25 To Life
Encyclopedia
25 To Life is a third-person shooter
video game for Windows
, PlayStation 2
and Xbox
released in 2006. The game was developed by Avalanche Software
and Ritual Entertainment
, and was published by Eidos Interactive
.
Set in a modern environment, the game allows the player to play as both a cop
and a gangster
, at different times, in a "cops and robbers" style game. The game can be played online with up to 16 players using the network adaptor for the PS2 and through Xbox Live
for Microsoft
's Xbox, and there is online play for the PC version as well. In addition, the game features a variety of hip hop
songs played during the game.
The name of the game comes from a typical "indeterminate life sentence" that is often given in the United States upon a defendant's conviction for a violent felony
. See the article on parole
for more information.
man named Freeze, his friend Shaun Calderon, and a Police Officer, Officer Williams. The main protagonist being Freeze, the story is focused around him, despite the ability to be all three of the characters during at least one point throughout the game. Freeze commits crimes with Shaun to get money, which he promptly spends for his family.
One night upon returning home, his wife confronts him about these actions. Saying they are a bad influence to their son, she wants him to stop. After an argument, he agrees. The next day, he tells Shaun he wants out of the game. Shaun levels a gun on Freeze, informing him that he must do one last "job" -- a narcotics trade.
At the deal, Freeze finds the Colombia
n gang members dead, and police officer Maria Mendoza waiting. Freeze flees with the police in pursuit and loses them. Freeze then robs a bank until the police arrive. After a gun fight against the police, he finally reaches his getaway car only to be arrested after being hit by a nightstick.
Meanwhile, Mendoza informs Officer Williams of a new criminal, Shaun Calderon. They look for Shaun in his house (with a rookie) only to be found in a gun fight. Officer Williams then finds evidence and gets into Mendoza's car. Officer Williams goes to a club to find Shaun and chases him to the subway. Officer Williams then arrests Shaun but Mendoza kills him and tells Shaun to leave and go to Mexico
.
Shaun goes to Tijuana
and fights his way to a local club called "The Curtains Club". Shaun then robs a casino, fights security and goes to a wealthy man named Saragosa's penthouse. Shaun then kills him.
Freeze breaks out of jail and gets new clothes at the mall while being chased by the police. Freeze then kills Mendoza in the mall and hunts down Shaun then saying, "We used to be best friends, until you sold me out. Now, it's nothin' but flowers and a funeral for you, home boy", Freeze steps on Shaun's neck until he suffocates. The final scene shows Freeze telling Darnell, "From now on, it's just you and me against the world. Now let's do this." a large amount of police officers arrive, Freeze picks up a gun and points it at the police.
s Maurice Branscombe comments that the game's soundtrack is okay only "if you like rap." However, he criticises the game as "absolutely unadulterated bullshit."
Game Informer hated the game, commenting, "Voila! You've got a freshly baked crapcake!"
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
video game for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
released in 2006. The game was developed by Avalanche Software
Avalanche Software
Avalanche Software is a video game developer studio, founded in October 1995 by four lead programmers from Sculptured Software. The company has developed for every console platform since the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and SNES days and has grown to a staff of over 100 since its inception...
and Ritual Entertainment
Ritual Entertainment
Ritual Entertainment was a computer game software developer established in 1996 by Robert Atkins, Mark Dochtermann, Jim Dosé, Richard 'Levelord' Gray, Michael Hadwin, Harry Miller and Tom Mustaine...
, and was published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
.
Set in a modern environment, the game allows the player to play as both a cop
Cop
Cop is a slang term for a police official.Cop or Cops may refer to: - Organizations :* Conference of the Parties, the governing body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change...
and a gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
, at different times, in a "cops and robbers" style game. The game can be played online with up to 16 players using the network adaptor for the PS2 and through Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Xbox, and there is online play for the PC version as well. In addition, the game features a variety of hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
songs played during the game.
The name of the game comes from a typical "indeterminate life sentence" that is often given in the United States upon a defendant's conviction for a violent felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
. See the article on parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
for more information.
Plot
The game is about an African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
man named Freeze, his friend Shaun Calderon, and a Police Officer, Officer Williams. The main protagonist being Freeze, the story is focused around him, despite the ability to be all three of the characters during at least one point throughout the game. Freeze commits crimes with Shaun to get money, which he promptly spends for his family.
One night upon returning home, his wife confronts him about these actions. Saying they are a bad influence to their son, she wants him to stop. After an argument, he agrees. The next day, he tells Shaun he wants out of the game. Shaun levels a gun on Freeze, informing him that he must do one last "job" -- a narcotics trade.
At the deal, Freeze finds the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n gang members dead, and police officer Maria Mendoza waiting. Freeze flees with the police in pursuit and loses them. Freeze then robs a bank until the police arrive. After a gun fight against the police, he finally reaches his getaway car only to be arrested after being hit by a nightstick.
Meanwhile, Mendoza informs Officer Williams of a new criminal, Shaun Calderon. They look for Shaun in his house (with a rookie) only to be found in a gun fight. Officer Williams then finds evidence and gets into Mendoza's car. Officer Williams goes to a club to find Shaun and chases him to the subway. Officer Williams then arrests Shaun but Mendoza kills him and tells Shaun to leave and go to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Shaun goes to Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
and fights his way to a local club called "The Curtains Club". Shaun then robs a casino, fights security and goes to a wealthy man named Saragosa's penthouse. Shaun then kills him.
Freeze breaks out of jail and gets new clothes at the mall while being chased by the police. Freeze then kills Mendoza in the mall and hunts down Shaun then saying, "We used to be best friends, until you sold me out. Now, it's nothin' but flowers and a funeral for you, home boy", Freeze steps on Shaun's neck until he suffocates. The final scene shows Freeze telling Darnell, "From now on, it's just you and me against the world. Now let's do this." a large amount of police officers arrive, Freeze picks up a gun and points it at the police.
Reception
25 to Life was received negatively by critics. HyperHyper (magazine)
Hyper is a multi-platform Australian video game magazine. Australia's longest running gaming magazine, it has been in publication since 1993, and was released the same month as the better known UK magazine Edge...
s Maurice Branscombe comments that the game's soundtrack is okay only "if you like rap." However, he criticises the game as "absolutely unadulterated bullshit."
Game Informer hated the game, commenting, "Voila! You've got a freshly baked crapcake!"