Starsky & Hutch PC CD-ROM
Published
by Xplosiv
Developed by Empire Interactive
Released: 12th November 2004
Price: £9.99
If you are old enough to remember the 70's the chances are you used to watch Starsky & Hutch. Along with Kojak it was the best cop show on TV and even when they finally finished producing the TV shows it was still tremendously popular. Empire Interactive finally gave us the chance to play as Starsky & Hutch in last year's all format action title and just over a year on you get to pick the game up on the cheap if you didn't purchase it the first time around.
The concept of the game is simple. Driving around in the Gran Torino you'll take part in 3 seasons worth of TV shows as well as Free Roam and TV Specials modes. Essentially you have to steer the car whilst shooting the enemies that you're chasing. There's also various power-up icons that you can shoot that will give you better weapons, temporary speed boosts and increase your viewer rating. Viewer rating (VR as it's known in the game) is very important because if it drops too low your mission/TV show will have failed. By driving dangerously and triggering various sequences within a show you'll increase it so it pays to drive daringly.
The only control system I found that was comfortable was to the configure the game to use the 'WASD' FPS control system to drive the car and to aim and fire with the mouse. That said though it can make your fingers rather sore when you're constantly hammering away on the keyboard and mouse. The various TV shows all have similar objectives where you just have to take out the enemies. Occasionally you'll have to protect a car too which adds a small amount of variety to the game. The car physics are completely over the top but add to the arcade feel of the game. Graphically the game is fairly good with the over the top shiny car models being the highlight.
Subtitles can be enabled although they do tend to disable themselves when you come out of the game. Comments made by Starsky and Hutch during the car chases are not subtitled though. The objectives are shown in text and the mini-map will let you know where you should be heading to. On the whole the game offers quick thrills, is enjoyable in small doses and at the price of £9.99 is a good purchase but it lacks depth and it's not a game you'll want to go back to once you've finished with it.
Recommendation:
OK if you're fan of the TV shows and want some quick arcade
thrills.
Suitability for deaf gamers: Suitable.
Subtitles tend to disable themselves on exiting the game.
Overall Game Rating: 3.5/5