GameCube

The Italian Job

The Italian Job is a great-looking, great-playing and kinda-good-sounding racing title. The game is a good buy although there are more recommendable games now. Still, if you’re a fan of the movie, this is a great buy.

While TIJ doesn't exactly fail on any given level, it certainly doesn't really over achieve either. Another movie, another bland game is released. The world continues on.

The Italian Job is a must-have if you're a fan of the movie, but probably only a rental otherwise. Story Mode is a bit short but still rewarding. The replay value is mostly in unending repetition, performing one objective until you get it right. The graphics are top-notch and there are plenty of modes to provide some variety. Overall, far better fare than most movie licenses.

When you take a turn at top speed and get your MINI on two tires as you slide between oncoming traffic, you really do feel the rush of excitement. But it's still tough to recommend The Italian Job as anything more than a rental. Even though the game's release failed to coincide with the film's debut, the project still feels rushed as corners like additional movie footage and added depth to Story mode seemed to be cut in order to get the game out on store shelves before the movie left theaters altogether. If you pay anything more than the three dollar rental fee for this one, you're just one more victim of the heist.

Ich wurde nicht so recht warm mit The Italian Job. Dies liegt aber vor allem an der durchschnittlichen Technik. Spätestens seit Burnout 2 kann man mit einer Grafik wie bei The Italian Job keinen mehr hinter dem Ofen hervorlocken. Insbesondere der lahme Multiplayer-Modus fällt hauptsächlich durch Ruckeleinlagen auf. Und eine so detaillierte und große Stadt wie True Crime: Streets of L.A. bietet Eidos´ Gangsterhatz auch nicht. Wenig überzeugend fand ich auch das Fahrgefühl eurer Karossen. Schade. Wer aber auf solide Gangsterkost im Rennspielkleid steht, kann sich das Spiel ja mal anschauen.

Despite the fact that the GameCube is short on racing titles, resist the temptation to do anything other than rent this one. It just isn't worth it. Had it been a little longer and fleshed out a bit more, it could have been a great game. As is, The Italian Job is little more than a glorified advertisement for the Mini Cooper.

On ne peut pas dire que l'adaptation vidéoludique du film Braquage à l'Italienne aura bénéficié de beaucoup de considération de la part du développeur. Voilà un soft d'arcade tout juste sympathique mais qui affiche de façon un peu trop effrontée son manque d'ambition.

The Italian Job is a licensed product, but just barely. Since there is no FMV from the film and none of the stars’ images or voices were used in the cutscenes, it’s basically just a run-of-the-mill racing title with Mini Coopers. I’m not saying that a game has to follow the movie it’s tied to exactly, but this is really pushing it. So, we’ve already established that this isn’t going to do much for Marky Mark fans. What we’re left with is just another driving game – one that fails to distinguish itself.

The Italian Job won't please anyone. Fans of the film looking to experience some Mini Cooper-themed racing fun of their own will be severely disappointed by the game's short and pointless story mode. Fans of open-city racers will quickly discover that this game doesn't even come close to recent releases like Midtown Madness 3 and Midnight Club II. But even on its own merits, The Italian Job simply doesn't have enough going on to make for an interesting ride.