Retro Tuesday: Crime City
Once upon a time there was a happy and carefree young bloke who used to hang around with other such happy and carefree young blokes. There were no girls, no school, no jobs, just an endless summer of gaming. Lots of overnight parties involving soda, crisps (chips to Americans) and lots and lots of roleplaying games and computer gaming.
That was a long time ago, and that was when a friend and I sat down one night and completed Crime City in one sitting while everyone else slept off a massive sugar high. Crime City was published by Impressions Games, the same guys behind Caesar, Pharoah, Zeus and Lords of the Realm III. It was released in Europe where it got a lot of interest and it crossed a number of different genres including strategy, RPG and adventure, which was very unusual the time.
In the game, you play Mr. White (how dubious is that?), who’s father has just been arrested for murder. You set out to prove his innocence, but you only have a limited amount of time in which to do it. Fail and your father goes to the Big House…
Much of the game is a traditional point and click adventure, but there are a number of elements which set it apart. You’ll need to collect information, and this will require that you travel around the game map. Travel takes time, and you don’t have that much time to begin with, but you can reduce the time it takes to travel by using the bus or using a taxi. This costs money, and you’ve only got a certain amount at the start. You can play the stock market to make more money though, which is a mini game within the game and adds an element of strategy to the game. You also have to placate your girlfriend and keep your mum from stressing while you hunt down the real killer, who is throwing down challenges to you throughout the game.
The game was put together by two blokes, Steve Redpath (Design & Graphics) and Andrew Prime (programming) and they did a heck of a job creating a fun and innovative adventure game that still stands up today as a challenge. One of these days I’m going to sit back down and complete it again, just as soon as I complete all the other games I’ve got in my collection…
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