Kingpin: Life of Crime Demo

Violence can have a well-defined purpose in whatever art form it happens to be used in, since it can relay very powerful emotions and inspire a bit of fear into the person enjoying that particular piece of entertainment. However, it can also be overused and fail to obtain the desired reaction, as is the case with many pointless movies and video games out there.

Kingpin: Life of Crime walks a thin line when it comes to integrating violence and strong language for the sake of atmosphere and the story, but is somehow manages to pull it off splendidly and even make it look like the excessive amount of gore is a requirement in order for everything to make sense. Moreover, it also employs an inhuman difficulty level, to make sure that you really have to struggle and work hard to pass the levels and enjoy more of the same.

The background story is based on a man who's after revenge on a big and dangerous gangland kingpin, which means that he has to go through entire squadrons of goons pumped full of drugs and steroids in order to reach him and plaster the walls with blood and closure. On the way there, you also have the chance to build your own gang, by recruiting some nefarious individuals who lurk around the bar all night long and have nothing better to do in their spare time. Speaking of which, the universe in which the action takes place is a curious mix of steampunk and retro-futuristic concepts, which does wonders for the overall atmosphere and keeps you invested into the story.

Although the game was released quite a few years ago, there are some very modern gameplay aspects present along the classic FPS mechanics, such as the fact that you can organize your team mates to hold certain positions, or even plan an ambush to quickly get rid of the enemies. “Quickly” is only a figure of speech, however, because every thug you meet has a sizable hitpoints bar and they can withstand a lot of damage before giving up, which means actually dying in this case.

While the graphics engine is the same as in Quake 2, a lot of improvements have been added to make it look better and include a few other gimmicks vital to the gameplay. Hence, the damage zones are localized and the enemy bodies can picture damage quite realistically, with gashing wounds, a lot of blood and plenty of missing limbs. Another important aspect is the sound, which is all but riddled with profanity at every other word or so and even a soundtrack featuring a few songs by the renowned Cypress Hill band.

Kingpin: Life of Crime may have its fair share of flaws and design errors, but all in all, it is one of the most memorable games of the genre, especially when it comes to atmosphere and the combat mechanics. Its violence potential has yet to be surpassed, although there have been some serious contenders over the years.