This review is based on a purely vanilla playthrough.

LockeProposal's Big Day Out

+ While the graphics are nothing special, they seem to have aged well+ Top-shelf voice acting for the entire cast+ Getting in trouble with the police is much more interactive than many other products of this genre, allowing you to pay fines, bribe officers, or attempt resistance on-site+ Fist-fighting mechanics are cinematic, intuitive and entertaining+ There is a speed-limiter key for toggling "safe driving mode;" a massive quality-of-life feature that every free-roam game should have+ Game boasts very competent storytelling, with an even pace and solid character development+ Has a great cliffhanger ending; seeing the story through to the end felt worth it+ Every aspect of the aesthetics, from the clothes, to the vehicles and music, is period-appropriate and has a pervading feeling of authenticity+ Vehicle handling feels realistic and smooth+ Stock, reliabe cover system and shooting mechanics; nothing you haven't seen before, but the devs seemed to have settled with the 'less is more' approach, and it complemented the gameplay nicely+ Engine optimization is excellent+ While the explorable area is more of a medium size compared to competitors, there is still much to explore throughout the game world, and it feels appropriately sized for a small city+ Active modding community, and the game itself is easy to alter+ Some minimalist stealth mechanics that are well-implemented, though it isn't often revisited- Many crashes; I've heard that this game has problems with AMD cards, though, so NVIDIA users may not have these issues- Poor weapon selection (only about 7-8 usable firearms)- No side missions, and little in the way of collectibles or extra content (though I cannot speak to the DLC); little replayability- NPCs feel flat and generic, doing little to liven up the atmosphere of the city- Lack of post-campaign free-roam (though a simple mod can fix this if you don't mind the small hassle)