Kingpin, one of the most controversial games of the late ‘90s, is getting a remastered edition and will soon be available to play on all current gen gaming platforms.
Developed by Slipgate Ironworks and co-published by 3D Realms and Interplay, Kingpin: Reloaded will be an enhanced, remastered version of the crime-themed first-person shooter Kingpin: Life of Crime. Originally developed using the Quake II engine, the new version will offer 4K resolution, ultrawide monitor support, controller support, and overall improved graphics. The game will also feature reworked quest and conversation systems.
When Kingpin: Life of Crime was released in 1999, controversy immediately surrounded the M-rated game due both to its over-the-top violence and the fact that almost every other word is an expletive. Upon first launching the game, players had to agree to several disclaimers about the violent content and even confirm that they were over 18 years old.
Despite this, a politician blamed Kingpin: Life of Crime for the shooting at Columbine High School, even though the game was actually released two months after the tragedy. This led to several retailers refusing to sell the game and Germany banning it outright. Developer Xatrix Entertainment re-released the game with a “low violence” setting that bleeped out the profanity. It’s not clear whether this helped to alleviate any of the controversy, and it’s also not clear whether pure coincidence explains Xatrix changing its name to Grey Matter Interactive around the same time period.
This isn’t Interplay’s first attempt to revive this controversial tale of bloody and profanity-driven revenge. All the way back in 2004, the game publisher announced that Kingpin 2 was then in development and could be expected to be released sometime within the next two years. Needless to say, that dream of a sequel was never realized.
Kingpin follows the adventures of a vengeance-filled thug as he slashes, shoots, and murders his way from being a no-name miscreant to taking down the Kingpin and donning the title for himself. The player can recruit other thugs to join his gang and expand his influence, wielding upgradeable weapons like Tommy guns and bazookas to punish anyone foolish enough to oppose his rise to the top.
While Kingpin: Reloaded allows players to engage in bloody fights that target specific body parts, the game also offers a “no violence” mode, although details as to what that might entail have not yet been revealed. However, as 3D Realms states on the game’s official website: “The ‘colorful’ language proudly used by Kingpin’s gangsters remains.”
Kingpin: Reloaded will be available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in Q2 2020.
Source: 3D Realms
