Review: Monaco Is Mine

Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine is a single player or co-op heist game. Assemble a crack team of thieves, case the joint, and pull off the perfect heist. The Locksmith: Blue-collar infiltration expert The Lookout: She can see and hear everything…Pick, Plan and get the hell outa Dodge.

Pros:

• The game is very much aimed towards stealth. It may look like a objective based Pacman CE on acid game, But that is far from the truth. For what you get here is a game where you can only see so far in front of you (the rest of the screen is black), same for all the other players. You must cunningly sneak around the levels collecting gold squares and getting the objective. Then you must escape the same way you came in! All without alerting gurads, avoiding sniffer dogs,cctv,laser lines and more.
• Single Player/Online 4 player co-op and even local 4 player co-op. It can even be possible for 2 people to share one keyboard! Everything except offline/online co-op mixed is available.
• Single player is more stealth and tactics based as you pick a character and attempt to go it alone. Multi player still requires tactics but is a lot more fun due to the nature of the game. Nothing like a couple of people going nice and slow, picking up objectives, Just for one guy to alert all the guards and ruin the whole show…or is it ruined? Is this not a clever plan? Only time will tell.
• The sound is superb, from its Benny Hill style tune that kicks in when guards are alerted, to the panting of the dogs to the more simple footsteps of the guards. The sound is all highly produced and has a true surround sound feel. You can tell just by listening, where exactly guards and dogs are. Its very clever in its execution.
• Collecting 10 of the gold squares gives you an extra item that’s in your inventory, Say for example you pick up a gun, for every 10 squares you get another round of ammo. Collecting all of the gold squares gets you a cleaned out message and for every 2 clean outs you get a new side story mission. Side story missions are separate from the main game and offer higher levels of difficulty for the player.
• Unlock and play as different character each with their own “Skill”. The locksmith for example can open doors quicker whilst the pick pocket can pick pockets obviously and send his pet monkey out to collect gold squares that are in range. The cleaner is for your physical approach, he can hit unsuspecting guards and knock them out before they raise the alarm.
• Game mechanics are very clever in their delivery to the experience. If you are injured, you leave a bloody foot print every so often usually resulting in guards getting suspicious. You can tell a guards level of suspicion by looking at the question mark above their head. As they get more curious, the question mark will begin to fill. Once completely full it will turn to an red exclamation point and your covers blown! They will hunt you down. Making noise or hitting them can trigger the alert stage faster. You can see guards footprints to determine their location whilst you are hiding or within range. Just because a guard is on high alert doesnt mean you cant hide in plain sight. Just staying out of their way can sometimes be enough. Even little additions such as the ability to use the urinal shows the level of detail were getting. Hell you even flush the toilet afterwards!
• The level design is clever in terms of their are many many ways to attack each mission. From secret tunnels to walkways, the game gives you plenty of options and more importantly more places to hide! All the levels work on a multi floored design. Clear each floor to your goal then return back to the bottom is the key in most cases.
• The story is a good one and before each mission you get a set amount of story, building the scene, the reasons why your here and the end result. Its a classic bank robber/heist story line complete with huge twists. Twists that we wont give away as it will spoil the game for you. Side missions again have their own place and never feel like they are tacked on by any means.
• Full game pad support and the forums have a guide on how to set up a PS3 pad should you wish to use one. The controls for what is a complicated game at times are simple. To open doors,pick up items or hack terminals its just a simple case of pressing into them on the d pad and letting the little circle fill up. Using your gear such as bombs or a gun is just a button click away.
• You have a huge arsenal of gear to find and use in the levels. Starting off with your traditional shotguns and smoke bombs, leading up to C4, EMP bombs, crossbows. The key is to use the weapons strategically.
• Setting up and joining online games again is simple and quick. Just hit the button to go into online mode, then you will notice a little light next to missions that have an open lobby. Just click join and your in! Filters and hosting options like private rooms etc are all available and just a button press away. The take away point from all this is its simple and clutter free.
• Full online leader board support with filters. The game supports and even encourages the player to attempt speed runs on each of the levels. Leader boards are shown on the starting screen of each level, just for that extra motivation.

 

Cons:

• At first the screen can seem a bit cluttered, especially when you first enter a room, your all bunched up and it can cause problems. A real nit picky one I know.
• Need a bit more explanation on the different icons on screen. More for the different types of security, pick ups. It all feels very guess, press and pray.
• Doing precise actions such as picking up items and more so entering doors can be hit and miss in terms of registering. Really annoying when your on the run! It could be the controller is over sensitive, But I have experienced it on the keyboard.
• Aiming with the mouse doesnt always work. A few reboots may fix it but I had major problems and could only use the mouse buttons.
• Any lag received in game is killer. The game is unplayable with lag. Not a fault of the game really but worth noting.
• Needs real time refreshing. If you have a rogue mole, It would be nice for the blue print to change. A quick fix for now is to Alt + Tab out of it.

 

In Summary, One of the best games so far this year. Its so playable and brutal at the same time. Its one of those games where it will kick your arse and rub your face in it, But on the flip side make you come back for more! Just writing this review makes me want to boot the game straight back up. From the absolutely craziness of multi player to the more stealth focused sing player, the game has you covered. Its just such a clever game that gives you so much for such little effort. Its a stealth game but even getting caught and running away is a game in itself. Looking at screenshots and even videos, will never accurately portray just how much fun this game is to play. Its not until you play it that you feel the atmosphere. the tension, the reward, the awesomeness!  Buy the game and you can thank me later, Trust me this game will win more awards before the year is out. With low specs needed for play, lovely visuals and so much game play. You have no reason not to own this game. Best played online with a pad and using comms, whack the kettle on and knuckle down, Its gonna be a long night! Heisters mount up! We got a payday coming!