Game Review: The Italian Job

Game: The Italian Job
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Pixelogic
Release Date: 5th October 2001

Based on the 1969 movie of the same name, The Italian Job for Playstation came out late into its lifespan; the console's successor had already been out for a year. As such the game was released as a budget title, at the low price of £9.99. Featuring a number of modes reminiscent of other driving games, the main "Italian Job" mode sees the player helping Charlie Croker and his gang to complete the heist detailed in the film through a number of missions which involve gathering the necessary manpower and cars to complete the heist and then pulling it off without being caught.

Each mission involves some sort of driving task, either taking a vehicle somewhere to pick a member of the gang up, proving your driving skills to join the gang or evading police/mafia attention once part of the plan has been put into action. The player is directed through a floating arrow above their car, in the colours of the Italian flag which points toward their mission destination although not necessarily showing the shortest route.

The first 8 driving missions are set in London and focus on getting the cars and personnel necessary to carry out the heist. None of the missions are particularly difficult in this section and most involve a single journey from A to B which lasts around 2 to 3 minutes. The next 6 missions take place in Turin, which is also the location of the heist itself. Missions here are longer and slightly more difficult, requiring multiple parts to be completed (failure restarts the entire mission). The final mission features the famous getaway sequence, allowing the player to take on the role of the third mini of three as it escapes through the streets with the gold from the heist.

There are only 2 missions in the game's final location, The Alps. The first is getting the three minis onto the bus before you're spotted by police, and the second and final mission is escaping by bus through the Alps with all the members of the gang to end the game at the same point as the movie; on a cliff-edge with the bus balanced halfway between safety and a large drop.

The main flaws of the game can be seen most easily in the longer missions. In London, one of the final missions sees the player attempting to prove their worth as a driver for the heist by keeping up with another computer controlled car through the streets. Without slowing down significantly, the player's car isn't able to turn well at all, which is fairly realistic, however the AI car is able to turn corners without losing any speed. This makes it difficult to keep up with as the computer doesn't have to overcome the same challenges as the player does.

Another one of the game's problems is the physics of the car when in the air; upon landing it seems to carry far too much weight. I'm not sure whether this is linked to the fact that it's almost impossible to flip your own car onto it's roof, or another unrelated problem. In the Turin getaway mission there are several jumps for which you have to slow down to avoid careening into walls or trees after overshooting the landing spot. Most obstacles in the game are solid, which can be a problem as changing into reverse and then moving forwards again can take much longer than you'd expect.

The sense of speed in the game is also pretty poor, as the mini can reach up to 100mph and still feel as if it's travelling slowly. In missions with police or mafia as a threat, the system which determines whether you're caught could have been better. If the police are close enough, they'll begin to read your numberplate; if they get it all then "You're Nicked" and fail the mission. The problem with this is that is quite hard to lose the police, especially in timed missions and it's possible to be travelling quite quickly and still have the police read your full numberplate and cause you to lose the mission.

While this may sound like a long list of problems, the missions of the main mode can still be enjoyable. It helps to have seen the film however, as not a lot is explained between missions. The shortcomings of the game serve to make later missions far more difficult than they need to be, and although completable as a game (I managed to finish it) the final 3 missions only emphasis how much better the controls could have been.

Other modes included in the game are Free Ride, Checkpoint, Destructor (which is essentially a trail of cones to hit), and Challenge which features stunt tracks, lap challenges and icy road challenges. There's 5 permutations of one stunt track which increase in difficulty as they're unlocked, and the most enjoyable challenge is a lap through London in which buses attempt to get in your way whilst you pass through 20 checkpoints.

Graphically the game is very blocky and the textures are what I would call "classic ps1 style" in that you can almost see their pixels which tend to shake about when travelling at high speeds. The cutscenes in the game are slightly better looking, although still basic and any characters featured are also blocky and fairly undetailed. There's only piece of music featured in the missions, an instrumental version of "Get a Bloomin Move On" which is the main theme of the film, which while topical, it can get incredibly annoying over time. Voice clips featured in the game are generally good, if a little limited. They give a greater feeling of being true to the film, with an extremely british accent almost reminiscent of GTA: The London Missions.

Overall as a game there's definitely some fun to be had if you're a fan of The Italian Job as a film. If not, it's a strangely arranged, bland set of driving missions which only get harder due to the game's expectations of the player as well as the control problems. There's nothing particularly impressive in the game as a whole; acting out scenes from the film is the main reason anyone'd want to play this and while it sticks fairly close to the plot, watching the film is probably a more worthwhile use of your time.

Rating: 64/100
Grade: C