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Platform: Xbox Genre: Action Publisher: Activision Developer: Treyarch ESRB: T (Teen) Released: Q4 2002 Support AE! Buy Games Here:
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Minority ReportScore: 6.0 / 10 |
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Pros: -
Graphics aren’t half-bad -
Fighting moves are mapped effectively to controller - Interactively breakable environments
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Cons: -
Horrible camera -
Bad Black Market and upgrade feature -
Story doesn’t seem to jive with the game’s action -
No Tom Cruise - Weapons control
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Related Links: Review: Minority Report (Gamecube) Review: Minority Report (Playstation 2)
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"Why is the supposedly good guy Anderton gleefully killing the Precrime officers...?"
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Videogames
based on movies usually don’t turn out well, especially for some
reason if the movie in question was directed by Steven Speilberg. E.T.
and Jaws are two of the worst movie-to-game adaptations ever. So it
shouldn’t be a big surprise that the latest Spielberg movie-based
game, Minority Report (while nowhere as bad as some games based on
movies) is plagued with enough problems to fall prey to the same dreaded
movie-to-game jinx as so many before it.
The
third-person action game follows the plot of the 2002 movie starring Tom
Cruise. It’s the year 2054 and as Precrime Officer John Anderton who
heads up the police division that can predict murders and arrest
would-be killers before they can commit the act. But after being framed,
Anderton must set out to uncover the conspiracy that has led to his
betrayal while avoiding the close pursuit of the very Precrime
department Anderton headed. Curiously, the character that Cruise played
in the movie, John Anderton, is in videogame form a completely non-Tom
Cruise looking gruff and gritty gray-haired gent. (Turns out to be a
good move on Cruise’s part NOT lending his likeness to the game).
This is a game that in short stretches I had a lot of fun playing. It has a few strong points worth mentioning. The gameplay is similar in some ways to Max Payne and other ways State of Emergency, with a arcade feel (hidden power-ups galore) to it.
Now,
one of my favorite features of Minority Report (MR) is the violent
ability to annihilate you opponents. I particularly thought it was a
hoot to be able to grab and throw enemies through plate glass windows in
huge buildings, sending them plummeting quickly to their demise. I like
having an interactively breakable environment that can be used to your
advantage. But this brought up an issue that only someone who saw the
movie (which doesn’t include me) is able to address. Why is the
supposedly good guy Anderton gleefully killing the Precrime officers
that he once was a fraternal brethren of (who incidentally, are only
doing their jobs)? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’ t think the best
way to prove your innocence of murder is by offing a bunch of law
enforcement officers.
Controlling
Anderton is relatively easy particularly when it comes to punching,
kicking, and throwing enemies, but the weapon control was badly devised.
Instead of equipping yourself by simply pressing a controller button and
having the weapon in your hands unless you ran out of ammo or put away
your weapon in favor of the fisticuffs, you must hold the trigger on the
controller constantly and then try to effectively fire at targets.
It’s not that easy to do. The game should have stuck to more
hand-to-hand combat action, which it does relatively well.
I
personally thought that the Xbox version’s graphics were surprisingly
good, which is a contrast to how fellow Armchair Empire reviewer
Siddarth Masand perceived them (albeit for the PS2 version of the game).
To me, they were rendered nicely, but more so in the well-designed
levels versus the character models. There’s some decent level design
in MR.
But
then there’s the bad. What
can really bring a third person action game down quicker than a
roundhouse to the back of the head is a bad camera that makes it
difficult or impossible to keep track of your placement within the game,
and MR has one of the worst cameras I’ve seen in a while. Even the
tough-to-handle camera work seen in another title, Hunter: The Reckoning
can’t compare to MR’s schizophrenic camera, especially when you have
to fight in tight quarters.
Another
problem with Minority Report is that even with 40 levels, you will most
likely be able to complete the entire game in about five hours. That’s
not exactly a lot of gaming for your money. The levels and missions just
go by too quickly until you reach the sometimes-frustratingly-hard
latter levels of the game. There are some extra unlockable stages and
characters that are supposed to get you interested in replaying MR, but
if you are able to complete the game, once through will be enough for
most gamers.
At
least there are a variety of futuristic settings – there is still a
generic collection of enemies that will bore you. None really offer a
big challenge unless you are careless enough to get surrounded by a few
of them at a time. The easiest way of getting rid of each wave of
enemies is by first killing off any that have weapons, which can really
inflict a lot of damage to your health meter. Then simply mop up the
remaining enemies before going on to the next stage of the game. You
won’t exactly find the smartest artificial intelligence on the block
in Minority Report.
My
last complaint is with the poorly thought-out upgrade system. By
collecting dollar sign icons, you can build up your bank funds to buy
additional fight moves and both temporary and permanent upgrades such as
weapons and health function-related goodies on the Black Market. But
there wasn’t enough of the icons around that I could really build up
enough money to make it worthwhile to collect them. As well, there only
a limited number of upgrades (both temporary and permanent) that once
they are gone, they are gone for the rest of the game.
I
didn’t see the movie, so I probably had more enjoyment out of the game
than those who actually saw the well-received Steven Speilberg flick and
may be more critical as to how closely the game followed the movie’s
plot. Minority Report has its moments, but due to the reprehensible
camera, loose weapon controls and repetitive gameplay, there’s just
not enough here to warrant a purchase. A double rental of both Minority
Report the movie and Minority Report the game, however, at the local
Blockbuster could give fans of the film a good way to spend a winter
weekend while avoiding the minority of people that pay full price for
this game.
-
Lee Cieniawa (December 29, 2002)
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