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[stranno]

PositronicBrain, ex-member of Argonaut Games, has released, once again, very early builds of another game: Urban Chaos: Riot Response.

It started as a sequel for SWAT: Global Strike Team, released on October 2003. The "SWAT2 demo" was created on November 2003, using the same engine and assets from the first game. Those two levels are not present in the final game, but they resemble two of the final levels. Later it was renamed to Roll Call, those two builds have some missions from the final game. Argonaut closed in late-2004 and most staff was hired by Rocksteady Games. The project was renamed to Urban Chaos: Riot Response and it became the first Rocksteady game ever, well, the only Rocksteady game ever besides the Arkham series.

PSX2 - Roll Call/SWAT : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Prototype builds of what would become Urban Chaos Riot Response on the PlayStation 2. Preserved for historical interest to show how a game progresses through...

archive.org

 

[Kuranghi]

Oh man I spent far too much time playing Urban Chaos: RR back in the day, I'm a sucker for physics and that guys jumping out from behind the box was glorious for young Kuranghi. I believe it had Timesplitters style objectives for each level so you were supposed to replay them a lot. Learning this was another title before makes so much more sense now as the game I played had basically no connection to the original Urban Chaos, (Darcy Stern and bald MIB guys with handheld miniguns ftw ) and I always wondered what the deal with that was.

So thanks so much for posting this!

 

[stranno]

Oh man I spent far too much time playing Urban Chaos: RR back in the day, I'm a sucker for physics and that guys jumping out from behind the box was glorious for young Kuranghi. I believe it had Timesplitters style objectives for each level so you were supposed to replay them a lot. Learning this was another title before makes so much more sense now as the game I played had basically no connection to the original Urban Chaos, (Darcy Stern and bald MIB guys with handheld miniguns ftw ) and I always wondered what the deal with that was.

So thanks so much for posting this!

It's one of my favourite PS2/XB games too. Probably the most satisfying TASER ever done in videogames (after Syphon Filter, of course).

 

[Kuranghi]

It's one of my favourite PS2/XB games too. Probably the most satisfying TASER ever done in videogames (after Syphon Filter, of course).

Oh yeah! I really to refresh my memory on it because its been so long but I remember the headshots being great too. There's not an easy way to play this on modern machines is there? I have to emulate probably since I've no ability to play PS2 games natively right now.

 

[ManaByte]

The entire source code of Urban Chaos is on Github.

 

[stranno]

The entire source code of Urban Chaos is on Github.

That's not Rocksteady's Riot Response, it's Mucky Foot Productions' Urban Chaos, an amazing pseudo open world game for Dreamcast, Playstation and PC.

Even with the source code, unfortunately, the PC version is still broken. On PC the character spins around if you connect a gamepad, and it's pretty much unplayable using the keyboard+mouse.

Oh yeah! I really to refresh my memory on it because its been so long but I remember the headshots being great too. There's not an easy way to play this on modern machines is there? I have to emulate probably since I've no ability to play PS2 games natively right now.

Maybe the XBOX version is compatible with XBOX One/Series S/X. I'm not sure. I guess it should work on PCSX2 but I havent tried.

I finished both versions years ago.

 

[Kuranghi]

That's not Rocksteady's Riot Response, it's Mucky Foot Productions' Urban Chaos, an amazing pseudo open world game for Dreamcast, Playstation and PC.

Even with the source code, unfortunately, the PC version is still broken. On PC the character spins around if you connect a gamepad, and it's pretty much unplayable using the keyboard+mouse.


Maybe the XBOX version is compatible with XBOX One/Series S/X. I'm not sure. I guess it should work on PCSX2 but I havent tried.

I finished both versions years ago.

Brilliant, I think I played on Xbox actually, will have to check how I can play it again. Love the slow motion on challenge completion.

 

[Redneckerz]

I recall Riot Response had a very impressive graphics engine for that generation, its a cult hit for a reason.

 

[CamHostage]

These Argonaut rescue projects are really great. I never knew that SWAT backstory, but it makes sense now because Riot Response always seemed to come out of nowhere and it was never 100% explained why this game got picked up by a publisher (who then didn't promote it much) for just one unfranchised and forgotten (albeit pretty good) game.

Looking forward to more from this source. (Does PositronicBrain have a web presence to follow?)

Argonaut has some interesting history (all the Nintendo involvement, and then later it was a "dream team" studio for Xbox with its next-gen deferred shading on Shrek and Malice.) In addition to the changed-up prototypes like Roll Call & Alien Resurrection, they had a number of canceled games I'd like to finally see. The PS1 Malice (which looked really strong on that old console, even though she didn't have the big hammer yet), the open-world Crazy Taxi / Smuggler's Run driving game Cash on Delivery for PS2, the ambitious "photometric graphic engine" used in Particle Systems lost EXO for PS2, and one I've always been curious about, a sci-fi Syphon Filter type game in the early PSP reveals called Zero Hour.

 

[stranno]

These Argonaut rescue projects are really great. I never knew that SWAT backstory, but it makes sense now because Riot Response always seemed to come out of nowhere and it was never 100% explained why this game got picked up by a publisher (who then didn't promote it much) for just one unfranchised and forgotten (albeit pretty good) game.

Looking forward to more from this source. (Does PositronicBrain have a web presence to follow?)

Argonaut has some interesting history (all the Nintendo involvement, and then later it was a "dream team" studio for Xbox with its next-gen deferred shading on Shrek and Malice.) In addition to the changed-up prototypes like Roll Call & Alien Resurrection, they had a number of canceled games I'd like to finally see. The Cash on Delivery for PS2, the ambitious "photometric graphic engine" used in Particle Systems lost EXO for PS2, and one I've always been curious about, a sci-fi Syphon Filter type game in the early PSP reveals called Zero Hour.

You can find him in the Hidden Palace Discord.

 

[stranno]

SWAT2 2003 Demo. The most different build of the pack. It features two levels: Panama, which probably resulted in Eastside Dockyard, the fifth level of the final game, and New York Alleys, which is a modified version of Frank's Auto Parts' level.

The other two builds (Roll Call) feature levels from the final game, but they are very different as well.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

0:00 Opening Remarks
2:25 The Story & Premise
06:58 The Gameplay
09:31 The Riot Shield
14:13 The Campaign
19:53 The Medals & Unlockables
22:32 The Bad
23:32 Outro