lthough the cover image vaguely resembles the star of Steven Spielberg's film, Tom Cruise makes no appearance in Minority
Report. The main protagonist is still John Anderton, as it was in the original Philip K. Dick novella. But he's a bigger, beefer, lower-voice-registered crimefighter with a blond crewcut and lines like "I'm the bear in this cave." The mission remains the same throughout the book, movie and game: to escape from the Precrime Unit and solve the murder mystery at the center of the story.
At the outset, the hovership is landing and a murderer is outrunning the team Anderton commands. From the third-person perspective, players kick, punch and shoot their way free of bad guys to nab potential criminals and administer "the necklace." The missions are not timed, and along the way are hidden pockets of money and health (and spare weapons like the riot impact shotgun). The black market sells temporary and permanent powerups to increase abilities and provide armor. Combat involves a certain amount of ingenuity beyond just typical fighting: Some missions require jumping to elevated surfaces and inching along ledges in order to get the baddie.
After a few initial exercises, Anderton is accused of the future murder from the film, and he escapes his own former colleagues via jetpack. The pack is itself a weapon, with a powerful stream of flaming fuel that allows players to bowl through and damage opponents. Precrime units are dispatched to hassle Anderton on every step of the journey, including keepers of those icky and indelible spyderbots.
A joyous jetpack ride just isn't enough
Forgiving for a moment the wooden cinematics that connect each scene, the main game itself is disappointing. Fans of the film may enjoy this title, if only for the reason that it closely follows the plot and ideas that movie introduced; even the clever subtitle of "Everybody Runs" demonstrates that someone at Activision was clearly thinking while working on this game.
But like many movie tie-ins, it's not a game anyone would play more than once, and those looking for a serious shoot-and-fight experience will be disappointed by the predictable action allowed. When an attack robot patiently waits for Anderton to round the corner, it's clear this is not a game that's going to take a lot of chances or throw many surprises toward its players.
The lack of Tom Cruise voice work is actually fine overall, but it will certainly disappoint anyone who only gives the cover a quick glance before picking it up. Unlike other titles that try to get a voice-alike, Activision went with someone completely different, and the effect overall is good. Other deviations, like having the precogs act in ways that seem disingenuous to the characters we knew in the film, only cause confusion.
Anyone expecting a real shoot-'em-up title is likely to find this game frustrating and more than a little simplistic. Players can't return to earlier missions, and the autosave feature means winding up right back at the beginning of the scene failing perfection the first time out. For those content with simple pleasures—who doesn't love a jetpack?—it's a fun few hours in the future, sidestepping the sick sticks and breaking out the concussion rifles.
My biggest pet peeve from the movie (and I wasn't a fan) carried through to the game, too: the ads. Although they're supposed to signify a futuristic free-market economy gone awry, I can't help but think it's really just about bottom line.
— Jennifer
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