Kingpin: Life of Crime

Overview

Known for extremely vulgar dialogue and over-the-top violence, the story of Kingpin is one of revenge against the ultimate crime lord the Kingpin.

Gameplay

The game was known for the graphic depictions of both blood and gore for its time. It showcased several genre milestones and innovations including modifiable weapons, NPC interactions that had meaningful gameplay impacts, area specific damage ( head shots do more damage), as well as seperate armor values for different parts of the body (head, torso, legs). There was also a looting system for the corpses that would result in cash and ammo being taken.

Controversy

This game came out just after the Columbine High School shooting that had a negative impact on its sale. It was singled-out by congressman as the sole reason for school shootings and there were calls to cancel the game. As a result of this negative publicity, retailers Best Buy, Wal Mart, and Toys R Us pulled the game from store shelves. To alleviate some of the concerns of congressman and retailers, a cleaner mode was included that toned down the violence as well as bleeped expletives. A message from the CEO of Xatrix was also included during the installation process of the game.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Kingpin: Life of Crime was provided by the rap group Cypress Hill, three of the tracks provided appeared on their album "IV" which were:

• 16 Men Till There's No Men Left
• Checkmate
• Lightning Strike

Members of Cypress Hill also provided voice acting for the game.