Software Review
The Sting!
reviewed by Robert Laurie
Your name is Matt Tucker. You live in the fictional city of Fortune Hills. You
are a small time burglar who just
got out of jail. You are ready to get back into the life of crime, and to elevate
yourself from small time crook to
the man who has pulled of the ultimate heist.
The Sting!, developed by JoWood Productions, is a lighthearted burglary simulator
that takes place in the biggest
3-D virtual town that any computer game has ever had. This cartoon style game
is designed for players of all ages
and skill levels. This is a review by a reviewer with minimal computer gaming
skills.
Matt Tucker is an odd looking creation. He can best be described as Jay Leno
in a leisure suit. Tucker always
wears a sly grin on his face, which sits just above his exaggeratedly protruding
chin. Though tempting, the chin
cannot be used as a tool in Tuckers potential heists. His suit really adds to
the sleazy crook appearance. He wears
a black jacket with red stripes crossing each other, and his pants are black
with yellow pinstripes going down them.
The game begins with you in the motel room of Matt Tucker. It is there that
you plan out his potential burglaries.
You stray from the hotel room in order to scout out potential targets. You are
also able to seek accomplices and
sources for money and equipment needed to carry out these crimes. The equipment
can include lock picks,
crowbars, and fire extinguishers. Once you have scouted out the ideal place
to burglarize, you return to your hotel
room to plan the crime. The game then shifts into a video recorder type mode.
It allows you to record your plan
and then carry it out. If you are carrying out the plan and get caught, you
are able to go back and edit your plan
and try again.
What separates this game from others is the ease of interaction in the town.
You are able to talk to anyone in
Fortune Hill, whether they are on the street or in a store. Some of the people
you converse with may give you
valuable information; some may give you nothing at all. You have access to all
types of vehicles in this game. Some
are difficult to gain access to, like sports cars and trucks. Cabs are easy
to attain, as long as you have the dough.
Just tell the cabbie where you want to go, and before you know it, the bumpy
ride is over and you are there.
The many buildings in the town are simple to explore, as long as the doors are
not locked. You can explore stores,
hotel rooms, even bathrooms in order to find what you are looking for.
Matt Tucker is controlled by mouse clicks. This type of interface is simple,
but tedious. If you click in the wrong
place, you wait for Tucker to complete his walk before you are able to correct
the move. The camera angles used
make this game easy to follow. The third person view can be zoomed or rotated
with ease. You can also switch to
a first person view momentarily. Objects and people that can be used are easily
interfaced as they glow when the
mouse is moved over them. It is simple to get into a cab just as it is simple
to talk to whomever you need to.
It is the video recorder style planning of the crime where I have a problem.
As an amateur game player, I had a
difficult time planning the heist. I was never able to actually carry out a
crime. While more advanced game players
may be able to figure this out with ease, more novice players may take a while
to master this portion of the game.
Overall, the graphics of The Sting! are detailed and fun. The fictional city
of Fortune Hills is very detailed and
interesting to explore. The interplay with Matt Tucker using the mouse is very
simple, yet tedious. Finding and
apprehending objects is simple as well as communicating with townspeople and
prospective accomplices. This is a
fun game to play. Again, the only problem that I had with the game was the planning
of the crime. It was just too
difficult for this novice to get a hang of.
For: Windows 95 / 98 / Me. Available from amazon.com
$30.
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