Kudos for Auntie Poulet

The past few days since I`ve got back from Chicago have seen some retro gaming with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) and Metropolis Street Racer (Dreamcast). Of course, it almost goes without saying that both of those were sandwiched between some mandatory Battlefield 3 on the PC.

Vice City remains the only Grand Theft Auto game since GTA 2 that I haven’t finished more than once and, truth be told, it was because I didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as GTA 3, San Andreas or IV. Playing it a second time though made me realize my lack of fond memories weren’t a result of the result of the game itself but moreso the time in my life I was playing the game. I remember getting the game during my miserable first year of medical school where everything felt like a slog so I’m not surprised that the game felt like a bit of a chore as well.

Playing it now, 9 years after release, I’m actually having an absolute blast despite the clearly antiquated game mechanics. The cast of characters is hilarious with my favourite being the leader of the Haitain gang; Auntie Poulet. The missions are a ton of fun and I love that you can use the sandbox nature of the game world to help you. For example, in a mission named Naval Engagement you have to break up a drug deal taking place between the Haitains. You can check out the video below – you have to approach their mansion by water, take to the shore, steal the briefcases and then make it back to home base with the police on your tail.



The first two times I attempted the mission I would get smashed off the road by the ultra-aggressive police car. So, to make things easier, before the mission I just flew a helicopter and ‘parked it’ around the corner from the Haitain mansion – then after I picked up the briefcase I just had to run to my waiting chopper and fly home with the cops left in the dust!

Of course, the star of any Grand Theft Auto game is the game world and the atmosphere and Vice City excels. I love the Miami-inspired architecture, the pastel 80s color scheme of the city and the soundtrack is absolutely incredible – Michael Jackson, Hall and Oates, REO Speedwagon, Luther Vandross, Lionel Richie and I could go on. Great atmosphere, great game though I must admit that playing it on the PC helps mitigating the previous issues of load and save times when this was on the PS2.

The other title I`ve been playing is Metropolis Street Racer for the Dreamcast. I never owned a Dreamcast during the system`s prime and this was a game I only briefly played before but I`ve always been intrigued because I’m a massive fan of Bizarre Creations’ Project Gotham series which was the spiritual successor to MSR.
I’ve only played an hour or two of MSR but the game still holds up fairly well. The Kudos system in the PGR series is front and centre here as well but rather than show the Kudos score in real-time while you’re racing, you get to see it at the end of the race. Like PGR you get Kudos for driving clean sections and drifting but you also get Kudos for finishing laps within a certain time. The more Kudos you get, the more races you can unlock. Another neat touch is that the game uses the Dreamcast’s internal clock to determine whether races are held during the day or night. Very novel idea for a game from 2000! A solid title and a reminder that it's a damn shame Bizarre Creations shut down. RIP.