After the release of the popular game “Grand Theft Auto III,” game developers came to the decision that violence sells. Using this simple formula, the original “State of Emergency” was created: a game where the player can gain points by starting riots and general chaos. It was a game that people either enjoyed or didn’t care for, and its loose script and unorganized feel made most gamers shy away. However, it did bring new ideas to the game-developing tables, making the game unique. DCStudios’ “State of Emergency 2,” however, claims nothing new to intrigue gamers.

This game takes place about 10 years after the first edition, and features a corporation, ingeniously named “The Corporation.” It rules people with an iron fist, employing tactics such as mind control, police beatings, and endless propaganda to keep its citizens peaceful and submissive. A team of terrorists, imaginatively named “Freedom,” has been fighting to take down the Corporation. The game opens with Roy “Mac” MacNeil, one of Freedom’s operatives, about to be executed for his crimes against the Corporation. Freedom aids his escape and joins the old team of four together again to battle their oppressive overlords.

If the plot of “State of Emergency 2” seems like an overused clich‚, that would be because it is. It is a game full of unoriginal, boring plot concepts.

The game play has been seen time and time again and holds no new quirks to keep the gamers interested. Shooting requires no skill whatsoever, and bullets are plentiful, making running around while holding down the trigger a viable strategy. Controls for this third person shooter are too plain, a gamer cannot even dive-roll – a must have for any self-respecting third-person shooter. “State of Emergency 2” offers the ability to lean around corners to provide some cover to the gamer, but this action is clumsily done and often leaves the player more out in the open than ever.

Vehicle control is nothing short of horrendous, making every level where the gamer is giving a medium of mass destruction more a chore than it should be. Getting behind the wheel of a tank or helicopter is entertaining in almost any game except this one. Tanks are too slow, easily destroyed, and don’t create enough carnage. Helicopters are too clumsy and weak. Motorboats shouldn’t have mortars on them to begin with. Also, DCStudios decided to max out the players anguish by not allowing a player to leave a vehicle once he has entered it until the level is over, making some very frustrating moments in the game.

Hands down, “State of Emergency 2” just doesn’t deliver anything that the gamer has not already seen, and, in most cases, seen better of. The combination of terrible voice acting, terrible plot, and terrible game play makes this a terrible game. Its unoriginality makes doing homework seem like a more entertaining alternative to gaming. Save your money and get something else to play.

Final Score: 4.5/10