Introduction

True Crimes: Streets of L.A. was the first of two action-adventure sandbox games created by Luxoflux and produced by Activision in 2003 for the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.

The entire storyline can be summarized as follows:
You’re Nicholas “Bob” Kang a no-nonsense LAPD cop that was suspended for excessive force, but you've been asked to join a new super police squad where your out and out violence is the only solution to all of LA’s problems. You’ll be aided by:


An old, limping, and wise cracking police officer that starts the game as a gun bunny but then tends to just wander around and provide “insight”. He’s the most often heard character and talks after every power-up attempt. Also, he’s our narrator and voiced by Christopher “Prophecy 3” Walken. Now that you know this, reread the last paragraph in a Walken voice. You know you want to.


The chief of police for all of LA. She presumably had something to do with Nick’s suspension, but she’s also the one that asks him to come back and join a special unit with absolutely no substantial oversight. Hmm…
She’s voiced by C.C.H. “Avatar” Pounder (No, not like that - it's a movie she was in and her last name)


The epitome of the tough female character present in every action movie/game/book/comic/manga/graphic novel/oral tradition/epic that there’s ever been. Considering how predictable all the characters in the game are, she wins for being as true to formula as she can be. She’s voiced by Michelle “Blood Rayne” Rodriguez.


Filling the role of the by-the-rules static foil representing clueless authority is this humorously birth-marked FBI Agent. Despite this game's tendency to follow action movie tropes to the letter, he really isn't an impediment to the story and is even helpful on occasion. That being said, he still hates Kang. He's voiced by Gary "Dark Knight" Oldman.


If it isn’t super clear, the game is pretty much a bad action/cop movie with a Grand Theft Auto feel and control scheme, and this works pretty well, all things considered. It should also be noted that it does a very good job of combining the styles of gameplay (unlike, for instance, Dead to Rights).


I’ll be playing a somewhat abbreviated version of the game with my friend Jeff (Edo Animus) who has absolutely no experience with the game. That being said, tag spoilers and whatnot so he can be surprised by the pure cheese of the later parts of the game.


The parts I’ve skipped have been all the upgrade missions, though I will be showing off the special upgrades in an extra video.


The final note: I’m really not that good at this game, and the only reason I’ve beaten as often as I have is that I’m OCD enough to finish it 100%. In the spirit of my ineptitude, I’ll be keeping an accidental death count.



So let’s get on with it!

Videos

Triad Violence	YouTube
Mean Streets	YouTube
International Ties	YouTube
Con Girls	YouTube
High-Rise Terror	YouTube
Russian Face-Off	YouTube
The Rescue	YouTube
Rampage	YouTube
Blood Money	YouTube
House of Wu	YouTube
Finding Rocky	YouTube
Bonus Characters Dogg and Jass	YouTube
The Rest of the Bonus Characters	YouTube
Retribution	YouTube

Number of People I've Run Over: 57
Number of People I've Shot: 13