As a fan of True Crime: Streets of LA, I had to play the most recent edition, True Crime: New York City (TC:NYC). It is still a GTA clone ported onto multiple platforms. The game still focuses on driving, fighting, and shooting, although this time the action takes place in Manhattan. Being a fan of the "drive anywhere, do anything, almost no-limit" video game, I couldn't wait to play. Could this game be better than Streets of LA? In some ways, yes, and in others, no.

You are Marcus Reed, Christmas 2000, New York City back streets, blood-covered, driving up to an apartment complex, needing to take out a guy named Kev Lar. Nice nickname for a gangster don't you think? Anyway, he tried to kill your father but failed, and now you need to do the dirty work of taking him out in an all-out "venge-fest". You kill Kev Lar and turn around to a disgraced Detective Terry Higgins, a long time friend of the family and confidant of your father, Isaiah "The King" Reed (NY Kingpin/Prison Informant). He informs you that you need to stop living your life recklessly and get right in your ways. Then the game fast-forwards five years--you are now an up and coming detective in the NYPD precinct, thinking of how your life has changed for the better. You're talking with Terry and being introduced to your Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Deena Dixon of the Street Crimes Unit.

The game then has you take the Precinct Test to see if you have what it takes to be a detective and follow in the steps of your mentor, Terry. There are ten hand-to-hand areas to cover. Then you move on to ten run & gun tests. Then, finally on to the driving tests. These are all very simple, but remember, they are just the basics. You will have chances in the main game to earn/purchase upgrades to these basic skills with the cash that you receive from turning in evidence and collecting your salary. You can also extort shop owners for extra cash or sell evidence at pawnshops throughout the city. You just need to remember that how you earn cash is also how your rating of good/bad cop is determined. Once you complete the training exercises, you'll head down towards the locker room, change into plain clothes and get an uncover car from the garage to go out on the streets with Terry. He’ll take you into a few city scenarios to give you a quick rundown of a few more gameplay situations. You will then be asked by Terry to drive to an apartment that explodes just after he goes inside with a suspicious looking briefcase. You are thrown into a good cop/bad cop conspiracy but one thing is for sure: Terry is dead. You vow to find out more about this situation, although you are demoted to petty street crimes until you get your first case. At least you get to keep your badge.

The first thing you will notice is that Manhattan is a pretty big place. You will soon find that while driving around, the frame rate is horrible if you have a fast car or motorcycle. It's especially bad if it happens to be snowing or raining. Just as in the first installment, you can commandeer any vehicle, at any time. You can also go into many buildings to arrest/beat down perpetrators. All of these situations come across to you via police radio, and you choose when to respond. Don’t wait too long though, because you may have to wait a while for the next crime. Some quick examples: a rock band is trashing a local hotel and you need to put an end to it, or there are rumors of a ‘chop-shop’ in the area, and you need to check it out. At the various crime scenes, perform your public duty as a cop by arresting various individuals, or you may have to take them down if they are resistant. You then can explore the areas to collect evidence. You can visit various police booths scattered throughout the city to collect you salary, turn in evidence, or call for your car from the garage. Spend your money on guns, music, fighting moves, cars, etc... However, since this is New York, you can also get around without a car. You can always take the subway for a small fee or take a cab for a slightly higher price, though you won't need to sit in traffic.

The Magdalena Cartel is your first major case. Before dying, your friend Terry made the acquaintance of Teresa Castillo, a rich benefactress, with the belief that she holds incriminating information on the cartel. You need to meet her, find out what you can, and go through the multiple missions attached to this case. The missions include driving to a certain area of the city, talking to witnesses/friends, then moving on to the next area of the city to find out more about the cartel. Once you complete all of the requirements to this case, the other three will be unlocked, and you can progress through them in any order you choose. One more thing to remember: even though you are working on the main cases, you can also tackle side missions to clean up the city or just to make more money. You can make the acquaintances of various informants to gain more knowledge of your place in NYC, participate in street races where you can drive your way to the top of the illegal street racing circuit, and fight in arenas where you can perfect your hand-to-hand skills. All of these side-missions can lead to quick cash for legal/illegal purchases. Don't forget about fighting the normal, run-of-the-mill city crimes to clean up the streets of NYC.

The following cases include: Palermo Mob, Presidents Club, and Shadow Tong. The Palermo Mob is about an Italian Mafia that has sprung up due to the takedown of the 'last' Don in NYC. Law enforcement is ignorant to the fact that the Mafia just passes itself down to the next Don. The Presidents Club is about a relatively new crime organization made up of five Presidential imitators: Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, Grant, and the leader, "Benjamin". And lastly, The Shadow Tong involves a new ruler of Chinatown who has taken over the sweatshops and the knockoff trade in NYC.

The cars in TC:NYC are much improved over those in the first game. The models actually look like cars that might you see driving down the street in real life. You can purchase civilian cars at car dealers or purchase undercover police cars at the precinct. You can even modify them a little with different colors, larger rims, body kits, or police upgrades. My favorite is the car that looks like a Nissan Skyline R34 GTR. Beautiful. Try not to crash your car in this installment, because you have to pay for the repairs with the cash that you earn throughout the game.

All in all, this game is right on track with True Crime: Streets of LA, with some additional tune-ups. There are no rules or a set time line that you need to follow to finish the game. Just hop in your car of choice, modify it, live your life as a cop in NYC, and try to clean up all of Manhattan. It's just a free roaming, gangster-turned-cop, action/adventure/shooting/driving game. The scattered glitches and the need to save often to avoid lockups and data loss subtract from the overall game,but it's still fun and addictive.