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Bad Boys: Miami Takedown
Score: 50%
ESRB: Mature
Publisher: Crave
Developer: Empire Interactive
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Action

Graphics & Sound:
The recent trend in licensed games has been steadily moving upwards. What at first seemed like a trick only EA was able to pull off, other companies like Activision (Spider-Man) and Vivendi Universal (Riddick) have managed to pull off some amazing products. But, with every step up there will always be a step down. Unfortunately Bad Boys: Miami Takedown isn't so much of a step down as it is a hip-shattering tumble down the stairs.

I can understand that getting Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's likenesses in the game is still asking a little too much, so its hard to fault the developers for not getting them. However, the two models don't even look anywhere close to the actors and there were times that I was confused as to who was who -- and they were calling each other by name. Character models are only the tip of the iceberg and it only gets worse from here. Overall the game looks like an early generation PS2 game. All of the characters and even the environments are overly blocky. Level design is very bland and leaves very little in the way of exploration opportunities. To its credit, the environments seem like they are made to take full advantage of the game's "cover" system, but the levels are so guided it sometimes feels like the game wants to be an on-rails shooter. At least the levels are destructible, which is always a plus. Frame-rates are as choppy as they come and are noticeable even during the game's cut-scenes.

Again, I know it would be a monumental task at getting both actors to reprise their roles in Bad Boys, but again at least try to get someone who sounds remotely like the characters. The two impersonators handling the voices sound nowhere close and ruin the game. You're likely to not hear any of these voices since your speakers will be on mute for most of the game given the horrid dialog. It's very easy to see what the writers were trying to do with the game's dialog -- match the funny, sometimes cheesy dialog of the movies. Sadly, this isn't the case. To make matters worse, it seemed like the writers were trying to see how much profanity they could pack into the game. I have no problem with profanity, but when it is thrown in just because it is "cool" or to make it "edgy", I have a really big problem. The jokes just aren't funny and are repeated numerous times during each level.


Gameplay:
Bad Boys: Miami Takedown doesn't offer anything new in the gameplay department. The game revolves around the run-and-gun gameplay we’ve seen since the days of the NES. Gameplay isn't all that involving and typically has you running from room to room shooting everything you come across. At some points in the game you'll control Marcus and at others you'll have Mike. Also, some missions will require to you backup your partner, although I never ran into a time when leaving my partner in the line of fire while I dealt with another group of thugs actually meant anything. Bad Boys tries to inject some simple exploration concepts by having you find evidence scattered throughout the levels. Finding evidence adds some challenge, but I never saw a reason to actually do it.

I was never actually able to figure out where Miami Takedown's story takes place within the Bad Boys movie storyline, but pondering this is about as relevant as the story itself. The game's main plot revolves around a new drug that has been making its way to the street called Orchid. It also turns out that a famous East Coast drug dealer, Tulio Mendoza, has been enjoying a resurgence in power. Obviously these two incidents are related and its up to the TNT (Tactical Narcotics Team) to clean up the mess. Overly, the plot is very basic and relies heavily on the poorly scripted relationship between Marcus and Mike. A few subplots, like the return of a long-lost fling work their way into the plot. To be honest, there are a few moments that are interesting, but overall the story is as complicated as the gameplay.


Difficulty:
To its credit, Bad Boys: Miami Takedown does provide some challenge, however, its not the “good” type of challenge found in other games. Many of the game’s difficulty problems stem from a set of very loose controls and an active cover system that isn’t fully realized. During fire fights Mike and Marcus can take cover behind walls, columns and just about anything that can take a bullet. In this extent, the system works – it's when you have to shoot people that things fall apart.

When trying to target people, you have to first bring yourself out into the open and then guide the target to the person you want to shoot. This means that you have to leave yourself completely exposed for the few seconds it takes you to wrangle the reticule and shoot the person you’re after. Granted, an auto-target option is available and does help, but it seemed that 50% of the time I was trying to use it, the system wouldn’t work.

Control issues aside, the game is pretty easy. Levels are usually short and enemies put up little fight. If things get too out of hand just toss a grenade their way and you’ll be fine.


Game Mechanics:
The control system is flawed, but there’s evidence that the developers were trying to get some kind of neat system going since the mechanics are there. One of the more interesting ones is the ability to shoot weapons out of enemies’ hands. Trick shots like this aren’t integrated into the targeting system very well and require some fine-adjustment when in targeting mode. I would have had no problem with this system if only the controls weren’t as jumpy and bullets weren’t whizzing past my head as I leaded out in the open and tried to adjust the shot.

Another element that actually confused me a bit was the “Bad Boy Meter”. According to the manual, the system is supposed to track your actions during the game and give you rewards based on how you’re doing. Collecting evidence and arresting people (rather than shooting them) pushes the meter towards the "Good Cop" area while shooting everyone and causing as much damage as possible swings the meter towards "Bad Boy". I’ll readily admit I may have been doing something wrong, but as I played through the game, the meter never seemed to change for me. Again, I may have been playing right on that fine line between the two, but considering the body counts I racked up (I gave up on trying to arrest people early) and the damage I caused, I’d be way into the "Bad Boy" area. But instead I was relegated to the gray line between.

There are scenarios where Bad Boys: Miami Takedown could be fun. If you’re a fan of really bad comedy you might enjoy it or just need a game where you can shoot a lot of things and vent. However, the bottom line is that Bad Boys isn’t that good a game on any level, even at its budget price.


-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

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