Producer Interview

Eidos' controversial gangster shooter 25 to Life brings multiplayer mayhem to Xbox®, allowing you to play a new interactive variation of cops and robbers on Xbox Live®. Sam Newman, producer of the action game at Eidos, took some time out of his Xbox Live gaming sessions to talk about the new Mature-rated urban action game.

The story unfolds through the eyes of Detective Lester Williams of the local Police Department and Andre "Freeze" Francis, a lieutenant in the 22nd Street D-Boys, a well established street gang. Freeze is desperate to get his wife and child out of the crime life he has lead and plans for one last big deal to set them free. Detective Williams is an honest cop trying to clean up the streets and the corruption in his own precinct.

"Many of the levels were conceived with a
specific game mode in mind and the theme
and layout were build to support it."

"25 to Life is a game about urban crime and justice, sowe tried to make a world that could be identified with the major events of that lifestyle," said Newman. "Among many other locations you'll be fighting through the inner city slums, trying to escape during a prison riot, and attempting to escape a murder rap in Tijuana."

In the single-player campaign, the third-person perspective shooter pits you against corrupt cops, drug dealers, and gangsters of all types. Each level has a specific goal that fits into the story line of each of the three playable characters, and you must to utilize all the tools and weapons available to achieve those goals. Some of the weapons available in the game include assault rifles, automatic pistols, grenades, stun guns, shotguns, and tear gas.

So many bullets, so little time.

"One of our features that I don't think gets much recognition is our extensive unlockables and character customization system," said Newman, referring to the replay value in the single-player experience. "Certain goals and actions in the single player game unlock a variety of clothing, tattoos, and other accessories. With these items you customize the character you take online and create a totally unique look that everyone else can see. With all the different items you can unlock there are literally millions of looks you can make."

You Clan Too
The heart of 25 to Life is its multiplayer options through Xbox Live. The core game is the team-based combat of cops vs. criminals and gang vs. gang scenarios like Raid, Robbery, and Turf Wars, where players "tag" areas to claim them. Layered on top of that is a fully-featured community support system and a character customization system.

Pimp your ride, and then blow up the competition.

"In 25 to Life players are able to organize themselves into Clans and maintain friends lists, all within the game interface," said Newman. "There is also a huge character customization system so everyone can create their own unique look or create a theme for their Clan theme."

According to Newman, Eidos took the approach of creating unique gameplay mechanics that fit into the character you play. For instance, cops have a variety of non-lethal weapons that incapacitate criminals and allow the cops to perform an apprehension maneuver for extra points. The weapons of each side are balanced to give each one a unique feel and fit into a specific combat role.

Newman said that in this kind of game the expectation is to have "real-world" weapons, so the development team picked weapons that had a variety of behavior to keep them interesting.

Boyz in the Hood
"Many of the levels were conceived with a specific game mode in mind and the theme and layout were build to support it," said Newman. "As in the case of the Downtown Bank level, this is a perfect area for a Robbery game mode with its vault, civilians, and escape routes. We kept to the same themes of the single player game when making the multiplayer levels but there are some levels where we tried to have some fun with it."

I can see clearly now the trash is gone.

Newman said that the basic cops vs. robbers concept is unique in the videogame industry, which allows 25 to Life to stand out from the crowd. The game gives players a choice of experiences on both sides of the law. When you add in the huge variety of weapons, community support, character customization, and game modes, Newman believes players will be having a great timewith25 to Life for a long time.

"The community support features are specifically built to appeal to our hardcore 25 to Life fans," said Newman. "Any player can easily create a Clan, invite his buddies and organize matches. The friends list is there for the more casual players that just want to see if the players they like are playing and join them directly."

Straight Out of the Boom Box
One of the things Newman is most excited about with the gangster action title is its licensed soundtrack, which adds authenticity to the life-on-the-street action. The game's soundtrack includes songs by artists like DMX, 2Pac, Xzibit, and Public Enemy. In addition, there are five custom tracks made exclusively for the game, including Pook Diesel's "Freeze's Anthem," Locura Terminal's "Prisonero," "In the City" by Franchize, "To the Finish" by Jackpot, and "On the Run" by Yukmouth. Shuffle through the game's soundtrack using the boom boxes found in each level.

Article by John Gaudiosi