Sons of Anarchy was one of my favorite shows of all time. It had everything I wanted in a TV show; cursing, drinking, shooting, and of course biking. It made me long for the days when I had my 1978 Harley Davidson FatBoy and was cruising the streets of my hometown and surrounding area with family and friends, always in search of adventure and something new to experience. When Sons of Anarchy: The Prospect was announced as a mobile title based on the series my interest was heightened immedieately. As a fan of the show, and motorcycles in general I was hoping for a game that would take me away into the world so carefully crafted by the show's writers, directors, and producers and make me feel like I was part of SAMCRO without all of the real life hassle and legalities. What I got instead was a half-baked attempt with plenty of Sons of Anarchy references thrown in for good measure. This is only the first of 10 episodes, but if this is any indication, they have a long way to go before it will impress me.
Simply put, Sons of Anarchy: The Prospect's first episode is dull, dreary, and doesn't get a lot done in terms of storytelling. It made me feel weird in ways a game hasn't done in a long time. The first person perspective doesn't lend itself to be as graphic or gruesome as say Saints Row or Grand Theft Auto, but having my perspective locked onto random women as if to insinuate the character is "checking them out" is just...odd. There was a point during the game where I "eyed" three different girls up and down in a 5 minute span, then spent another minute or so awkwardly hitting on one, while giving a back rub by poking my fingers at my iPhone screen. Again, it was an odd experience.
There are a few great moments true to the Sons of Anarchy brand in the first episode however. Motorcycle riding is easy and fun. Althrough I did notice the fram rate dip significantly on my iPhone 6 Plus during a few faster-paced sections. Show character Tig also makes an apperance and that was enough to satisfy my yearning for more connections to the show than the games name only...for now.
The graphics are kind of all over the place. With some animations looking really solid for a mobile based game, especially one designed to work across multiple devices of varying sizes and age. Other times, the animations are jerky and that makes the controls harder to manage. I really noticed this during some of the faster paced motorcycle riding sessions where one second I'd be shooting down the highway and then the screen would flash to me crashing into a wall or guard rail. Sound and music design were done quite well, which was surprising to me. The sounds were all quite accurate and the voice acting was mostly well done aside from a few minor characters who sounded like they just phoned it in to get their participation with the project over with.
Overall, Episode One is just bland. The prologue is awesome and hits the ground running with choice after choice in a Telltale style that could affect later gameplay and then it just falls flat on its face all so it can build up a (really predictable) back story. Its a shame, really. They could have done so much more with the IP they were given and one can only hope that they do with the remaining nine episodes. The characters (including the main character) are mostly forgettable and I had no real reason to feel anything for them or care about their situations. I can only hope that Episode Two hits the throttle instead of the choke.