True Crime: New York City is the first game I’ve ever seen that comes with a disclaimer about the NYPD: “This game is not approved, endorsed, or connected in any way to the New York City Police Department.” The little piece of paper also states that this game is indeed fictional and doesn’t represent the practices of the NYPD. I guess the boys in blue didn’t appreciate that fact that this game lets you bend the rules to become a dirty cop in a realistically rendered New York City.

The choice of whether to be a good cop or a bad one makes sense considering the main character’s background. Marcus Reed is an ex-gangsta and the son of a crime lord. He’s given a second chance by a family friend in the force that turns a blind eye to Marcus’ revenge on his father’s enemies. Now armed with a badge in addition to plenty of street smarts, Marcus is let loose on New York City.

The game really starts when the family friend is murdered and Marcus has to find a mole in the force. With the ability to tackle the chapters in any order, Marcus works his way up various gangs in hopes of finding some information to nail the mole. The plot is appropriately B-movieish (I made that word up) and the Hollywood presentation makes it all the more compelling. Marcus has plenty of great lines, and his cocky attitude makes the cutscenes very entertaining. Excellent voice acting by Laurence Fishburne, Christopher Walken and other established yet lesser known actors add some credibility to an over-the-top storyline that can occasionally be silly.

While games like Grand Theft Auto have been based on fictional cities, the True Crime series is all about mostly accurate representations of big cities. The obnoxious one-way roads that populate New York are here, as are plenty of pesky pedestrians and yellow taxis. The entire city in the game is HUGE, and you can even enter most of the buildings. Granted, the interiors are repetitive, but it’s still a welcome touch. Of course, the traffic isn’t nearly as bad as the real thing, but the other cars tend to get in the way. That’s why it’s not a bad idea to commandeer a police vehicle and blare the siren to get the other cars the hell out of the way. “Borrowing” a knockoff Hummer (there are no licensed vehicles) isn’t a bad way to deal with the traffic: just plow right through everyone.

The best part about zipping through the streets is the excellent precision aiming mode. Clicking the right analog stick slows down the gameplay for a limited amount of time and zooms in, making accurate aiming possible. Picture this: you’re in a pimped street racing car and you get a call about a bunch of gun wielding crooks in a hijacked truck. You finally race up next to them only to have your car shot to critical levels. The pimped ride is about to blow up. Panicking, you enter precision aiming as the bullets fly by. You could shoot out their tires in hopes of disabling the vehicle and cuffing the criminals. Unfortunately, your car is about to blow and you’re left with no choice. You slowly aim the pistol at the gas tank and the reticule turns ominously red. Bang. Boom. Crime solved.

It’s moments like these when you really feel like you’re in a 80s action movie. Unfortunately, the slowdown takes a lot away from the driving segments. To be fair, the city is impressively detailed, from the recognizable landmarks to the trash that blows across the street. Unfortunately, it seems like the graphics should have been scaled back. When riding onto a populated street, the slowdown becomes irritating. At one point I swear I saw a bus move at about five frames per second, but that’s the most extreme case I encountered. It doesn’t ruin the game, but it did make me take a cab more often in order to get to a location instantly and not worry about the bothersome slowdown.

It really is a shame that I was forced to take the cab so often because then I wasn’t able to hear the excellent music nearly as much. An eclectic mix of groups such as The Sugarhill Gang, Blue Oyster Cult, Kurtis Blow, White Zombie, and many others means there is something for everyone. The only truly awful group on the soundtrack was My Chemical Romance, but I guess if I was a 13-year-old girl I’d enjoy their contribution more.

Fortunately, the slowdown isn’t nearly as noticeable while walking the streets. Even better is that you’re not limited to a puny pistol like you are while driving. The guns range from rocket launchers to dual uzis to tranquilizer rifles. The auto-aiming is excellent and the precision aiming is just as satisfying. You can pinpoint a non-lethal shot, or simply go for a headshot. The precision aiming is especially handy if the bad guy is using a hostage as a shield.

There are times when a gun isn’t appropriate, and that’s where the excellent fighting system comes into play. Combos, blocking and throws are required to succeed, as is watching the stamina meter. If it gets too low, Marcus stops to take a breath while you wiggle the left analog stick like a mad man to get him fully recuperated. There are also many weapons, such as lethal axes and less-deadly bo staffs. You can even buy new weapons and learn new skills at the dojos scattered around town. The shooting/driving segments feel like an action movie, and the fighting compliments that feeling. The environments are destructible, so it really feels like a martial arts movie when you upper cut some guy onto a table that collapses under his weight.

The different modes of gameplay add plenty of different ways to obtain good cop or bad cop points. Going for non-lethal take downs and cuffing the baddies instead of killing them is a great way to stay true and righteous. Of course, shooting innocents, killing crooks only armed with melee weapons and other unjustly violent acts don’t look too good considering Marcus’ profession.

Sometimes it’s hard to help being bad, especially with the relatively meager cop salary. Money can be hard to come by, and it’s required if you want to buy your own cars, weapons, and skills. That’s why it’s tempting to extort store owners, sell evidence at a pawn shop, or even plant evidence on someone to make yourself look busy at the station. With enough hard work a promotion can be obtained, but with all of those other ways of making quick cash can be easier if you’re feeling particularly dirty.

The problem with taking the path of either good or bad is that it doesn’t affect the game much. Do enough bad things and the cops will come after you, but when you’re caught you only have to make some good arrests and you’re back on the streets. There are two wildly different endings, but unlike the last game, there are no branching paths. Why did the developers take out such an excellent idea?

Another problem with the game is that the main storyline takes only a few hours to complete and the levels aren’t too varied. They usually follow the same formula: blast your way through an apartment building/warehouse/etc. while chasing someone, eventually fight a boss battle with that person, and then interrogate him. The interrogations are incredibly easy and simply involve smacking the person a couple times until he spills the beans. They’re pretty much impossible to fail unless you really try, so there’s no sense of tension or accomplishment.

It’s a good thing that completing all the sidequests can take maybe 20 hours or so and wind up being more entertaining than the main missions. There aren’t nearly as many things to do here as there are in GTA, but True Crime: New York City trims the fat and makes the side missions enjoyable instead of tedious. The missions from informants like Marcus’ father, a madam of an elegant whorehouse, and a crazy immigrant cabbie pick up the slack from the main storyline. Honestly, what other game would you give you a mission where you need to drive dangerously with your siren blaring in order to make a girl orgasm? It might be tasteless, but it’s still fun.

There are many smaller things to do around the city. Many random crimes pop up, such as domestic disturbances and barroom brawls, which require your police skills. Some of these random missions even connect with each other providing you arrest certain people for questioning. There are also a series of undercover fights and races that net you with plenty of cash. You even have the ability to frisk anyone you want. There’s nothing like finding gun parts on an old lady. The best part is that by stopping these crimes the precinct you’re in gets cleaned up. The trash gets cleared away, fewer crimes occur and less people carry illegal objects. It’s really satisfying to clean up the precinct, and the game rewards you for doing so. In fact, cleaning up all of these precincts is necessary to obtain 100% completion.

Unfortunately, True Crime: New York City has another issue as problematic as the slowdown. At times, the game is incredibly buggy and unpolished. Many strange graphical glitches are common, including moments of bizarre physics. One time I seemed to get inside an invisible car only to end up driving the one next to me. Another broken moment occurred at the start of a storyline mission. The cutscene was all black, and when it was over I found Marcus to be stuck in a black abyss of nothing. You could see him just fine, but there was nothing around him. Things were fixed when I reset the game, but it was annoying nonetheless.

True Crime: New York City may be considered a Grand Theft Auto knockoff, but it does a lot of things better than its rival. The side missions are exciting, and the brawls and precision aiming are superior to most of the gameplay mechanics in GTA. It’s just too bad the whole game feels unpolished and the slowdown is so annoying. Even with those flaws, True Crime: New York City is one hell of a ride, whether you choose to be a good cop or a dirty one.