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Website: https://www.gog.com/game/this_is_the_police_2 Price: $14.99
'Interpret the law as you see fit in ‘This Is the Police 2’, sequel to the acclaimed noir drama ‘This is the police’.
Right off the bat, I’d like to say this is not the quirky 80’s police TV show-type game that ‘this is the police I’ was. If you enjoyed the funny stereotyping in the first game, it’s gone in the second one. Someone labelled it “racist” and now you have a turn-based strategy game without flavour. That is not to say the game is not enjoyable, it is just missing something. The graphics remind me of a visual novel, more than anything. Obviously, a lot of improvements have gone into the second game compared to the first. The improvements are not only just under the hood, but your faceless characters now have radial menus with sub-menus that contain certain ‘perks’ that make each unit unique. (I will reference the first game as well as other games in the genre, as it is difficult to put it in perspective without doing so). There is a story here too, albeit much drier. It is not only a turn-based strategy game, but a management ‘sim’ too. This is not a strategy game though, you have been warned. The game is not difficult to pick up and play, so casual gamers may enjoy this title too.
The story centres around a cop who is a real ‘bastard’ (can we say that?). However, when you actually play the turn-based strategy part, I found I could not pepper spray a suspect then go close and club him with my nightstick, or even taze a suspect then go closer and club him with my nightstick. Neither can I taze or beat a criminal who is already cuffed. So the two parts of the game do not match, and immersion is a bit shallow. (Hey, if you are a BAD cop, you are a BAD cop all the time, not only in the cutscenes!). It seems the developers got to quaking in their boots once someone used the word “racist” in a review of the first game, and made this one “safe”. There are no stereotypes other than ‘rednecks’, so I’d say this one is more “racist” to me. It amazed me that all the police were not depicted as women. There are no likeable characters in the story, which also lets it down.
There were a few ‘niggly’ things during the game which took away from the experience. Sometimes you cannot assign officers as they are not experienced enough. (What? They did not go to cop school?). Sometimes, you cannot send them because they do not like each other. (Again, what? It’s their job, they are supposed to do it – if they like their co-workers or not). Sometimes, the dialogue is a little too stretched out, you can go make coffee and come back and they will still be at it. These little ‘paper cuts’ made me quit the game eventually.
The mechanics seem solid, but do not ‘gel’ for me. Your cop will break down a door, then has enough action points to make a precise shot, but has to ‘jimmy’ a window. It’s glass, for crying in a bucket, shoot through it! The cover system is full cover, partial cover, and no cover, and flanking a unit in cover works. If you enjoyed Jagged Allaince, you will enjoy the combat.
At $15, I cannot recommend this game. Wait for it to go on sale and buy it. It’s worth a play if you like visual novels and turn-based combat. It is not that it is unplayable, quite the contrary, it is just bland.
P.S You cannot play this on a ‘low spec’ machine. You will need a display card and a decent CPU.