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The Sting!

Score: 85%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: JoWooD Productions
Developer: Neo
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Miscellaneous

Graphics & Sound:

Ever craved the adrenaline rush of swiping cash from a shriveled old woman, but those pesky morals just keep getting in the way? Look no further, friend. Straight out of the Austrian gaming industry comes The Sting!, a groundbreaking new spin on the criminal life with style to spare, courtesy of Europe-based JoWooD Productions.

Putting Microsoft's DirectX 8 technology to the test, The Sting's three-dimensional world appears pleasantly crisp from any angle. We've all seen much deeper character detail elsewhere, but the game's seedy city of Fortune Hills brims with enough atmosphere to keep the average gamer's attention long enough to make some serious dough.

Sound plays a huge part in burglary-based games, and this one's certainly not lacking. Small, realistic touches, like the rattle of a crowbar slowly prying open a grocery's window, add quite a bit to the experience of a planned heist. The jazzy 50s-style soundtrack isn't to be missed either, as moody little numbers provide each section of the city with a distinct feel. While the song-to-song transitions between areas could be smoother (at least some fading would be better than an abrupt stop/start every time!), many of these tunes ooze with a tangibly 'live' feeling seldom heard in today's newest offerings.


Gameplay:

Meet Matt Tucker. Fresh out of prison and looking to get back into the trade, he needs your help to plan the burglarizing of Fortune Hills' honest businesses. If you've got the talent and patience, Matt should have no problem becoming the most accomplished thief in all the land!

The Sting's innovation clearly lies in its execution; whenever the time comes to perform a new robbery, the big move won't be happening in real time, but rather as sort of a 'replay' of a hypothesized plot. See, before a theft can occur, everything is mapped out in a dry run. Matt can move around and steal as usual in the planning stage, but alarms and watchers don't interrupt the process. Only after everything's been walked through and considered can the real deal begin -- this time, with every possible danger keeping Matt on his toes.

This refreshing concept effortlessly combines time-based action with a dash of intense puzzle gameplay, paving the way for loads of replay value in the process. Even the second heist may require several plan edits before Matt can make it past the target location's entrance! Getting caught might not be a fun encounter, but countless rewards are to be had by figuring out better routes each time around.


Difficulty:

Some of the pilfering runs will prove excruciatingly difficult even for puzzle masters, but that's where the appeal comes in. As the number of accomplices involved with the job increases, so does the intricacy of escaping to the getaway vehicle unnoticed. Certain areas will alter the outcome of a scenario entirely, depending on how much time the player spends on scoring maximum loot. With a little luck, expert timing and the right tools, plenty of cash should come rolling right in.

Game Mechanics:

Using only a combination of mouse buttons, controlling the camera around Matt is a breeze. Zoom in and out, pan around or set the view on autopilot... even switching to Matt's first-person perspective is a mouse click away. Yet, even with all of these convenient options & angles, nailing just the right view during a theft can be next to impossible in certain cases. This is never good when timing's of the essence, but such occurrences are par for the course with nearly any third-person engine.

If you're like me, you may have problems hearing the CD audio in-game due without a little troubleshooting. Some users will need to try installing the game from an alternative drive when using two CD or DVD-ROM drives in their computer, and simply checking basic hardware connections never hurts. Trust me, stealing toilet paper from a gas station is much more gratifying with a fantastic soundtrack running in the background.

So, still can't get a proper mental image of how The Sting works? Think Looking Glass Studios' Thief series -- only with a floating third-person perspective, lots of humor, live elephants, gun-toting geriatrics, and ... well, come to think of it, Thief really has nothing to do with The Sting! Save the actual thievery aspect, of course. Nevertheless, our friends overseas at JoWooD have undoubtedly delivered one of 2001's most refreshing PC titles in a genre of its own; buy (don't steal) it today for a welcome change of pace.


-Ben Monkey, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ben Lewis

Minimum System Requirements:



Windows 95/98/2000 or Windows ME, video card with at least 16MB RAM, Pentium II 300, 64 MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM drive, 100 percent DirectX compatible sound card
 

Test System:



Windows 98 SE, Viper 770 Ultra video card, Pentium III 800, 256 MB RAM, 32X DVD-ROM, Soundblaster Live! Platinum

Windows Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix Microsoft Xbox TransWorld Surf

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated