Criminal Career Demo

Violence in video games has always been a given, ever since titles like Wolfenstein and Doom made it possible to see the gore in more than two dimensions. However, it must be mentioned that it was always in the name of fun, since it should be quite obvious that studios do not encourage players to be violent, or to reproduce the things they do in video games.

Criminal Career is a Grand Theft Auto clone in which you are free to steal cars, drive them around aimlessly, and shoot everyone you get in contact with. The sole purpose of the game is to let you have fun however you choose to, regardless of consequences. As such, shooting pedestrians, robbing them of their money and generally driving over them are your primary goals.

There is no story to talk about, because you are thrown in the middle of a nameless town with no explanations as to why you’re there, or more importantly, who you are. On the other hand, you can try to complete a mission or two, which include robbing a store. Other than that, you can work for the achievements as well, which are awarded once you manage to kill 100, 500, or 1000 pedestrians with a specific gun.

Speaking of which, the selection of weapons is satisfying, although the actual shooting is hilarious. Hence, whether you enjoy pistols or you are more of a flamethrower person, everything is there for your convenience. Not only that, but a few car models are included as well, all of which can be driven around the map in order to move a bit quicker.

Unfortunately, the control scheme is horrible, so you might get frustrated because you won’t be able to drive around without getting stuck in the environment every other few seconds. The character movement is silly as well, not to mention the sprites and the models. Some of the buildings are actually hand-drawn and filled with the bucket tool, so don’t be surprised if everything looks like it’s a five-year-old’s doodle.

Even if Criminal Career never had a future, what with it being a GTA clone and all, it could still be made fun to play. In this case, on the other hand, the game needs to be heavily refined in order to be worth the effort.