Bad Day L.A. – Hands on, Demo’s out!

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The Bad Day L.A. demo begins with the introduction of the most unusual hero I’ve ever played: Anthony is a trash-talkin’ homeless guy who’s crazy, clumsy, and funny as hell. Screw it – basically the main character is unofficially Dave Chappelle, so you can already imagine what this game is like. You start in the Santa Monica freeway, where a Jumbo Jet filled with biological “stuff” crashes into a bridge. Highly toxic gas spreads out of the jet and all over the city and it transforms some Los Angeles citizens into zombies. The rest of the city goes into a post-9/11 panic x 100 and Unofficially Chapelle finds himself as the unlikely hero with the power to make all the crazy people stop. Here’s the twist – you have to do whatever is necessary to contain this situation. So the gameplay involves extinguishing fires, healing injured and killing your way across the street if it’s necessary (and trust me, it is necessary). Downloable demo, more videos, and talking squirrels onward:baddayla01baddayla02baddayla03Visually, this game looks pretty good and the unique cell shading is perfectly suited – The satiric undertone and the criticism at the political situation is obvious and it makes the game even more comprehensive. Bizarre humor is on the order of the day and I’m sure Jack Thompson’s eyes are soon to pop out. The only thing that disappoints me about it is the sound. Just watch the video above and you’ll understand what I’m about to say. I’m not sure if it’s a bug or intended, but the sound of the environment is awful. It’s realistic, but too calm and fails to play up the humor of the situations. Sometimes there are a few screams and the sound of gunfire, and when you face that direction there is nothing. This seems less prevelant in crowded scenarios but when you’re out in the open it is a nagging oversight. This is where the Rockstar must have decided to implement licensing commercial music to solve (or at least muffle) the problem. baddayla05Besides that, I can’t find any other downsides. The levels are unique, the scenarios are completely over the top, and you can lose yourself for hours tending to the flock of disorderly people on the street. I shot someone on purpose and then nursed them back to health! Thus, this game is a breath of fresh toxic air. So, if you enjoy burning civilians, killing terrorists, extinguishing maniacs in cars, fighting rowdies, and capping zombies than this is the right game for you. Bad Day L.A. hits the shelves on August 29. You can download the demo herebaddayla04


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