Gangstar 2: Miami Vindication

Gangstar 2: Miami Vindication – Think GTA or Saints Row on your mobile

For those of you who are familiar with Gangstar, it picks up right where the other left off. For those not so familiar, you must help your brother out by dealing out your own uncompromising law and order to the crime syndicates in the city.

Beginning right from the bat with basics in how to run, drive and fight, you will swiftly become a mini crime-wave with one mission in mind, annihilate all who stand in your way. To do this, you have the assistance of a small circle of friends who give you tasks to follow which will end up in the desired effects in a flowing, gritty story.

Starting out with very little other than your set of wheels (which sadly become toast right at the start), you must then seek an alternative means of transportation, but to do this you must use your bare fists to beat down its owner. Without much thought, your slippery decent into the underworld and crime is set.

The tasks are all pretty straight forward. You are told to either use a vehicle (which may or may not be provided), escape the lynch mob which come in all shapes and guises (both mafia and police) and safely make it to a designated place. Once you’ve managed to arrive safely in one piece you’ll be rewarded with cash, arms or, more usually, another mission.

This game is pretty entertaining and the short missions all offer quite a challenge. For more hardcore gamers, it’s possibly not quite as challenging as GTA or Saints Row games which tend to have a bit more depth and free-play to do things outside the box. However, you can deviate from the script, particularly once you’ve gathered enough funds and built up your arsenal. Once you’re more kitted out than Rambo, the A-Team and the whole army put together, the chances are you will be able to dictate the game as you desire – after all, no one tends to meddle with someone with a bigger gun than theirs... except in this case, they do, and yes, if your aim’s pretty good (which it is, thanks to auto-aim), you’ll see plenty of carnage.

The game is mature, plenty of blood and swearing flow throughout it. It’s not obscene and gratuitous, but for a younger gamer, it may be advised to pick something else more suitable.

Overall, it’s entertaining and after a tough day at the office, I can relate (but don’t condone) with the no-nonsense action the hero of the story does. It’s well made, although a little fiddly flipping between using a thumb-control joystick for walking and running, and the tilt controls for the driving parts. The game has a decent script and although the missions are pretty short, there are lots to do and plenty of things to keep yourself occupied with if you feel like just kicking butt!

Rating 85%

Positives

Short missions allow for quick games

Plenty of music to go to choose from on the radio (with commercials)

Entertaining story

Negatives

The controls and aiming aren’t terribly great

Quite easy to complete if you have the funds to buy your own arsenal

Glitches cause you to get stuck if you aren’t lucky