Reservoir Dogs Review (XBOX)

Normally, the words "Mr. Pink" and "Mundane" don't go together. That's because anyone who has seen the movie Reservoir Dogs knows EXACTLY what Steve Buscemi can do with that character, going berserk during a heist gone wrong and shooting whatever he comes across. Sadly, this same feeling is not conveyed in Reservoir Dogs the game, and those words mentioned above mesh quite well. It's odd, really. It tries to look like the film and sound like the film, yet it doesn't carry the brutal enjoyment that the movie's known for. If Quentin Tarantino handled consulting, he probably would have grabbed his Kill Bill sword and gone to town on editing.

The premise for the game sounded interesting; events from the movie would be narrated through the perspective of its six involved participants and loose ends were going to be tied up. However, any promises that Volatile made in development are broken here, and the questions aren't really answered. They're just set-ups for useless level additions and pose even more questions, such as "Why did I buy this?"

Both of the gameplay styles are garbage. The driving segments featured in the game are all too brief, thanks to the limited area that players are given to roam around in. Sure, various cars are available, and some missions, like keeping a thug from bleeding to death as he races to the hospital, are meant to add intensity. Unfortunately, all of the cars handle as if the oil was misapplied, being poured into the tires instead of the engine. They feel wobbly and, at times, uncontrollable, leading to unavoidable crashes and explosions. It's understood if a car is SUPPOSED to crash during a police chase or a gunfight, but it's unacceptable when it happens simply driving from point A to point B.

Then there are the segments on-foot. As players take control of each member of the gang, they have the option of either going all-out and shooting everything in sight, or being professional about it and taking as few potshots as possible, sparing lives and just getting the job done. This bumps the ranking anywhere from Psycho to Professional. However, the ranking system doesn't get you anything, aside from earning special endings at the end.

The AI acts in rather odd ways throughout the game. Players can snag hostages and talk their way out of face-offs with cops, but it's unpredictable: sometimes they react, sometimes they don't. Players could be beating a hostage senseless with thwacks to the head and the cops do nothing. They would probably react quicker to a Winchell's Donuts gift card. Hostages are about the same way. When any of the gang members tries to command them to unlock a safe or a door, it takes numerous tries before they even become cooperative. It's like they're being threatened with a water pistol.

Even if the AI was decent, there's still the matter of the horrendous gameplay. Shooting at enemies is a chore, due to a poorly implemented control scheme. The inclusion of an adrenaline system is useless; it's just not like a heist specialist to suddenly slow down time and rain down the place in a hail of bullets.

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