I recall having to review the PC version of Urban Chaos way back when it was initially released and being really surprised at how much fun the game was. At first glance, new players will note that US is highly reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto III in that you get a (mostly) open world to play around with, hand to hand combat, driving and lots of shooting action. However, the game was released two years before Rockstar’s magnum opus and despite positive reviews and being ported to two consoles soon afterward (to mixed results), the game never really got all the recognition it deserved. Developer Mucky Foot (primarily made up of members from Bullfrog Productions) cooked up an intriguing mix of action, driving and mission based gameplay that started as a straightforward cop saga and turned into a wild post-apocalyptic mash-up that’s weird and a bit creepy (well, it was at the time for me). In a way, the game was/is also a bookend to Core Design’s 2001 action/puzzle/sci-fi/horror hybrid Project Eden, another game that started out as one thing and ended up somewhere dark and bizarre.

UC was unique for having a black female cop named D’Arcy as the lead (you also played as a cranky, shotgun toting bearded white guy named Roper a while into the game) and some pretty cool hand to hand combat and takedown/arrest animations. There were a bunch of training missions to tackle for rewards and high scores, and while you can skip some of these areas, it’s best to go through them a few times so you nail the driving, shooting and fisticuffs perfectly. In the main game, enemies are no joke as they will chase you up to rooftops, gang up on you in tight spots and generally not let up once alerted. The game world is pretty large with a number of different locations in around the city with plenty of details throughout. Pedestrians, blowing leaves and garbage, traffic to contend with and so forth and so on. You can actually pick up a soda can or other piece of trash, toss it at someone and start a fight, although it’s not the best thing to do if you’re in the middle of a tough timed mission.

It’s really too bad this didn’t take off and get a proper sequel or get ports that got better treatment. The game was delivered to the Dreamcast fairly intact (with some control issues thanks to the stiff, bulky DC pad) and PlayStation (it was quite ugly to look at, making enjoying it a chore) before dropping off the map entirely. Mucky Foot didn’t last too long after their first game, though. 2001 saw the release of Startopia (a comical space station simulation), and a year later, 2002’s Blade II (a straightforward action game loosely based on the film) pretty much killed the developer after it received primarily poor reviews. The developer had planned an Urban Chaos 2, but that went down with the ship after they shuttered. There was a pretty decent PS2 and Xbox shooter called Urban Chaos: Riot Response that has nothing to do with the original game at all (it’s obvious that Eidos wanted to keep the IP alive), but its most notable aspect is it was developed by Rocksteady Studios, who later went on to create Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.

Anyway, enough rambling here – go try out Urban Chaos now – it’s cheap, fun and even innovative in a few key areas later games from other developers really took proper advantage of. You can raise a glass to the late, lamented Mucky Foot while you’re at it…