 2 looks better from what I can recall and the game makes Grand Theft Auto 3 look like a masterwork graphically. The level designs are uninspired and drab, I literally felt like I was on the same level the entire time I was playing as the scenery never really changes. When sniping, it's sometimes hard to tell whether you're aiming at an enemy's head or their chest since from a distance they are really just blob on your screen. The Camera often pans through walls while you're trying to peek around corners and sometimes seems to just fly off into space for no apparent reason. For a game that was made in 2006 it certainly felt like I was playing something that could have easily been made years earlier from a visual standpoint.
Audio:
I can only assume that DC studios must have been running out of room in the budget when it came time to record the dialogue for State of Emergency 2's audio track. This is some of the worst voice acting ever, and it tends to border on unintentional comedy. The overabundance of swearing in the game may add to the shock value a bit and be fairly amusing at times but it wears out its novelty after about 10 minutes, after that I just wanted everyone to stop talking altogether. The bright side to the audio track is that the sound effects are really quite good, the sounds of gunfire are nice but overall the soundtrack for State of Emergency 2 is way below average.
Conclusion:
The Arcade mode may give you 10 even 20 minutes of enjoyment from time to time, but that isn't really worth the cost of admission. The poor gameplay in the single and multiplayer modes in State of Emergency 2, mixed with a ridiculous story that makes no sense, laughable AI, and outdated graphics is a recipe for disaster. If you're really interested in this game it may be worth a rental but I suggest you skip this one.
Fast forward to 2006 and we are now presented with State of Emergency 2. Rockstar stepped aside to allow the people at DC studios to do the development work for the follow up, which promised to add the depth that was seriously lacking in the first installment. Was the teaming up of DC Studios and SouthPeak Interactive the magic formula that would bring the franchise to glory? In short no, but that's not to say there weren't any redeeming qualities to the game, you just have to really look for them.
Gameplay:
I had no idea what to expect from State of Emergency 2 when I first loaded into my PS2. But I was immediately blindsided by the intro scene. I thought to myself "Wow there's going to be a plot to this game?" I could watch the intro a dozen times and still not make sense out of what was supposed to be going on here but from what I gather, in the future things are bleak and the militarized police force is corrupt; and you're just the guy to take them down. These opening scenes literally dragged on for what seemed like an eternity and I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to play a game or was I only here to watch the worst CGI film of all time. Here's a tip for anyone aspiring to make video games for a living: if you're going to use a horribly outdated game engine to render your cutscenes please make them short.
Okay back on track here. Your character Mac is about to be executed in front of the television news cameras but members of your resistance movement (Freedom) have other plans in store. Just as you are about to check out a friend makes sure you don't by providing you with a gas mask and an automatic weapon, at which point the chamber you're in fills with gas. After your failed execution you will need to find your way out of the prison guns blazing, with inmates rioting all around you as you take out guard after guard. Sounds fun right, sadly it isn't. The terrible AI and sloppy controls make this a frustrating task to say the least. Instead of giving you a helping hand the inmates liberate from their cells run around like idiots and scream obscenities which albeit entertaining is ultimately just an annoyance. Every once in a while when you kill a guard an inmate will take a few kicks at them but otherwise they are just there to add to the feeling of chaos.
All of the elements are in place to make State of Emergency 2 a great game, the problem is none of them are executed very well. While spraying automatic gunfire at your enemies works well, using the shotgun or pistol requires you to aim; this function is absent from the game altogether it seems, as pinpointing a target is nearly impossible at times. When you pick up your first sniper rifle it may take you a couple minutes to even figure out how to use it, let alone get your crosshairs to line up as you would like them to. Peeking around corners is a good way to surprise an enemy or take a shot at a target without being seen but this also doesn't work as well as it should. Many times when you try to execute this maneuver you end up standing in the middle of a hallway and become a bullet sponge.
As you work your way through the game you will meet up with other playable characters, their only redeeming value is the fact that while you aren't using them they cannot take damage. So if you're using Mac and are nearly dead you can switch to one of the other characters and they will have a full health bar. If that makes things sound easy rest assured they aren't. There is nothing in the beginning sequences of the game that will prepare you for what you face as you progress, as every new checkpoint is a test of trial and error. Some of the missions will require you to play them many times to figure out the exact thing you need to do to finish them. There are many drivable vehicles in the game as well but yet again the controls are so sloppy that none of them are any fun to take control of.
There is a multiplayer mode in the game that could serve to add replay value, but I don't really think it does. It's quite possible that the multiplayer would be fun with a group of 4 friends but I only played it against bots and it was ultimately very boring. Where the small amount of replay value in the game actually shows in the arcade mode which features such modes as take out the snipers and protect the prisoners. All of the arcade modes are timed and you simply try to outdo yourself. I easily had the most fun playing these mini-game modes.
Graphics:
State of Emergency 2 certainly has a lot going on in terms of action, there are inmates and guards running around virtually nonstop, the problem is they don't look good. In fact the predecessor to State of Emergency 2 looks better from what I can recall and the game makes Grand Theft Auto 3 look like a masterwork graphically. The level designs are uninspired and drab, I literally felt like I was on the same level the entire time I was playing as the scenery never really changes. When sniping, it's sometimes hard to tell whether you're aiming at an enemy's head or their chest since from a distance they are really just blob on your screen. The Camera often pans through walls while you're trying to peek around corners and sometimes seems to just fly off into space for no apparent reason. For a game that was made in 2006 it certainly felt like I was playing something that could have easily been made years earlier from a visual standpoint.
Audio:
I can only assume that DC studios must have been running out of room in the budget when it came time to record the dialogue for State of Emergency 2's audio track. This is some of the worst voice acting ever, and it tends to border on unintentional comedy. The overabundance of swearing in the game may add to the shock value a bit and be fairly amusing at times but it wears out its novelty after about 10 minutes, after that I just wanted everyone to stop talking altogether. The bright side to the audio track is that the sound effects are really quite good, the sounds of gunfire are nice but overall the soundtrack for State of Emergency 2 is way below average.
Conclusion:
The Arcade mode may give you 10 even 20 minutes of enjoyment from time to time, but that isn't really worth the cost of admission. The poor gameplay in the single and multiplayer modes in State of Emergency 2, mixed with a ridiculous story that makes no sense, laughable AI, and outdated graphics is a recipe for disaster. If you're really interested in this game it may be worth a rental but I suggest you skip this one.