Starsky & Hutch Preview

E3 2003 - First Look

Starsky and Hutch brings an interesting twist to your typical action-driving game, namely the ability to drive after and shoot at bad guys at the same time. Using an auto-targeting feature, you can shoot at your enemies while keeping control of the wheel and chasing them down on the road. One really fun aspect of this is the two-player co-op mode, in which one player (Starsky) will drive the car and handle all of the road responsibilities and the other player (Hutch) will handle all of the shooting duties.

The game has all the retro atmosphere of the show, and plays out storylines that certainly run parallel to something you would find on the show. The Season mode also has some interesting touches to it. In the Season mode, the objective is not only to complete the missions as they are set out, but you also have to abide to the ratings system by performing stunts and trick driving maneuvers. It’s extremely necessary to keep your ratings up, because if people stop watching you then your show gets cancelled and it’s game over. The graphics in the demo were pretty nice, although they did feature some clipping issues. However, Gotham Games should have this polished up when the game is released this fall on PC, PS2, and Xbox.