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GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Poor
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/13/2006
- Released on: 09/06/2006
- Originally published on GameSpot: American McGee Presents Bad Day LA (PC) Review
Murphy's Law--the assertion that if something can go wrong, it will--is in full effect in Bad Day LA. Taking place in modern-day Los Angeles, the game sees the city plunge into chaos as it's plagued by terrorist attacks, earthquakes, meteor showers, fires, gang wars, tsunamis, and more. With so many divisive elements, from the crazy homeless protagonist to the regular jabs at Homeland Security, there was great potential for some cutting satire here. Unfortunately, Bad Day LA has all the subtlety of a hammer, and the occasional commentary on the absurdities of modern life is drowned out by a constant barrage of uninspired vulgarity. Even the game's shock value rings hollow, and it doesn't distract from the fact that this third-person action game is short, ugly, and sloppy.
Do you like childish toilet humor? Bad Day LA sure does.
The mayhem kicks off on the Santa Monica freeway, where our hero, Anthony, an antisocial, shopping-cart-pushing homeless man, is relieving himself in the middle of bumper-to-bumper traffic when a jet brimming with a nefarious biological agent crashes into an overpass. Green gas spews everywhere, turning anyone who comes in contact with it into mindless, flesh-starved zombies. All Anthony wants is to save his own sorry hide and get out of the city, but he consistently finds himself forced to assist other citizens as things go from bad to worse.
It's hard not to smile at how ridiculous the situation becomes, but beyond the setup, the writing in Bad Day LA offers little in terms of insight or humor. None of the characters warrant any sympathy, and Anthony himself acts and sounds less like a homeless man given up on society than a self-absorbed, third-rate Chris Tucker caricature. Everyone is drawn with broad strokes, and the game relies on a liberal peppering of profanity, some clumsy racism, and general cruelty to fill the time between levels. Some of the "highlights" include a kid who can't stop throwing up, a Paris Hilton doppelganger, a drop-kicked baby, a group of parents physically abusing their drug-addicted children, a persistent use of the phrase "taco bender" as a racial epithet, and some ham-fisted references to The Wizard of Oz and Heat. Worst of all, the game seems to think it's more clever than it actually is, which defuses any potentially comedic moments.
Beneath Bad Day LA's crass exterior lies a shoddy third-person action game. Each level revolves around a different calamity, and in each you have to perform a number of good deeds before you can move forward. Most of the time, the streets are filled with hysterical civilians, looters, and zombies, and how you interact with the people of Bad Day LA will affect your threat-advisory rating. If you murder innocent civilians, or fail to assist nearby civilians who are in need, your rating goes up, and the world begins to turn on you, with civilians attacking you and cops hunting you down. But if you play the Good Samaritan by applying bandages to wounded civilians, using your fire extinguisher to put out fiery civilians, curing or killing zombies, and attacking looters, terrorists, gang members, and other undesirables, your rating stays low, making for a less antagonistic crowd while slowly replenishing your health at the same time. Though it encourages you to act right, keeping your rating low is not hard, since the ratio of villains to civilians is usually quite high.
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American McGee Presents Bad Day LA (PC):
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