Reservoir Dogs is one of the seminal films of the 1990's. It birthed a
generation of independent film, and placed an emphasis on dialog over action and
art. In fact, the most action filled scenes of the film are relayed entirely
through words -- you don't see the jewel store shoot-out, or the car
chase. Instead the tension comes from the viewer constantly being forced to
ask, "what comes next".
As a result, the licensed game of the film had
little to no chance of living up to it's source material. Especially so since
Quentin Tarantino and none of the actors (with the exception of Micheal Madsen)
co-operated with the project. What the developer was able to do was create a
play mechanic that was original, along with mimicking the tone, light and style
of the movie perfectly.
It would be natural to assume, given the material
and time of the release, that Reservoir Dogs would be either a Max Payne or GTA
rip-off skinned with the Tarantino I.P. It is neither. The game takes every
scene alluded to in the movie, (that was not shown), and lets you play as each
of the colored men (Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown etc...). It does so through two play
styles, the most simplest being a driving component, which is competently pulled
off. The second being much more impressive.
For most of the game you
will be trying to attain the role of a "professional" rather than that of a
"psycho". Fans of the movie will require no elaboration, but for the rest of
you that means this is not a run and gun game. There is value placed on each
life of the game, and you are far better off taking hostages than you are
blasting the shit out of your surrounds. The game features a mechanic in which
you grab a hostage and then use that hostage to show that you are serious in
your intent. This then allows you to move cops to put their weapons down and
maintain a submission posture. You have to take new hostages from time to time
as your current hostage starts to take on the psychological baggage of being
pushed around.
It's a brilliant mechanic that is expertly executed, one
that is in no other game I have played.
The script is excellent, steeped
in the style and cadence of the movie. The sound-alike cast, particularly that
of "Nice Guy" Eddie is both hilarious and true to the movie.
As a
Reservoir Dogs fan (I watch it at least once a year) I loved my time with the
game, which had meticulously designed levels. The only shortcoming being the
length; I beat it in less than 8 hours. But for that time, you could be "stuck
in the middle" with a much worse game.
