Urban Chaos (Eidos. PlayStation 2, X-Box. 2006)

First-person shooters are ten a penny these days, so it takes something pretty special and novel to cut the mustard and grab us by the cajones and hold our attention. Along comes Urban Chaos, the gaming equivalent of Chris Tucker screaming in your face whilst repeatedly kicking you in the plums. It's bold, brash and unrefined, a bit like Jade Goody but far nicer to look at and not nearly as irritating. As far as shooters go, Urban Chaos is as close to a Hollywood action blockbuster as you can get. You are Nick Mason, all-American hero and employee of the month for government force T-Zero. It's your job to help a city in turmoil regain some semblance of normality as rogue gang the Burners have been making a wee bit of a mess lately. So, armed only with a taser and standard-issue pistol it's your job to clean up. Starting with a trusty but generic pistol you quickly gain access to an array of weaponry that would make Charlton Heston cry. By completing bonus emergency missions and earning medals through completing various tasks it's possible to build an arsenal to be reckoned with. Your enemies weapons are up for grabs too which means your cache of killing tools will grow to include circular chainsaws and cleavers. Nice. So far, so seen-it-all-before, right? Wrong. Urban Chaos places an emphasis on co-operating with NPCs as well as performing your own barnd of brain surgery with a gun. Certain situations require the help of a medic or fireman which makes you feel like you're really part of a team. You can issue commands to your colleague and they'll intelligently do as they're told without acting like idiotic bullet sponges. Urban Chaos is a joy to play constantly throwing new challenges your way keeping things fresh and varied. Hostage situations and rescue missions add a little spice to levels and lift this above the usual shooty-based dross. Combat is meaty and the usual staple shotguns and machine pistols on offer are suitably loud and exaggerated. Heads squelch and pop in a satisfying plume of blood and debris when shot at which is always an added bonus. Always. All in all it sounds like George W's favourite game, reveling in it’s own excess. It may be a little over the top, excessively violent and sweary, but don't let that put you off as you'd be denying yourself a real guilty pleasure. Urban Chaos might not be the best FPS available for PS2 and X-Box and the lack of a split-screen co-op or multiplayer does let the side down a bit, yet Urban Chaos manages to be a strangely endearing and infinitely playable game. It might not be exceptionally deep, but if you like the idea of doling out judgment on masked psychopaths with extreme prejudice then Urban Chaos is the game for you. However, the squeamish Mary Whitehouse fans among you would be advised to look elsewhere as Urban Chaos doesn't pull any of its punches.
Verdict: 8/10