
	Platform Xbox Genre Racing Publisher Eidos Developer Climax ESRB T (Teen) Released June 25, 2003

- Mini Coopers - Quit button

- Almost everything - A Start button

Review: GTA Vice City (Playstation 2) Review: Wreckless (Xbox)
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The Italian Job

Score: 3.5 / 10

For some strange and sometimes crazy reason, motion picture companies feel that it is absolutely in the best interest of the film to produce a dire videogame bearing the same name. We have seen it happen many times in the past, and it seems they all follow the same trend: They all are a waste of time. But this should come as no surprise, seeing as the only reason a videogame for a movie is made, is to generate what little profit it can. Unfortunately, rarely do any of these games generate any profit.

The Italian Job is a remake of a 1969 film with an all-star cast of actors that is really quite enjoyable. The Italian Job videogame is the complete antithesis. As soon as the game is launched, you see how rushed this game was, in order to be released timely with the opening of the film. The cars look like moving boxes of

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- Games Published by Eidos

cardboard and the setting looks absolutely miserable, making the gaming experience nothing like the movie experience.

The missions, 15 of them, all rotate around the same “Crazy Taxi” method that has been reapplied to numerous games, but never feels the same. The Italian Job creates a poor interface of time management and repetitive missions of driving from point A to point B. After a half hour, you’ll find yourself bored of the boredom.

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As mentioned before, the graphics are nothing compared to the standards of today and distort whatever “fun” there once was. The Mini Coopers do have some credibility in terms of graphics, though still showcasing many flaws. In other words, the graphics are terrible.

The sound is that of any other racing game, with the same “vroom” and “whoosh” of passing cars. The only difference is that those other games are far better than The Italian Job. The music is subtle, featuring the same “heist-like” tempo seen in the movie. The worst part, believe it or not there is one, is the voice acting. I honestly believe that this game has the worst voice acting ever. I think SNES games have better voice acting then The Italian Job. Every mission starts off with the same voice, telling you about your mission and how to accomplish it. Fortunately, you can skip these awful encounters; though not listening to them might cause you to loose track of the story.

In terms of extra features, the game does have scenes from the movie and a two-player mode. Chances are you’ll turn to the scenes of the movie to relieve your wasted time, though that still won’t help. The two-player mode is just as boring as the single-player, except this time you have someone that can share your pain alongside of you.

If The Italian Job was a disease, it would surely be more dangerous than SARS. In other words, stay as far away from this game as possible. If you’re looking to waste some time, start to beat yourself over the head with the game box. Trust me that is a more pleasant experience then having to play this game. To end my flurry of disdainful comments for The Italian Job, I'll leave you by saying: I don’t get paid enough.

- Eric Lahiji
(September 1, 2003)