Further bringing True Crime: New York City’s cop drama to life, Activision, Inc. has signed on a cast of seasoned actors to lend their distinct voice talents to the game’s main characters. The cast includes Christopher Walken ([i]Catch Me If You Can, Saturday Night Live[/i]) as FBI field agent Gabriel Whitting; Laurence Fishburne ([i]The Matrix, Biker Boyz[/i]) as drug kingpin Isaiah “The King” Reed; Mariska Hargitay ([i]Law & Order: SVU, Lake Placid[/i]) as New York Police Lieutenant Deena Dixon; Mickey Rourke ([i]Sin City, Man on Fire[/i]) as New York Police Detective Terrence Higgins; Esai Morales ([i]NYPD Blue, La Bamba[/i]) as New York Police Organized Crime Unit chief Victor Navarro; Traci Lords ([i]Blade, Profiler[/i]) as madam Cassandra Hartz; and up and coming actor Avery Waddell ([i]Road Trip, The New Guy[/i]) as former gangster turned cop Marcus Reed, the game’s main character and Isaiah Reed?s son.
“With a voice talent roster of this caliber, we are bringing drama to videogames on an unprecedented level that is on par with movies and television shows,” said Will Kassoy, vice president of global brand management, Activision Publishing. “True Crime: New York City was developed with the help of two former New York cops who advised us on real-life police scenarios which were then brought to life through the rich characters portrayed by the voiceover talent.”
Former policemen Bill Clark, who also served as the executive producer of [i]NYPD Blue[/i], and Tom Walker, author of [u]Ford Apache: The Bronx[/u], consulted on the storyline for True Crime: New York City which puts players in the role of Marcus Reed, former gang member turned cop. In the game, players will use and abuse their authority to hunt down the murderer of Marcus’ mentor while also cleaning up Manhattan neighborhoods from Harlem to Chinatown. Undercover investigations will weave players through a murderous web of gangs and deceit as they battle crooks, Marcus’ past and everything else the city throws at them.
True Crime: New York City will be available this fall for PS2, Xbox, and GameCube and has been rated “M” by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, and Use of Drugs. No word on whether it contains excessive cowbell.