Top down or over the shoulder? There must have been quite a debate at Rockstar Leeds as they began working out how on earth they were going to bring a fully-featured Grand Theft Auto to the DS. What we eventually saw was a return to the series' roots in terms of both the top-down perspective and all-action gameplay. So instead, it is Ubisoft that's attempting to re-create the full-on 3D open world gameplay that we've seen on other consoles.
While the videos and screens ONM had seen thus far had left us cold, the chance to (briefly) play the game at Gamescom last month left us pleasantly surprised. Could it be that Rockstar underestimated the DS's ability to handle fully 3D open world games?
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Maybe. Impressively smooth in the flesh and with the dual core gameplay elements of driving and shooting that you'd expect, C.O.P: The Recruit will inevitably be judged on not just its technical achievements but also on its ability to match the variety and character that spills forth from all of Rockstar's most famous adventures.
Even the stylish cartoon interludes that helped to tell the story in Chinatown Wars have been pinched. And the plot itself? Fairly standard street crime stuff, with a little twist.
A Fair Cop? You're cast as Dan Miles, a former underground street racer and the recruit of the title. The clumsy acronym C.O.P stands for Criminal Overturn Program, into which you're appointed to become a street detective and all-round do-gooder. Tasked with investigating a series of terrorist attacks in New York City with your mentor Brad Winter, it all goes sour when ol' Brad gets falsely arrested and you're forced to go underground to work out why. Inevitably, you get involved in a larger conspiracy. In the great tradition of these kinds of games, expect betrayals and revelations aplenty.
A by-the-numbers plotline then, but the folks working on The Recruit have also made some pretty bold claims about this game to spice things up. No loading times, for one - an impressive feat considering that the game must be pushing the DS hardware to breaking point. And the slick presentation vouches for the claim that it runs at 60 frames per second. A fully populated, six square mile reproduction of New York City is also promised, with 60 missions and an estimated 20 hours of gameplay.
But perhaps the most interesting thing about The Recruit is when your relationship with the NYPD comes into play. You can co-ordinate SWAT team assaults, set up road blocks, summon ambulances or police back-up and even access the city's CCTV network to track down your targets. There's also Bond-esque gadgetry to be played around with as you spy on people and uncover whatever mysteries need solving. Hopefully the variety this brings will stop progression through the game turning into a joyless procession of fetch quests.
Driving cars (and various other vehicles, including boats) is surprisingly nippy, while on-foot you use the D-pad to move and the touch screen to aim and fire, which brings pinpoint accuracy to your marksmanship. Where Chinatown Wars' combat was a little hit and miss at times, The Recruit could trump it with its on-foot sections if executed well. Although it's noticeably prettier when you're behind the wheel and the rapidly-whizzing-by scenery isn't up to so much scrutiny, we'd like to see the on-foot showdowns introduce a lot more tactical thinking and strategy than we saw in Chinatown Wars. With solid controls under its belt, let's hope the environments and missions turn out to be as polished as the driving aspects of the game.
A New Boss In Town Ubisoft could have a surprise gem on its hands with The Recruit. First impressions suggested a derivative GTA wannabe but there is enough polish to the presentation and overall ambition evident here to get us hoping it'll be at least comparable to Rockstar's DS epic.
To successfully achieve that, C.O.P: The Recruit will need to build on the solid game mechanics that we've seen so far and add plenty of variety, character and side missions to give fans of GTA enough reason to invest in another handheld open world game.
Even if it can't quite scale the same heights as Chinatown Wars, The Recruit will certainly deliver some solid, fast-paced action. To be frank, games like this will be a refreshing change if you're a DS owner getting bored of the more sedately-paced RPG and adventure gaming that seems to dominate the platform at the moment.
