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Good: Hilariously gratuitous, good use of shield, hostage situations, rewards

Bad: Some repetitive objectives, AI, no map or sense of direction

Awesome: The way-too-enthusiastic announcer

For fans of gratuitous violence and ridiculous amounts of gunfire, Urban Chaos probably has something you'll enjoy. You'll probably like it even more if you're of the "America, Fuck Yeah!" mindset. The game is set in the midst of an America-under-attack scenario, and a special task force (dubbed T-Zero) is sent in clean house and protect the country.

Urban Chaos: Riot Response is an old-school mindless shoot-em-up in many ways, but it adds a few interesting gameplay mechanics to keep things fresh. A maniacal gang that calls themselves the Burners is attacking a clearly NYC-inspired city, and they're prone to shooting, stabbing, and burning everything in their path. The game does a great job of presenting an environment that truly seems to be the epicenter of complete anarchy.

The standard missions are generally pretty linear in nature, and feature you running from point A to point B shooting all Burners in your path. Most levels feature friendly characters, whether they're firemen, medics, cops or civilians. Firemen can hack through doors and put out flames (obviously). Police will fight alongside you, medics refill your health, and civilians generally just get in the way. In fact, I ran into several occasions where I failed a mission because the civilian AI walked directly into the line of fire.

One of my favorite aspects of the gameplay is the use of the riot shield. It's obviously helpful in avoiding damage from Molotov cocktails, gunfire, and hatchets, but it's also possible to reload while holding it up. In most first person shooters, you're a sitting duck while reloading, but the riot shield in Urban Chaos fixes that problem. It can also be used to beat enemies to death.

You'll gain access to several different weapons throughout the game, and all of them are unique and control well. Some of the more powerful weapons will make enemies' heads explode in a ridiculously satisfying cloud of brain matter and blood. A great little feature of the game is the slo-mo kills that are activated by simply rotating the right analog stick twice. In addition to the standard guns, you can also use chainsaws, Molotov cocktails, and stun guns. Using the stun gun to incapacitate gang leaders rather than kill them will net you rewards.

Urban Chaos offers a ton of different unlockables and medals for the completists out there. Secondary missions are usually on a time limit, and will unlock new guns and body armor. These aren't as well-designed as the standard missions, but they're entertaining enough to warrant a playthrough.

Graphics are pretty well done, and fire looks good (which is important considering how much of it is in the game). There are a few jerky animations here and there, but most characters and environments are par for the course in terms of current-gen FPS's. Cutscenes are generally presented with live-action fake news broadcasts, complete with acting worthy of a cheesy B-movie. Sound effects for the weapons are good, but far too many voice samples are reused. Almost every sentence contains the word "fuck," and it seems like a lame attempt to make the game seem more edgy.

Urban Chaos: Riot Response is certainly fun for a bit, but most gamers will probably get tired of the monotonous "rescue X many civilians" objectives later in the game. Definitely worth checking out for hardcore fans of mindless shoot-em-ups, but most casual fans of the genre will see everything worth seeing in a rental period.

Graphics: 7.0

Sound: 6.5

First Play: 8.0

Replay Value: 8.0

Gameplay: 7.0

Overall: 7.5