by Cherno » Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:53 am
I agree with you. Kingpin is fondly remembered for it's unique style, featuring an anachronistic blend of 1940s noir, 1990s's gangsta ghetto, The Roading 20s with their Tommyguns, Art Deco (in Radio City's Crystal Palace) as well as some steampunk elements (I once read that the devlopers were partly inspired by the french movie City of Lost Children). One of the guards in Poisonville has what looks like a cybernetic face mask. The gameplay, meanwhile, is rather bad indeed. There are less than ten enemies in the whole game that use no hitscan attacks, and without any kind of cover system, gunfights aren't much fun. The first episode in Skidrow counterbalances this with it's strong RPG flavor, with small quests, secrets and NPCs to talk to. This part of the game shows the potential but as it progresses, it becomes apparent that the developers simply rushed to get it finished, with later chapters like the trainyards being almost pure shootingfests with the odd switch puzzle thrown in. As stated by the lead developer, the original vision for the game was much grander; you were supposed to have your own gang and manage it, but publisher Interplay cut that down and demanded a simple shooter so they could get it out of the door quickly. Things like driveable vehicles (motorcycle, hovercar, submarine or boat and others), multiple ammo types (acid shells for the shotgun, HV rounds for the sniper rifle (HMG)), more weapons (electro gun) and so on got scrapped to meet the deadline.
Still, one of the things I like about the game are the numerous pop-culture references strewen throughout:
Pulp Fiction: The Kingpin is a clone of Marcellus Wallace, including the small band aid on the neck. One character wants to have his priced wristwatch back from another guy outside the bar he is hiding in. The bloodsplattered car window after Thug shoots the innocent driver.
Payback: The ringing telephone wired to a bomb, and the Crystal Palace is strongly influenced by the syndicate building "The Outfit"
The Big Lebowski: The Jesus character at the end of the first episode shares his name and lines with the arrogant bowling player from the movie
Edward Hopper's Nighthawks: The iconic building from this famous painting can be found in Radio City
Dr. Strangelove: The German shipyard captain shouts phrases from the titular character
Added fun fact: The game was to have a tie-in with clothing maker Diesel. The deal was: Xatrix puts the Diesel logo into the game (on a large billboard as well as on some character clothing) and Diesel sells the game in it's retail stores. Apparently, only the first part of the deal was honored.
Bonus fun fact: Xatrix was invited into the Cypress Hill studio after they asked them to if they could use their music in the game. The members of Cypress Hill voice the bouncers of the various bars and clubs.
(Yes, I like to talk about this game a lot)
So, in short: A game with realistic and unforgiving combat mechanics like this (with it's plethora of hitscanning enemies) is only fun if the gunfights take a backseat to adventure and RPG elements, which the game universe is well-suited for, like a darker and more serious version of GTA.