The people are fed up.  They are tired of a faceless corporate entity that constantly breathes down their necks, telling them what to eat, what to watch and what to buy.  The people are angry and they can no longer contain themselves so, like a fire that just suddenly ignites, a massive riot blazes into an uncontrollable bonfire of destruction and violence.  In State of Emergency, a port of a once PS2 original, Xbox owners get the chance to join the revolution against Big Brother. 

There are three ways of playing this game: Chaos, Revolution and Multiplayer.  Its story mode is Revolution and the setup goes like this: The game puts you in the skin of either an ex-cop or an ex-lawyer (you can unlock secret character later in the game) who is caught in the middle of the biggest riot anyone has ever seen.   Suddenly your character comes face-to-face with an organized underground resistance movement calling itself Freedom that hopes to topple the faceless Corporation that has a strong hold over Capitol City.  You are quickly sent through a number of missions (the number of missions are staggeringly high in this game) that have you either escorting a fellow Freedom member or assassinating an “evil” Doctor or Corporation big shot.  Chaos mode, or Kaos, has you mowing through guards or clones, while being timed.

The heart of State of Emergency, as you will quickly find out, is the number of mission objectives you must complete while smack-dab in the middle of the riot itself.  Not only do you have to deal with the missions at hand, but deal with a number of Baton-wielding Corporation elite guards as well as gang members.  You can defend yourself by kicking, punching and unleashing a small number of combos such as breaking necks or slamming somebody’s head into the pavement.  There are also a number of weapons at your disposal such as flamethrowers, shotguns, grenade launchers and M16 assault rifles.  New to the Xbox version are new power ups that give you unlimited ammo for a short time or protection from bullets.  The biggest problem is the fact that the camera, especially when you’re armed, plays against you.  By the time you swing the camera around, the elite guards are already on you like white on rice.

While the game allows you to blow buildings up and join in the riot’s mayhem, your objective is to advance to a total of four levels or locations.  You start off in the Capitol City Mall and work your way to Chinatown, the East Side and finally Corporation Central for the final showdown.  And take note that innocent bystanders and looters can easy get caught in the crossfire.  Although you are penalized for killing civilians in Chaos mode (although you can chose to turn off the civilian casualty penalty), it’s anything goes during Revolution mode.

The added bonus in this version comes in the form of the Multiplayer mode that has four different game modes fit for up to four players through a split-screen.  The best part about these modes are that you can team up (in pairs) to take on friends or battle it out in a deathmatch where only one player is left standing.  The multiplayer mode does slow the game down a bit and there are not as many rioters out and about, but this is still some good multiplayer fun.

Graphics-wise the game still doesn’t fail to impress, especially when you see the riot in full motion in the outdoor settings.  Your character will be literally surrounded by dozens upon dozens of civilians flailing their arms about while looters carry stolen appliances over their heads as they run with the chaotic masses.  This effect is just the most amazing feature and gamers will surely enjoy watching the madness of a riot in progress.  This is a far more impressive sight than the violence that is overblown to cartoon-like proportions.  The blood flies in this game as does the limbs when people are too close to an explosion or gunfire.  Building can be blown from the inside, causing spectacular fires and balls of impressive flames.  The Xbox visual treatment comes with a much smoother framerate as well as a crisper feel that was somewhat lacking in the PS2 version. 

The game’s sound is as chaotic as the visuals themselves in that you’ll hear hundreds of people crying out in total fear and pain.  You’ll be surrounded by a wall of screams and things shattering in the distance while Corporation thugs bark out orders to “Stop where you are!”  Weapons fire is also nicely done and the sound of people getting hit by gunfire or grenades are so gruesome that it’s actually more comical than shocking.  The soundtrack, mainly heavy rock riffs and techno music beats, don’t work as well as it should but thankfully Xbox owners can customize their own soundtrack (Xbox hard drive, I love you) to fit the right mood (my recommendation: Rage Against the Machine).

State of Emergency is a mindless, overblown, ultra violent riot simulator that will have gamers smiling every step of the way.  Although it’s not a really spectacular game, there is a lot to do in this fast-paced arcade-styled title that lets you get lost in the chaotic moments.  The addition of a multiplayer option just makes this game well worth your hard-earned cash. 

Gameplay: 7.8
As a fighting game the control mechanics work, for the most part, but not without its share of problems.  Although punching, kicking and unleashing combos is fairly easy, the problem falls on the camera that can sometimes work against you in certain corner and sometimes your character doesn’t turn around as quickly as needed.  Picking up weapons, though, is a joy since you can drop them at will to pick up a different weapon that just happens to catch your eye.

Graphics: 8.2
State of Emergency’s graphics still manage to impress those gamers that have seen the PS2 version.  It’s ability to literally pack dozens of people on the screen at once just doesn’t get any better than this, especially if you’re trying to make your way through the crowds of looters and panicking citizens.  The visuals have been smoothed out in this version, although many of the locales are a bit on the plain side to begin with.

Still the fiery explosions and destruction to property found in this game make quite an impact.  Yet if gamers are into cheap violent thrills, this game sure has plenty of gore (an excessive amount of it, in fact, although you can turn it off if you want).  Limbs fly and blood sprays the pavement as both Corporation lackeys and innocent civilians can get caught in the bloody crossfire.  The level of violence is more cartoon-like in nature, though, and this is due mostly because it is extremely excessive.  I doubt gamers will be turned off by it.

Sound: 7.5
The people’s revolution is both loud and intense and you’ll hear every minute of it.  Aside from the shrieks of innocent people that just happened to have been caught in the middle of all of this, you’ll hear the mad grunts of local gang members beating on Corporation officers.  Bystanders are also the victims of grenades that just happen to go astray and the explosions are both fiery and loud. 

However, the game’s soundtrack just doesn’t cut it here or help convey the right mood for a riot.  Still, the option to burn your own tunes and customize the tracks you want is available so gamers can play the right kind of tunes for a revolution.  This makes up for the lack of voice acting--the only voices you hear in the game come from the Corporation thugs or the PA announcer inside the mall.

Difficulty: Medium
There is a number of challenging missions that will have you repeating it over and over again, but things never get frustrating enough that you’ll be yanking out clumps of your hair trying to accomplish these tasks.  The more difficult ones have you doing multiple tasks as you help a Freedom rebel pick up an item then escort him safely past guards or suicide bombers.  At times you’ll find yourself surrounded by guards and Corporation Clones that are harder to kill.

Concept: 7.5
There’s something about a game that just allows you to get as destructive as you want that just sounds so appealing and if you ever wondered what it is like to be dropped in the middle of a massive riot then this game has what you need.  There are plenty of extras in this game such as extra characters---although they don’t really change the game very much.  Still, if your idea of fun is destroying buildings, cars and taking on “the Man” you can’t go wrong here.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The addition of the multiplayer games just makes this game a far sweeter deal than its PS2 brother.  Up to four players can either team up or just get into an all-out deathmatch where each player is on his or her own.  The split-screen action is not as intense as the single player modes mostly because here the framerate drops and the playing arenas are not quite as packed with rioters.  Still, the four multiplayer modes (Multiplayer Chaos, Multiplayer Last Clone Standing, Deathmatch and Survivor) do keep this game fresh and fun when you’re causing mayhem with friends.  Did anyone say party game?

Overall: 8.0
With its added Xbox content, State of Emergency’s mayhem is just too fun to pass up even for those who have played it before.  While it’s not an entirely brilliant game, the multiplayer feature and the sharper graphics make this the essential version to own.