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You get to start out your life as the gangster that wants to get out of the gang but finds himself caught in a double murder setup. The bullets get to start flying as soon as you start the game. The first big hint I can give is to be sure to watch that radar screen closely to help find the enemies. It took me quite a few times to get the hang of aiming the gun. I got my head blown off quite a few times.

The gameplay is overall very good. Unlike some games, when you die you get to restart at the start of the mission/task that you currently died at. It was nice not having to save the game at each little task completion in order to ensure you didn’t have to redo everything you previously had finished. The character movements are smooth and predictable. If you run into a wall you don’t go half way through the wall before you get stopped. Even though this isn’t my style of game, I still found myself losing track of time and trying to get past that one mission that I just couldn’t get past. Even though I just love shooting everything in sight, you need to watch the ammo level because when you run out you might as well call the undertaker.

The graphics are good with plenty of detail. If you keep the blood effects on you will definitely see plenty. Get shot and watch the blood spray hit the air. There are also plenty of blood pools around. Hopefully they won’t be from you. The buildings have enough detail to give you the feel of walking through dark alleys. The characters have a decently realistic look to them with realistic movements (at least action movie realism). Lighting effects were good and there was enough light to see what was going on clearly. Some of the games I have played lately have been so dark and hard to see what’s going on even when it is a daytime mission that I found myself getting frustrated with the game.

The only thing I found frustrating was the number of controls. I tend to shy away from games that use every joystick and button available to control the character. I guess I am just getting too old and still prefer the controls of games such as Pong and the early consoles. Even though I felt there were too many controls to use, I was still able to make my way through the missions and get plenty of enjoyment out of the game.

As far as longevity goes, I think the game will keep a lot of gamer’s attention for quite a while. The multiplayer option and Xbox Live hookup capability definitely helps improve the longevity. I don’t think there are too many gamer’s out there that don’t enjoy getting together with a few buddies online and trash talking while they go through the environement shooting and blowing up as many things as possible.

Overall I found the game to be enjoyable and challenging. This definitely is not a game for young kids and should only be played by mature audiences. Which is great because I am tired of everything being censored so that no one will be offended. If you are looking for a game that pushes the envelope and forces you to use a ton of bullets and weapons with plenty of Hollywood style effects, then this game should be on your list of games to get.