Kingpin: Life of Crime

Kingpin: Life of Crime
Studio	Xatrix Entertainment
Publisher	Interplay
Senior Developer	Drew Markham
composer	Cypress Hill
Erstveröffent- lichung	June 30, 1999
platform	Microsoft Windows , Linux
Game engine	id Tech 2
genre	Ego shooter
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	Windows 95 or newer, Intel Pentium II 233 MHz, 64 MB RAM, DirectX 6, 570 MB storage space
medium	CD-ROM , download
language	English
information	Indexed in Germany.

Kingpin: Life of Crime is a first-person shooter released in June 1999 that was developed by the US studio Xatrix Entertainment and brought to market by the publisher Interplay . The game was indexed in Germany due to explicit depictions of violence. In 2020 a new edition with the title Kingpin: Reloaded will appear.

Action and gameplay

In Kingpin you slip into the role of a criminal who is brutally beaten up by the henchmen of a gang boss in the intro video and who seeks revenge after this attack. The name of the protagonist remains hidden from the player. In the chat window, this is simply referred to as "Thug" (English for racket, gangster). He is only called "motherfucker" by the gang boss and his henchmen. In the course of the game you fight your way through ghettos, sewers, warehouses and much more with different weapons until you finally face the boss himself and have to kill him in a final fight.

Weapons and equipment

In the course of the game you will find different, increasingly stronger weapons. So you only start with an old lead pipe and have to overcome the first criminals until you get to your first firearm, the pistol , which can be upgraded with various modifications as the game progresses. In addition, you can find a shotgun, flamethrower and a light machine gun up to the heavy machine gun and the bazooka . In the course of the game the player can also find armor of different thicknesses for the head, chest and legs, which reduce the damage suffered.

particularities

The player can interact and speak with a variety of NPCs , some of which give him important information. Some NPCs even offer the player to fight as a mercenary by his side and thus support him against his opponents. In addition, there is a bar in almost every part of the game. Here you cannot be attacked and you can often hire NPCs as reinforcements. That some of the NPCs give the player orders, e.g. B. Finding certain things is also a game mechanic that is more present in role-playing games than in first-person shooters. The reward is money, keys or something similar. Sometimes the NPC joins the player for free out of gratitude.

In general, collecting items in the game is elementary. B. can only leave a section of the game if you find the battery for the corresponding motorcycle, etc. You can also loot opponents who have been turned off and take their money. In "Pawn-O-Matic-Shops", the player can buy and modify weapons.

The sequel Kingpin 2 was announced by Interplay in 2004, but never came out.

Violence and indexing

Kingpin was indexed in Germany in July 1999 by the federal inspection agency for media harmful to minors. You can shoot opponents limbs and further mutilate dead enemies, revealing a large amount of blood. In addition, the characters use an extremely harsh gutter language, in which phrases of the word "Fuck" often occur.

Soundtrack

For the soundtrack of the American controlled hip-hop -Formation Cypress Hill , the three tracks Checkmate , 16 Men Till There's No Men Left and Lightning Strikes in which all of their album IV originate. Of the songs, however, only loops of the respective instrumental piece can usually be heard in the game . It is particularly noteworthy that Cypress Hill also recorded some of the gangster voices.

reception

The game received mostly positive ratings. Gamespot rated Kingpin with 7.3 out of 10 points and IGN with 8.3 out of 10 points.

Digital publication

Interplay published Kingpin in September 2008 on the digital distribution platform GOG and in August 2009 as a download on Steam . In 2011 it also appeared on the now discontinued Desura provider . Due to the indexing of the game, it is not available to users with a German IP address ( geoblocking ).

Remaster

In January 2020, 3D Realms and Interplay announced a remaster of the game entitled Kingpin: Reloaded , which will be released in 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One , PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch . In addition to support for 4K , 60 frames per second and gamepads , the new edition also includes playful adjustments. Kingpin: Reloaded is developed by the Danish studio Slipgate Ironworks.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Decision No. 5628 (V) of the Federal Inspectorate for Media Harmful to Young Persons of July 27, 1999, Federal Gazette No. 141, July 31, 1999.
2. ↑ Erik Wolpaw: Kingpin: Life of Crime Review on Gamespot (accessed January 18, 2020)
3. ↑ Kingpin: Life of Crime on IGN (accessed January 18, 2020)
4. ↑ Michael Krosta: Kingpin: Reloaded - Shooter from the 90s returns as a remaster on 4Players (accessed January 18, 2020)

Web links

• Game info on gamespot.com (English)