Jewel Case Release
| Genre: Action / Mini-Games |
CDs: 1 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: Ubi Soft |
Released: April 1, 2001 |
| Developer: Shanghai UBIsoft Computer Software Co., Ltd. |
UPC: 0 08888 31019 8 |
| Sony ID: SLUS-01228 |
PSRM: 019870 |
| Players: 1 Player |
Memory: 1 Block |
| Accessories: Analog, Vibration |
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| ESRB: Teen – Suggestive Themes, Violence |
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| Box Copy:
Action Never Looked This Good! Join forces with the lethal and sexy Vallery Irons (Pamela Anderson) and the rest of the V.I.P. team as you set out on crime busting missions to protect a well-known cosmetic surgeon from Los Angeles’ most notorious mobster.
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Variants
- There are no known variants.
Misprints
- There are no known misprints.
Review
Let’s be honest, not every game is a 4-course meal. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad game, it’s just not on the same level as the big juicy steak option.
Such is the case with V.I.P., the PlayStation game based on the Pamela Anderson TV show of the same name. The title name is short for Vallery Irons Protection, Anderson’s character and bodyguard company. Ubi Soft’s video game is a sort of extra episode of the TV show. The agency must help Dr. Kindle – a plastic surgeon – save himself from a mob hit after they mistake his medical bill for an extortion threat.
Shanghai Ubisoft takes the product in a weird direction control wise. The game is almost entirely one long quick-time event with shooting elements mixed in. Before you click away from the review – that’s not really a bad thing. I mean, it worked for Dragon’s Lair right?
Here’s how it works: As one of the agency members engages the mafia henchmen, a string of button commands pop up. Ranging from two to six button presses, correctly matching the sequence will cause the player’s avatar to beat the snot out of their opponents. As more grunts run into the screen, the combo sequences will keep up with them.
Once the game breaks into several shooting and sniping segments, it’s simply moving a cursor over the target and pressing fire. If that doesn’t sound like a lot of game play functionality, you’d be right. The fun is in the smaller details – specifically the scoring system. The button inputs are simply representations of the random move the character will make – it’s how many hits the move does that count towards the score.
By performing without missing an input, players will generate a combo chain. Once started, each successive hit will add 50 points to the hit, and this will continue until either the area is over or an input is missed. These 50 incremental points really do rack up fast, as hit scores can leap from 100 points to 3000 points per attack in a matter of minutes. Combos can reach up to over 100 hits based on the area in play. There’s also a built-in forgiveness system which made me laugh. If you miss one too many combos, but don’t die, the game throws up a single button press to get you back on your feet.
Even funnier, this point system can be messed with if the player is feeling a little cheeky.
When controlling Nikki or Quick’s shooting moments, gamers need not kill off an enemy as quickly as one would in any other game. Instead, shots can be alternated between visible bad guys, essentially interrupting their firing animation and continuing the combo at the same time. It’s pretty funny to try; stringing together bullet combos is far more intriguing than just pressing the proper sequence for minutes at a time.
Aside from the actors’ real faces being used for the health bar, character likenesses and stand-in voices represent them in the game. It allows for the silly premise to not be taken too seriously, with the stand-ins doing an admirable job of working with what they had. For a budget title, the CG sequences are fairly decent, and fans of the show will recognize the headquarters and locales around it. The only real hiccup here is that the background visuals aren’t 100% consistent. Many times they’ll look photographic quality, like they used on-set photos, and then other times it nears the uncanny valley.
Once a stage is finished, players will be graded on their combo accuracy. As far as I can tell, the only choices are a B grade by default and an A grade if you rock. These grades don’t seem to affect anything reward-wise and truthfully can be mentally discarded. There are rewards however – and it’s a slog if you want to unlock all of them.
As stages are completed, new images and in-game movie clips become available to purchase with the in-game reward points. Prices grow incrementally more expensive all the way up to 1 Million points for the final movie and image. For those completionists out there, realize that you will need to complete the game three times and have enough points for the full gallery. Three play-throughs will take about 5 hours, give or take. It’s roughly an hour-and-a-half per play.
V.I.P. is a curious specimen in a world of budget games. The quick-time combat would see many reviewers instantly write it off, but I found myself trying to go for perfect combo runs. Messing with the shooting sequences provides a self-made challenge that’s hard to ignore. Wrapped up in a bite-size package time investment wise, I find it hard to really trash the game. Sure it may not be that 4-course meal, but sometimes the $1 Menu is just as satisfying.
The Good
- Short and Sweet
- Lots of Unlockables
- Easy game play
The Bad
- All actors are stand-ins
- Inconsistent Background Art
- No real options
Final Score: 5/10 – Average
V.I.P. won’t be taking home any awards – for better or for worse – but folks looking for a cheap, short thrill will find something to smile about.
Screenshots
Videos
The GameRaveTV version of the review.
Trivia
- Based on the television show of the same name.
- The in-game ending credits have several typos, including:
- Game Desingers
- China-Info-Disign Studio Manager
- China-Planing Studio Manager
- VIP and All Realted Characters…
- In manual’s credits entries have the following typos:
- China-Planing Studio Manager
- Infodesigners
- Several names are all lower case for no reason
- There’s a bit of self-parody in the game. During a shoot-out, Nikki takes cover behind a Wet-Floor sign, clearly visible to everyone around her. When sneaking around as Tasha, she is hilariously in view at all times – including henchmen looking right at her. But she’s never seen.
- During the climactic final fight, the enemy sniper can be killed off in one of two ways: directly by gun fire, or killed by successfully stopping the helicopter first.
- While the game’s button inputs do have some consistency between play-throughs, many sequences are 100% random.
- The hacker Kay never has a fight sequence, only her hacking mini-games.
- Johnny does not use a weapon. All of his sequences are hand-to-hand or running from gunfire.
- While Quick, Nikki, and Tasha all have different guns to use, Vallery uses her purse.
- Henchmen will actually react slightly different based on where you shoot them.
- During several outdoor sequences the sound of passing cars can be heard. Including when the player is visibly in both halves of the street with no actual cars on-screen.
- Despite her fear and hatred of guns, Vallery Irons is often seen wielding the weapon, especially in promo stills. Even on the PlayStation game case!
Secrets
If you’ve got a few hours to spare, V.I.P. has a host of media to unlock.
Unlockables
Movie Gallery
As you play through the game normally, you’ll unlock each movie for purchase in the Special Menu. You will need to spend the in-game points you earned to unlock them for viewing. Below is the unlock progression and needed points for reach movie.
Finish Stage 1 – Movie 1 (50,000)
Finish Stage 2 – Movie 2 (30,000)
Finish Stage 3 – Movie 3 (40,000)
Finish Stage 4 – Movies 4 (30,000), 5 (35,000), and 6 (40,000)
Finish Stage 5 – Movies 7 (65,000), 8 (70,000)
Finish Stage 6 – Movie 9 (80,000)
Finish Stage 7 – Movies 10 (50,000), 11 (55,000), 12 (60,000), 13 (65,000)
Finish Stage 8 – Movies 14 (70,000), 15 (75,000)
Finish Stage 9 – Movie 16 (80,000), 17 (85,000), 18 (90,000)
Finish Stage 10 – Movie 19 (95,000)
Finish Stage 11 – Movie 20 (100,000)
Finish Stage 12 – n/a
Finish Stage 13 – Movies 21 (150,000), 22 (200,000), 23 (200,000), 24 (1,000,000)
Photo Gallery
As you play through the game normally, you’ll unlock photo sets for purchase in the Special Menu. You will need to spend the in-game points you earned to unlock them for viewing. Below is the unlock progression and needed points for each photo. To unlock them all, you will need to play the game a minimum of 3 times.
First Play-Through
Finish Stage 1: Photos 1 – 3 (10,000 each)
Finish Stage 2: Photos 4 – 6 (15,000 each)
Finish Stage 3: Photos 7 – 9 (20,000 each)
Finish Stage 4: Photos 10 – 12 (25,000 each)
Finish Stage 5: Photos 13 – 15 (30,000 each
Finish Stage 6: Photos 16 – 18 (35,000 each)
Finish Stage 7: Photos 19 – 21 (40,000 each)
Finish Stage 8: Photos 22 – 24 (45,000 each)
Finish Stage 9: Photos 25 – 27 (50,000 each)
Finish Stage 10: Photos 28 – 30 (55,000 Each)
Finish Stage 11: Photos 31 – 33 (60,000 each)
Finish Stage 12: Photos 34 – 36 (65,000 each)
Finish Stage 13: Photos 37 – 40 (80,000 each)
Second Play-Through
Unlock Photos 41 – 44 (200,000 each)
Third Play-Through
Unlock Photos 45 (500,000), 46 (500,000), 47 (800,000K), 48 (1,000,000)
