The gaming market has recently been bombarded with crime-based games such as Grand Theft Auto, Driv3r, Hitman and the Get Away etc. Players have been hooked on the genre and cannot get enough of the gun-blasting, car stealing goodness that they provide for them. Strolling down the street with the hard edged boll, thinking that they are the most ruthless bad-ass in the town, in or out of the game, all of these titles give players a sense of pride and power that they could never experience within the real world. Colors blasts that theory to pieces as it merges the real world and the gangster world as one to create the most addictive and hardcore hood game on the market!
Like said, Colors has the same element as any other crime game that is out on the market. There are gangs, guns, fast cars, missions and the amazing feel of power and frenzy that comes with the gaming experience. However, Colors then goes past that.
In the game you start off as a wannabe crewmember of the local area’s gang. To do this, you have to prove yourself and earn the respect of the leader and fellow members before they will give you even a second look. Earning your is done by completing some initial tests, missions that will have you fighting against other gangs in order to show what you are made of. Through this you will then become one of the normal crewmembers in the gang and be able to make your own money and influence.
The whole game is then open to you and you begin on your struggle to power to, in the end, create your own gang and turf.
Your gangster can be customized, appearance wise, in so many ways that you cannot believe. Firstly you can change the style of your clothes, the colours and the clothes themselves, even down to the detail of what brand they are! Then you can choose your own hair style from long hair to afros and you can choose headgear to wear too like caps, banadanas and head bands. Though it does not stop there, I know it is exciting but wait until you hear the best part. Through the use of the digital camera, built into the back of the Gizmondo, you can take a picture of yourself, a friend or even a complete stranger (if they give you permission of course) and then map their looks onto a character model in the game! This means that you can create a personal gangster crew of your real life gangster crew!
Once you have everything completed and ready and you are now a true gangster, you can get stuck right into the amazement and glory that is Colors. The main comprise of the game consists of you completing missions and is a third person shooter. These missions can be as trivial as stealing a car to causing a rift between two other gangs, causing them to fight against one another. These are just a couple of the tasks mentioned but there are many more that will have the player completely engrossed in the game.
By doing these you can earn yourself money and more respect from those around you to help you get higher up in the food chain within the gang. With money you can then buy more items, especially weapons to help you battle it out through the missions. It is a great and unique system. Connecting up with others through the use of Bluetooth or talking to people within the game, you can trade items. You can do this by swapping it for another item or even bartering with them to make a good deal.
The weapons within the game are of such a wide variety and range. Obviously you have guns but they are not just a couple that maybe look a little different and are of the same type; there are pistols, uzis, shotguns and more. Then for other weapons there are wrenches, baseball bats and even screwdrivers!
The types of gangsters that you come up against are also a bunch of differently designed thugs with their own little quirks and clothing style. There are some who are fat, bald and dressed with a stained vest and baggy jeans but on the other hand you can have a sheik, shades wearing, toned and urban killer. Then you have all different nationalities that are dotted out about the town. These usually match the areas that you can visit too. Such areas are China Town, the Latin Quarter or even Little Italy. Here you will come across men of the respected nationalities. There are oriental men with tattoos and deadly glares, then thick skinned Americans and gun fitted Black gangsters.
When you are ahead of the game and now on top as king of the turf, with power over others and men to do your evil deeds, you can make the game even more interesting. The main aim of Indie Studios when creating this game is that they want to not only pull the player into the game but pull the real world into the game and vice versa.
One of the main things that they have revealed about Colors is that you can do whatever you want, that if you want to bump off a certain person than you can. If you are fed up with your current gang, you can even turn on them and stab them in the back, making secret alliances with other gangs. By doing this you can then destroy your current gang and take your turf to your new gang.
The limitations seem to be endless.
Due to the GPRS technology within the Gizmondo, Colors also has a special feature. By using this technology it takes your position and then places your gangster, according to the information, in a certain location in the game. This at first does not sound to interesting and pretty much a waste of time but it does not stop there. Using this you can create a geofield around that area where you are located and make it as your own turf, claiming it as yours, staking it and then battling off anyone who tries to take it from you.
Using this with a link to a pc, someone on the other side of the world can even see what you are doing in real life!
Colors is very colourful, with the powerful graphics chip and ARM9 technology within the Gizmondo, it allows 64bit graphics to be used. This game seems to look as though it has been pushed to its limits in the graphics department. The character models seemed to be so smooth and detailed that they could well be from a game for one of the next generation consoles.
There are also such a wide range of characters and people within the game that all look unique and personalised to a certain style.
Not much has been shown of the actual game itself and the surroundings of the city that it is set in but from the quality of the character models, it is sure to be just as impressive.
The game also features a whole soundtrack of Urban like music. This R’n’B style fits the game well with the gangster theme but it also seems to have many people in it that of a heavy metal and rock like type too.
Colors is sure to be an amazing game that will grip the world by both hands. Everyone will want it and want, more importantly, to be in it and a part of it. Unlike the other crime based games that are out on the market, this offers so much more and will give you a sense of power and control within games that you have never seen before, mixed with the classic and much needed elements of an action game.
It is to be a sure winner.
Mikael Lindgren, Lead Game Designer at Indie Studios says, “By time for the release I think you are going to see a pretty cool game with a lot of new features that you didn’t expect from a game like this. Also you are going to see 3D technology on a small handheld device that you haven’t seen before.”
Whilst Mikael Astrom, Acquisition Manager of the Gizmondo Group adds, “It’s quite cool having such a game in front of you, knowing that it’s coming out and that its going to have all these features. Its part belief because you know it is going to be successful because personally as a gamer I want to see all of these features in a game but still it is crossing your fingers and jumping off of the bridge. I would say that these types of games like Colors will prove the Gizmondo console and that is my strong belief.”
No matter how strong the belief it will not matter, the game itself proves its magnificent potential and quality of where the gaming market should surely be heading. TR
Essential Game Information
Publisher: Unknown
Developer: Indie Studios
UK Release: Unknown
Pros
Excellent crime style missions.
Unique range of weapons and items.
Customisation with use of digital camera.
Cons
No talk of hand to hand combat.
Could have used more from GPRS.
Could have used the digital camera to customise surroundings too.
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