A prettier, more physics-intensive GTA clone. Pros: amusing story and dialog, great effects and explosions, reasonably fun. Cons: unfocused design that never stopped to think about the core of what makes GTA a great game. I coded the 360 degree screenshot tool, the mission editor, the save/load system, and did a little mission scripting.

For what started out as a mostly non-violent Hip-Hop game about the four pillars of the culture, it became a case study in the effects of marketing pressure and lack of artistic conviction. It’s an amusing GTA ripoff with funny writing and a whole mess of bugs. It also sold like hotcakes. Artistic integrity and poverty or “market flexibility” and wealth. Everybody’s metric for success is different.

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Buy the game at Amazon.com

Buy the guide at Amazon.com