Starsky and Hutch has been a hit ever since it first hit television screens in the mid '70s. Even now the duo has many fans and Starsky and Hutch is getting a revival. There are endless reruns of episodes on Satellite television, a film coming out (although controversially not starring the original duo) and now a video game dedicated to Starsky and Hutch. With the nation experiencing a Starsky and Hutch fad I hope this game captures the action in the television series and is not a cheap cash in.

GRAPHICS

In-game graphics are a little too blocky to appear particularly striking at first glance. There are plenty of explosions and vehicles which litter the screen to make for an exciting experience, but the graphics are merely average. To make up for the shoddy visuals there are special events in the game. When a special event occurs the game slows down and gamers can witness the red tomato glide over jumps, through explosions or even view a criminal coming into focus.

Despite the lack of eye candy in game, Starsky and Hutch has beautiful hand drawn cartoon cut scenes telling the story like a comic book. This helps the game flow from level to level filling in bits of information that gamers would not know from simply playing the game. To enhance the experience further the comic strip is narrated by Huggy Bear. This may not mean much to people unfamiliar with the series but for those that are they will understand that this helps make the experience a lot more authentic.

Sadly Starsky and Hutch isn't the best looking game in the world but there are various trademarks of the series such as areas like Bay City being based on actual episodes from the series, the sporty red tomato vehicle, and of course Starsky and Hutch themselves.

12/20

SOUND

The music complementing the game is taken from the original series. The theme tune is present when the game starts and all background music has been used in the series or is based on tunes from the series. Aside from the narrating courtesy of Huggy Bear there are also scenes where Starsky and Hutch will converse with each other. Unfortunately voice acting has not been done by the original duo, David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser, but this doesn't detract from the experience as Starsky and Hutch utter familiar lines to each other. As expected vehicles rev, and break when needed and there is the piercing sound of bullets as the gamer attempts to fight crime. There is certainly nothing to fault with the sound effects in the game, although big fans of the series may be slightly irritated by the absence of David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser.

17/20

GAMEPLAY

As one would expect the game is set around Bay City and is split into three seasons. Each season has episodes within them, all based on actual episodes seen in Starsky and Hutch. Essentially the aim of the game is to drive around Bay City and complete the mission set. Typically the mission involves stopping a criminal vehicle. This can be done fairly easily, using the map to locate the vehicle, then shooting