G-Police is a 2 CD action packed
game wrapped around a compelling
story. There are 35 explosive and
very challenging missions
guaranteed to thrill action fans.
There are however, a couple of
irritating stumbling blocks on the
road to gaming nirvana.
You play a cop charged with the
responsibility of maintaining law and
order on a futuristic world. Your
beat is on Callisto which is one of
Jupiter's moons. Callisto is a dark
and foreboding world with cities
encased in domes. It's a lot like
Newark, New Jersey after dark.
You pilot a DASA - Kamov AG60
HAVOC close air support gunship.
The HAVOC can be fitted with a
variety of lethal weapons that
includes: cannons, lock-on missiles,
rockets, bombs, lasers and even a
deployment beacon. Some
missions even include a wingman.
The in-game options includes a map
that displays your current location
and other vital information. You
can also access a mission briefing
screen to review your objectives.
There are several views in either the
cockpit or outside your craft. The
external views, although interesting
to look at, are not practical for play.
The missions cover a wide spectrum
of objectives i.e. scanning objects,
following suspects, destroy air and
ground targets, protect and defend,
and even making arrests. Missions
have 2 sets of objectives and
therefore some strategic planning is
required. The primary objective
must be completed in order to move
on to the next mission. Completing
secondary objectives increases your
score and unlocks secret missions.
There's also plenty of outstanding
Full Motion Video (FMV)
throughout the game. Crucial
information is revealed in the FMVs
that will help you in future missions.
The graphics include FMV scenes
which are definitely visual treats.
The game graphics are very good
and include some nice touches like
your HAVOC's shadow on the
ground or spent bullet cases
spewing out of the gun. Objects did
not break apart when up close.
Distant objects or targets do not
come into view until you're fairly
close. This presents a problem in a
dogfight or when looking for distant
objects. This is deliberate so the
frame rate remains smooth. There
is a graphics setup menu which
allows you set "View Angle" and
"View Distance". The frame rate is
proportional to the viewing distance
you set. Even if you set the viewing
distance to the max, you still must
be fairly close to objects before you
can see them.
Except for some annoying crackling,
the entire sound package is very
good. There's a lot of well-acted
speech, great sound effects and a
mood setting sound track.
The Big Negative (and there's no
excuse for this) is "Control". When
you're talking about "flight modeling"
you are in effect talking about
"control". Does the simulation seem
realistic? Does it maneuver and
handle the way you'd expect a
futuristic craft would? Unfortunately
in G-Police the answer is "NO!". If
humans design crafts 100 years in
the future and they handle like this -
we are doomed.
The game was played with Sony's
Dual Analog Pad in both digital and
analog modes. Controller input in
either of these modes was extremely
touchy. Precise and accurate
steering was very difficult. Staying
on course, chasing a moving target
and aligning your gun sight with a
target was highly frustrating. It's just
totally unbelievable that a futuristic
craft would handle in this manner.
Considerable patience and hours of
practice are required until you
become proficient at piloting your
HAVOC.
The Bottom Line: G-Police
provides plenty of slam-bang
entertainment and exciting fun.
Other than the control issue which is
a major stumbling block to a higher
score, this is a solid enjoyable
game.
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 8.8
Learning Curve: Moderate
Difficulty: Hard
Control: 6
Manual: Good
Replay Value: Low
FINAL SCORE: 8.3
