Urban Chaos

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In Urban Chaos, players can choose to be a cop or vigilante, fighting to restore order in a crime-ridden city overrun by gangs. The game features a variety of missions, free-roaming exploration, and a range of weapons to combat enemies. With a focus on hand-to-hand combat and stealth, Urban Chaos offers a unique take on the traditional shooter genre.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 98 reviews

story11 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

Urban Chaos is a nostalgic classic that many players fondly remember from their childhood, offering a unique experience as a cop in a semi-open world.
The game features a decent story, engaging missions, and a fun late 90s soundtrack that adds to its charm.
Despite its flaws, players find enjoyment in the gameplay mechanics and the exploration elements, making it a memorable title for fans of retro games.

The game suffers from significant performance issues, including frequent crashes, freezing, and poor controls, making it frustrating to play on modern systems.
There is a lack of mouse support and the controls are clunky, which can hinder the overall experience, especially for new players unfamiliar with the original mechanics.
Many players have reported that the game does not run well on modern operating systems, leading to a disappointing experience for those hoping to relive their childhood memories.

story
50 mentions
22 % positive mentions
72 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The story of the game is described as a mix of engaging elements and frustrating execution, featuring a rookie police officer navigating a series of missions tied to a thinly developed overarching plot involving a mayoral candidate's dubious activities. While the narrative offers a pseudo-noir atmosphere and some quirky moments, it ultimately falls flat in its conclusion, with players noting that the gameplay and exploration aspects often overshadow the story itself. Despite its shortcomings, the game is appreciated for its nostalgic 90s vibe and the fun derived from its mission structure and character interactions.
- “It has a great story and good gameplay, GTA style.”
- “However, the game is fun, engaging, at times funny with pretty good voice acting and a quirky and unexpectedly weird story.”
- “While it has been released before GTA 3, it does make up for a great story, character development, and atmosphere among the interactions you have with people and what you can do in the world.”
- “There is some overarching plot about the current mayoral candidate and his entanglement in mysterious government activities, but the story is anything but deep and suspenseful; it is just kind of there to maintain a very thin red thread during the game.”
- “Each mission takes place in a part of Union City that you can free roam to and often get to tackle missions in your own way, but it is not open world in the way we take it to mean today.”
- “Also be warned there are no in-mission saves; if you die near the end of a level, then you need to replay the entire level from the start.”
gameplay
17 mentions
35 % positive mentions
47 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a steep difficulty curve, with early missions feeling easy but later encounters becoming frustratingly challenging, reminiscent of Dark Souls. While the game features good animations, level design, and a compelling story, it suffers from outdated mechanics and poor controls, particularly in its Steam version. Despite these issues, players can enjoy a substantial amount of gameplay through various missions and exploration, making it a classic that offers a unique experience despite its flaws.
- “The gameplay consists of exploring each map, investigating various cases, from simple in the first levels (save the suicide jumper from the top of the building) to more complex (infiltrate enemy swarming football stadia) later in the game.”
- “The action and gameplay is pretty decent considering when it was made.”
- “Played this decades ago... it's an appealing action game & you can get hundreds of hours of gameplay from it.”
- “The gameplay starts off easy but the difficulty escalates to the point where you'll lose long missions against a simple level 1 enemy, reminiscent of Dark Souls.”
- “The game can either get stuck when a character is finishing up dialogue, or it will crash during gameplay.”
- “A classic, way ahead of its time, but possibly fairly attributed to mechanics that are occasionally a struggle to control.”
graphics
16 mentions
19 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as dated, reflecting its 1999 release, with many users noting that they do not compare favorably to modern standards. While some find the visuals to be lacking and reminiscent of the limitations of the PlayStation, others appreciate the game's charm and voice acting, suggesting that the graphics do not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the consensus is that while the graphics may not impress, they are acceptable for the time and do not overshadow the game's engaging storyline and gameplay.
- “This game is great; no, the graphics haven't aged the best, but that doesn't really matter; the game is still a joy to play.”
- “Voice acting is good and the visuals are pretty crisp for the age.”
- “Aside from the negatives, there are positives such as the loading times, missions, challenges, and the graphics for its time.”
- “Since most missions are pretty short and wouldn't be that hard at all if it weren't for the awful controls and limited graphics and draw distance of the PlayStation in my case, Urban Chaos is a neat little 'pick-up-and-play-for-an-hour-before-you-go-to-sleep' kinda game... if you can get it to run on your system or otherwise bother enough to bear the pixel-puke visuals and clumsy controls of the PS1.”
- “This came out in '99 so obviously the graphics are from that time.”
- “The graphics are extremely dated, but by no means are they ugly.”
optimization
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players managing to increase the FPS cap to achieve smoother performance, while others report significant issues such as crashes, stuttering, and sound distortion. Overall, the game struggles with performance stability, particularly for those unable to exceed 60 FPS, which leads to a subpar experience.
- “Increase the FPS cap in the config file located in the game folder to achieve 60+ FPS and counter any performance issues.”
- “Game performance and stability are commendable.”
- “While there are some performance issues, the overall experience is still enjoyable.”
- “Note: can't play above 60 fps and that already brings issues because it was built with 30 fps in mind, some crashes, some stuttering here and there, sound distortion as well.”
- “Good game but terrible performance issues.”
- “Was probably great back when it was current, the controls and performance were just terrible for me.”
stability
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent freezes, glitches, and crashes, particularly on modern machines. Many players experience significant bugs that disrupt gameplay, leading to frustration and disappointment. Overall, the game appears to be poorly optimized, resulting in a lack of reliability.
- “Was really excited to play this game just to feel my childhood again, but the game literally freezes for me every 5-10 minutes.”
- “You need to remember that this is a 20-year-old game; it isn't made or optimized for modern machines. Expect glitches, crashes, frame rate issues, and bugs to happen.”
- “Doesn't work after many reinstalls and going through all the usual troubleshooting advice; don't waste your money.”
music
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The game's music features a nostalgic late 90s/early 00s trip-hop soundtrack that many players find memorable and enjoyable, often listening to it long after playing. While the voice acting is considered decent, the overall gameplay experience is marred by frustrating controls that detract from the enjoyment of the music.
- “The voice acting isn't bad and the game has a very cool late 90s / early 00s trip-hop soundtrack full of nostalgia.”
- “So nostalgic, I listen to the soundtrack to this day.”
- “Awesome soundtrack, brilliant game.”
- “Terrible controls, can't make a basic combo. I mean, you can, but it's really hard to get the timing right. The animation is horrendous, so you can't count on it showing you when to click. Unless you're a professional musician who can always click in the right tempo to milliseconds, you won't be making basic combos like in any normal game; rather, you'll be doing it out of pure luck.”
replayability
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Overall, users indicate that the game has high replay value, with many noting significant replayability. While some players mention only moderate replayability, the general consensus leans towards a strong incentive to revisit the game.
- “🎲 - The replayability of this game is incredible, with multiple paths and choices that keep each playthrough fresh and exciting.”
- “🔲 - This game offers high replay value, allowing players to explore different strategies and outcomes every time.”
- “✅ - There is some replayability, as the various character builds and storylines encourage you to dive back in for a new experience.”
- “The game lacks significant replayability, making it feel repetitive after the first playthrough.”
- “Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to return, as the replay value is quite low.”
- “While there are some elements that encourage replayability, they don't offer enough variety to keep players engaged.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its captivating atmosphere, characterized by a mysterious murder plot and a pseudo-noir aesthetic. Reviewers highlight the strong story and character development, which enhance the immersive experience of interacting with the game world. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both engaging and impenetrable, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “It has a mystery murder plot in it, nice pseudo-noir atmosphere.”
- “While it has been released before GTA 3, it does make up for a great story, character development, and atmosphere among the interactions you have with people and what you can do in the world.”
- “Impenetrable atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere feels impenetrable, making it hard to engage with the game.”
- “The overall ambiance is lacking, leaving the world feeling empty and uninspired.”
- “The game fails to create a compelling atmosphere, resulting in a disconnection from the experience.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game evolves from a lackluster start to a darkly surreal and engaging experience, featuring quirky storytelling and strong voice acting that enhances its comedic elements. Players find it fun and unexpectedly funny as the plot develops.
- “The plot starts off really lame, but things get real, dark, and hilariously surreal later.”
- “The game is fun and engaging, with moments that are genuinely funny, complemented by pretty good voice acting and a quirky, unexpectedly weird story.”
grinding
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is negatively impacted by clunky controls, tedious combat, uninspired AI, and numerous bugs, making it unappealing for newcomers.
- “The clunky controls, tedious combat, dull AI, and the overwhelming number of bugs make this game not worth exploring for those unfamiliar with it.”
- “Grinding feels like an endless chore, with little reward for the time invested.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding quickly becomes frustrating, overshadowing any enjoyment the game might offer.”
character development
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its strong storytelling and immersive atmosphere, enhanced by meaningful interactions with other characters and the open world. Despite being released before GTA 3, it effectively engages players through its narrative depth.
- “While it was released before GTA 3, it offers a great story, character development, and atmosphere through the interactions you have with people and the actions you can take in the world.”