Because games don’t have to be old to be forgotten…

If you told the moral guardians of the world to go away and write a list of what would constitute the most shocking video game they could think of, there’s a very good chance they’d come up with something similar to State Of Emergency, released in 2001. Short of nun-rape, it pretty much ticked all the boxes.

The opening level was set in a huge shopping mall during a riot. You had to blast, stab and bludgeon your way through a number of missions which involved exploding stores, shoplifting and killing. Morally unsound? Why, yes. Fun? Like you wouldn’t believe…

In the story mode of the game, you play a freedom fighter battling
against a shady mega-corporation. You do this by furtively carrying out
missions, like stealing things, beating up corporation soldiers and
rescuing hostages, surrounded by unfolding chaos.

The first thing that hit you about State Of Emergency was the sheer
amount of things going on at any one time. When it was released, the
developers claimed that up to 200 individually moving characters could
appear onscreen at once. These mostly took the form of rioters or
scared shoppers. To see these crowds running around in different
directions in front of you with no slow-down was breathtaking.

It’s fun, but intimidating. At times, you were fighting off literally
masses of enemy soldiers – some with truncheons, some with guns – and even
working out where you are was a challenge.

But there was another mode of play, more of a free-for-all. There, you
just had a certain amount of time to unleash as much damage as you
could, by killing gangs, blowing up shops and taking out soldiers with a
variety of weapons, from trashcans to rocket launchers. But it’s OK,
because the corporation is evil, and you are the good guy, understand?

Most worrying was the Last Clone Standing mode, where 200 soldiers
(it’s OK, they’re ‘genetically modified clones’) run around the level,
fearing for their lives. You have to kill every last one of them in the
shortest amount of time. It was incredibly guilty enjoyment – obviously,
a few changes of graphics and you’ve got Columbine: The Video Game. The
makers seemed to realise this, so they gave the game a great big
cheesy wink – when you finished the level, a voice cried "Congratulations!
You’ve killed everybody!" in a plastic gameshow host kinda way.

State Of Emergency would have been morally questionable if it was
released at any time, but as it came out shortly before the attacks on
September 11th 2001, it quietly faded away without too much of a bang. It might not be game over for State Of Emergency, though, as a sequel is due to be released before the end of the year.

Find the cheapest way to buy State Of Emergency at Kelkoo.co.uk

[story by Stuart Heritage]