The box art for the original Grand Theft Auto actually features Trump Tower in New York
American Fugitive
TonighT we’re gonna gTa like iT’s 1999ChrisBurke
PuBlisher Curve Digital / DeveloPer Fallentreegames/releaseDateOutnOw/Cost £17.99/$19.99
tothoseearlyGTAs. Thoughin actual
fact,AmericanFugitiveis following
theGrandTheftAutomodelsoclosely
thatit’ssendinginappropriatetweets
toit whilewatchingitseverymove
downa sniperscopefromitsstakeout
locationacrossthestreet.Andit’s
creepilygotitselfinvitedtoGTA’s
mum’sforSundaydinner.
Youplayasa pettycriminalwhois
framedforhisshadydad’smurder,
andthenescapesfromjailtotrack
downtherealkillersin Redrock
County,southernUSA.Theexposition
anddialoguewiththegame’sother
characters,a collectionofquest-
givers,is viaa staticcartoonportrait
accompanyingtextspeechbubbles.
AswithGTA, youhavea mapof
thelocalarea,withalltherelevant
markers– sprayandpaintshop,ammo
andclothesstores,quest-givers
etc.Theworldis a seriesofislands
interlinkedbybridgesthatareinitially
closedoffbutopenupwithprogress
(thatdeja-vushouldbereallykickingThere’sa bigmarket
fornostalgiatoday,
butnoteverything
usedtobebetterin
thepast.American
Fugitiveis setin
the ’80s, when apparentlycrimewas
more like innocent fun,andit also
unapologetically apestheearlydays
of Grand Theft Auto, flawsandall.
Originally, in the ’90s,Rockstar
North’s fledgling carsandcrimemega-
series used a top-downperspective,
and Rockstar itself tooka tripdown
memory lane on handheldconsoles
with Chinatown Warsin 2009,which
proved that the old-styleGTAformula
could still be a lot offun.Soforthose
of you who have wishedreallyhard
all decade for a follow-uptothat,
American Fugitive will(almost)sate
your needs.
While the perspectivehasshifted
slightly to a more isometric3D
view, Fallen Tree’s gamecouldbe
considered somethingof a ‘love letter’
in around now). To get around, and
since many of the jobs on offer involve
driving, you will mostly be hijacking
cars, or stealing them.
There’s a star-rating system for
your wanted level, and by the time
you hit five stars there’s helicopters.
Committing any sort of crime will result
in an exclamation mark appearing over
any nearby person, or vehicle that’s
being driven, and the good folks of
Redrock County immediately call the
cops. The po-po respond super quick,
presumably thanks to that well-known
instant ’80s connectivity provided by a
carphone the size of a brick. Any crime
or minor traffic violation, even a slight
rear-ending, will draw heat faster than
you can say Michael Mann.It’s a fair cop
The game is easy to jump into, and
progress through the quest-givers –
including your dodgy brother-in-law
Dwayne who runs a scrapyard, and
Ana, a thief – is quick. Mostly theseshort
cutWhatis it?
agrandtheft
auto-alike that trades
onnostalgiafor‘80s,
actionmoviesand
rockstar’s early
top-down games.
What’sit like?
grandtheftauto.
gta 2 .gtalondon.
gtaChinatownwars.
Yougettheidea.
Who’sitfor?
Fansof old-school
grandtheftauto,
and simulated
crime in general.086 theOFFiCialxbOx magazine
review