Kingpin: Life of Crime, a classic first-person shooter in its own right, is getting a face-lift in the form of Kingpin: Reloaded, a total remaster of the 1999 original which is set to release in 2020. The new game is scheduled to be shown for the first time at PAX South this weekend.
Released through Interplay and developed by Xatrix Entertainment (the now-defunct studio behind the Redneck Rampage series), the original Kingpin game was essentially a revenge story about the player character's quest to even the score with the titular Kingpin and his lieutenant, Nikki Blanco, in a retro gangland setting with an art deco flair. The game utilized the Quake II engine and was largely well-received by critics and players. However, Life of Crime was met with controversy upon its release due to the ultra-violence it depicted in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre, which had occurred just two months earlier. A sequel was in the works five years later, but never materialized.
3D Realms, creators of Ion Fury and the Duke Nukem series, announced that they will be publishing the new Kingpin game on Twitter earlier this week ahead of PAX South. Kingpin: Reloaded is being developed by Slipgate Ironworks and is slated for release on the PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch. According to its listing on Steam, the game is expected to drop during Q2 2020.
Kingpin: Reloaded will feature 4K resolution, ultrawide support, and improved graphics, as well as new controller support. 3D Realms has also promised other improvements, including new quest and conversation systems. A reveal trailer was released in tandem with the announcement on Twitter and is embedded above, showing off some of the graphical updates.
Although Kingpin: Life of Crime was a solid FPS which inspired other retro-themed shooters like Dusk, it is perhaps better remembered for the controversy it became ensnared in than its actual merits artistically or commercially. While the remaster likely won't face the same hurdles as its predecessor, gun violence continues to be a front-page issue in the United States, and the debate about whether film, television and video games play a role in shootings as psychological factors has been brought back to the table. That aside, Life of Crime earned its praise with its gameplay, art style and nods to films like Pulp Fiction and The Big Lebowski. If the remastered game can tap into those things as successfully as the original while providing a more modern playing experience, Kingpin: Reloaded should be well worth players' time.