Let's face it, without any doubt Rockstar Games was the publisher of the year in 2001. Incredible experiences in games like Max Payne, Smuggler's Run 2 and the insanely deep Grand Theft Auto 3 propelled Rockstar as the premier publisher for mature audiences. It is an audience that many publishing houses has ignored and Rockstar has proven that the older demographic is looking for something more than generic platformers and sports games. Therefore, there was great anticipation and marketing muscle behind Rockstar's latest release State of Emergency. Touted as a riot simulation that was supposed to exploit anti-capitalist unrest that has been seen around the world over the last year, SoE sadly failed to deliver this dynamic and instead ends up being more similar to Sega's past efforts in Dynamite Cop and Die Hard Arcade.

The visuals while not bad, really do nothing to propel the game into a second generation PS2 title. There are impressive moments like a number of detailed explosions and the developer's ability to have hundreds of people running around on the screen at the same time without a hint of slowdown. The masses who are basically rioting are overwhelming and neat to look at initially, but after playing for a couple of hours, they become secondary and even at times annoying as you try to get around each of the 4 levels. The camera angle can be a hindrance at times, especially when stuck in a corner or tight space underground. As a result, untimely deaths will occur and frustrate to the point that some people will just put the controller down in favor of playing something else. The soundtrack is standard fare while the sound effects compliment the on screen chaos very appropriately.

SoE is very easy to pick up and play, but eventually the smash 'n' bash action will tire most players out. The basic formula of beat 'em ups remains the same in SoE, roam around kicking and punching people, find a weapon, run around and kill people senselessly, locate the heavy armory, destroy stuff, throw items at things including the likes of limbs and heads and move on to the next objective. While the game boasts more than 170 objectives, they become repetitive very quickly to the point that we wondered if we were ever going to finish a level. Their variety lacks so poorly that we suspect many of them were just added in to increase the play time. Each one of SoE's four levels is set with approximately five hours of objectives. Unfortunately you will have played everything this game has to offer within the first 30 minutes. The strongest part of the game comes in the form of the Chaos Mode which houses arcade-style modes, which includes the Kaos mode, in which time sensitive goals, high scores and power-ups come together for some intense fun. Unfortunately it does not last nearly long enough to really sink your teeth into.

The end result is a concept that had a fresh idea going into development but got lost somewhere in production. State of Emergency is a run of the mill beat 'em up that has nothing new to offer the genre. It is too limited and unpolished to really warrant anything more than a rental. Perhaps Rockstar and the developer VIS will take another run at this game in the future. In the meantime if you are looking for solid titles check out Rockstar's Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto 3.