Th3 Plan (and that's the last time I'm spelling it like that) makes up one of two Crave Entertainment Playstation 2 budget titles that I'm reviewing this month, and while the subject matter between the two games is completely different, the overall quality of product isn't.

This game is junk.

However, since this is a proper review, I'll expand upon the word "junk" just for you.

The Plan revolves around three main characters involved in an elaborate (according to the story that is) heist. The gameplay is stealth based, taking on elements of Metal Gear Solid but throwing away all the good stuff. To help make itself stand out in the crowd of generic action/adventure PS2 games, The Plan implements a unique monitoring system by way of controlling your group.

The basics are this: Your main character will take up the biggest chunk of your screen, while your two secondary characters fill up two split screen bottom spots. You can either choose to switch screens around, or you can just switch characters on the fly and keep the aspect ratios the same. This way, you'll always know if any of your characters are in danger of being spotted. This doesn't really end up being fun, though, just aggravating when you have to deal with constantly spot checking your team.

While this aspect does show some ingenuity on the developers part, its pretty much where it all stops as well. Everything else is pretty standard sneaking fare. Rap on the wall to get a guards attention, come up behind him and stun him. You can then hide the body or just move on; chances are the other guards won't notice too much, since the AI is pretty brain dead.

The AI is also completely random. I can't count how many times I was performing what was in my mind the "perfect sneak", only to have a soldier/cop/guard whip around at the last second and make me sit through the painfully awkward death scene you get when you're caught. And by that I mean that my guy freezes in place while the guard opens fire, and instead of falling to the ground, my character would just stand in place and the screen would fade to black.

Also, the music is absolutely cheesy, and because of this, it might be the best thing. The majority of it sounds like 70's porn music, and it plays at pretty much every cutscene. I'm not even sure if there was more than one track, because it all sounded the same.

Also, don't expect much from the cutscenes, other than really bad voice acting, and some boring "comic style" storyboards used to advance the plot. While we're talking about plot, don't expect much there either. It tries to be very hip, and drowns in its own failure.

Topping out the list of bad, the graphics are pretty bland. Character models look alright until they start to move. Everyone seems to have a nervous shake, they constantly move about while they're talking. Someone needs to slip these guys some decaf. You'll find yourself in different indoor and outdoor environments, but they all lack the detail needed to really make them come alive.

Trust me, when they call this title a budget title, they're not joking. And while you might have been able to get away with this stuff a couple years back, there's a slew of PS2 titles similarly priced that are way better than The Plan, and you'd be much better off in picking those up. Already played everything on the PS2? Read a book.