'25 to Life' Isn't Worth the Time
Friday, February 17, 2006; Page WE46
The congressional types out to censor video game makers are best served keeping their mouths shut with this debacle. "25 to Life," a third-person shooter from Eidos, is a terrible game. It will die a quick death as long as the usual suspects don't get on their soapboxes and give it "Grand Theft Auto"-type attention.
The gameplay is uninspired and frustrating. The graphics take you back to the original PlayStation. The game has virtually no artificial intelligence whatsoever, which means virtual gangsters run around shooting wildly. The "gangsta" theme, and the game's built-in disregard for law enforcement, come across solely as a cheap marketing gimmick.
  The poor graphics and "gangsta" theme are criminal in "25 to Life." (Eidos/avalanche Software) |
For those who still care, the 16 levels in "25 to Life" are divided among three central characters: a gangsta on "one last mission," a dirty cop trying to come clean and a crime leader who wants out. (You won't care about any of them because of the ridiculous story and bad voice acting.) You'll traverse the city streets of a pseudo-Los Angeles and Tijuana, rob a bank and a casino, and take part in a prison escape.
Gameplay -- and I use that term lightly -- consists of firing weapons (40 in all) and tossing molotov cocktails and tear gas at random enemies. There's no consistent AI, which means some enemies (which could be cops or gang members depending on the story) take five bullets to the head to die, while others can fire through walls.
The multiplayer game is a step up, mainly because there's less AI to contend with. You and a group of friends pick a side (law enforcement or criminals) and play through the same lackluster environments in a number of team-based scenarios.
The true crime is that this game even shipped.
-- John Gaudiosi
25 to Life Mature, Xbox, PS2 ($40), PC ($30) Eidos/Avalanche Software
