Smuggler's Run (PS2) Gameplay (Hyperkin HDTV Cable for PS2/ PS1)
13There are some games that help you create new curse words out of thin air. Combinations of curse words just fly out of your mouth, without realizing it, and they mend together to create some new combination of words you never even knew you were capable of uttering....Smuggler's Run is one of those games that help you find new creative highs in cursing. LOL.
I missed the PS2 launch, I didn't get one for over a year after it's release, but man, if I had gotten this game at launch, my mind would have been blown. There was nothing, absolutely nothing on the console side of gaming that would even have come close to how massive, and detailed the maps in this game were. You have to put yourself back into the mindset of a gamer in the year 2000. In fact, the closest thing I saw prior was my sister's Compaq PC she got with her college money had a demo of Motocross Madness which was also developed by Rainbow studios.
This game combined the tough driving missions of a game like Driver (which was immensely popular on the PS1), and puts them into giant maps who's scale, dare I say had not been seen in gaming as of yet. Especially not console gaming. The closest thing might be Body Harvest on the N64, but it's not even close to the size and scale of Smuggler's. You have to go back to gaming in the year 2000, and earlier to really see the magic in Smuggler's graphics. For showing how much more powerful the PS2 was than previous consoles, Smuggler's run was an amazing showpiece for the system, and a very tough, but good game on top of that.
As I said, if you remember Driver, Driver 2, and even The Italian Job on the PS1, you know what to expect with Smugglers, except on a grander, harder scale. Mission-based driving games of this era were tough, but not so frustrating you would rage quit. There is something here that, despite failing a mission 100 times in a row, you'll still want to give it a 101st try. It's compelling, and really engrossing. I can't say for sure what it is, but the gameplay here is fast, fun, and addictive despite the difficulty. Somehow, this game just pulls you back to give it one more try. There's nothing like taking a rest from a tough mission you have failed a thousand times in a row, coming back hours later, just to beat it in your first try like it was easy.
Control issues, and some bouncy, wonky physics aside, I love this game, even if I have yet to beat it.
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