Powers and Traits

Each character - Porter, Angel, and Boris - is an army unto themselves. Each has a long list of unique skills, traits, and weapons available to them, giving players three different paths to take on their way to domination of Paradise City.

With each character comes a unique solution to each problem players face. Porter, for example, is a combat monster, able to wield automatic weapons with great flourish and skill. Angel, on the other hand, prefers hand-to-hand combat, getting in close and turning her enemies into squishy pulps. Boris prefers pistols, but also has a way with people, a "way" that involves them doing the dirty work, while he watches.

POWER SKILLS
Each character has the same Power Skills available, depending on their level and Power Points available. These skills offer some very valuable universal abilities that can aid anyone in a pinch.

For example, players can tell their hired gangers to defend a specific location, or can call on a vehicle to transport them somewhere quickly. These help to focus your strength within neighborhoods, or to rush to a location that is under attack. There's nothing like being involved in trying to break down a neighborhood's defenses on one side of town and suddenly have a sneak attack appear on the other!

You're not entirely alone, or limited to just hiring gunmen, bouncers, healers, and scouts. You can call on a character named Robbie, who is a handy guy to have around in a pinch. There's also a special something called Task Force, which is your way of manipulating total strangers into assisting you in a fight. An informer can be spawned, who will scout out your neighborhoods looking for enemy gangs in your territory. Besides these guys, you can call in mobs of suit-encased henchmen who will soften up an enemy neighborhood, maybe even convert it to neutral. If you don't have the strength to take it, this will help you out, not to mention deny its resources to the enemy.

Speaking of resources, what's more important than money or health? In Escape from Paradise City, you can spawn a medic to heal you and friendly supporters in the area, you can hire a thief who will go to an enemy-held building and rob it blind, scan a neighborhood from top to bottom for the enemy using Satellite Scan, increase your power by spending money using Money Talks, and numerous other methods. Money literally means power.

These might seem useful, but there's some real nasty Power Skills that can turn a neighborhood upside down. For example, Car Bomb rigs a car with a bomb; imagine the chaos that one will cause when it blows in the middle of a pack of enemies. You can also call an area a Crime Scene and send in a squad car loaded with cops who will immediately begin investigating the area and attacking anyone who shows aggression. This can be great to set up if you're retreating from a mob of gunmen! Even better - call in an airstrike when you have the Power Points to do so. There's nothing like leveling a city block to show you mean business.

For more subtle assistance, you can call on an Assassin who will ruthlessly hunt down and attempt to exterminate a target. Or, hire a sniper to cover an area for you where you might expect trouble (or when you need help to eliminate some troublesome enemy gangers).

The sheer range of Power Skills you have available may seem more than enough to handle your business, but as mentioned earlier, you have three characters you will control throughout the game, each of whom has their own Traits and weapons they can wield.

DRINKING AND GAMING
Escape from Paradise City's neighborhoods are populated by money-generating establishments, such as motels/hotels, bars, and gun shops. The bars are of particular interest, because inside you can partake of one of several thirst-quenching and skill-enhancing drinks.

Drinks such as Sake Bomb, Lava Breeze, Pony Punch, Dark Fantasy, Yellow Devil, Liquid Cobra, Desert Juice, Bullet Fluid, Pink Ninja, and Warrior's Oil (among others) will directly affect the character drinking it. For example, the Pink Ninja gives the character 10% more dodge ability, Black Russian makes you run 10% faster, and so on. These effects only last for approximately 20 seconds, though, so use 'em when they'll make the most impact. Not only can you find these drinks in bars, but every so often you'll find one in a flask carried by a enemy.

BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY
In addition to drinks, there's a wide variety of drugs in Escape from Paradise City that will help heal your character. Painkillers, Nano Stitchers, Combat Drugs, and Prototype Nano Healers all work wonders on your system when you're nearly down for the count. Nerve Pills, Grey Gas, and others affect your characters in different ways. There's a wide variety of them to be found throughout the game.