TV Shows or movies that have been converted into video games are hit and miss I’m going
to say ninety percent of the time.
In this case, I was so hyped up to see my favorite TV show at the time had a video game.
But after the first 15 minutes of playing it, I knew that the game was not going to
get above the **** that it so elegantly starts you with.
This is The Shield for the Playstation 2.
The game takes place after the third season’s end.
If you’re not familiar with the show I won’t spoil it, but I am not a fan of games that
follow a movie script or a tv show nearly word for word, action for action.
It almost like popping in the DVD and just watching it again.
I need a reason to play a game, I don’t want to know the outcome prior to buying the
game.
The Shield video game had somewhat of a correlation with the show but not as much as I’s thought.
It still keeps the same gangs that the strike team would normally chase in the show such
as the, Biz-Lats and the One-niners whom of which have some basic lines when you encounter
them.
Now the voice-overs are almost what makes this game tolerable.
Since the cast from the show also did the voice acting, it was just enough motivation
for me to keep playing.
This is one of those games where, you can hide behind a bush near an enemy and listen
to all the voiceovers from people they probably found off the street.
Michael Chiklis and the rest of The Shield cast owned up to the game, and in my opinion
tried their best to carry something that was doomed from the get go.
I have a philosophy, if you make a video game half assed, then you’re going to get a half
assed result.
And I think that’s exactly what happed to this game.
It was a good idea that had either no budget, or just low motivation.
I’m going to guess the second one.
Now as far as controls, I can’t bash the motions and movements because it is very smooth
and respectable.
That I did like.
But I can sum the gameplay up in three words, Basic, basic, basic.
I felt like I was playing a 90s PC game from hell.
I mean, making the game play, well, playable, is good, but it was just too simple.
Probably, because you were only asked to do simple things during the game.
Ya know, pick up cocaine, arrest suspect, disable camera.
The game consisted of one button actions.
The Shield carried basic objectives and basic tasks.
Add it all up and they eventually produced a basic video game, and I can’t stress that
word enough, basic.
Basic damnit!!!
Then there is the searching for contraband and evidence feature.
Good idea, bad execution.
In my opinion, the cinematics were all wrong during your search for money, drugs and other
evidence you find in the designated areas.
So instead of Vic Mackey simply looking aimlessly, how about you give the man some legitimate
hand motions while he’s looks for stuff and shuffling sounds.
There’s even one area where you can search for evidence on a blank wall.
And I mean blank.
It was just a flat wall with its wall paper and that’s it.
Somehow I was able to find a big brick of coke on the wall that was not even there to
begin with.
I have no idea where it came from?!
I couldn’t tell if it fell from the sky or fell from my ass.
They needed to have Vic look into things that were more kosher.
Ya know, they needed suitable places in houses or areas where you could legitimately look
for shit.
And again, this feature was also Basic.
The games graphics are by far not the greatest in the world.
And like I’ve said in other reviews, this game falls into the category of, never should
have been.
For a PS2 game, it was not very sexy at all.
My overall evaluation of this game is that I loved the show, but the game is beyond disappointing.
Sorry, Vic.