Badge of Honor or Botched Bust?
Playing cops and robbers as a child was always great fun. After you divided your friends into two groups, there would be a lot of shooting of toy guns (or sticks) as the groups went up against each other, while hiding behind bins. Of course, the usual argument about who had actually been shot and whether someone was dead or alive, would then take place.
In Police Shootout you don’t get to be the robbers but you get to experience the day-to-day of being cop, a police officer without the excessive paperwork and the abuse. Respect the law!
Cops and Robbers Reimagined
Police Shootout wants to be known as a first-person police response simulator, and it does so with a bare bones narrative kicking along in the background.
You play Scott Price, a tough cop who has transferred to the bigger and more violent San Adrino. But he comes to the big smoke with another agenda – to be the best new cop on the beat; something which comes alive a bit in the small scenes between missions.
It’s a fine and okay narrative that plays out, but honestly, it wasn’t long before I switched off from it. The writing is fine and all, but it does come across a bit like you are in a Saturday afternoon police drama at times. But before you go out on the street first you have to tackle something important – new cop training.
Training Day: Mastering the Mechanics
Training introduces you to several sections of the gameplay. First, you get to have a go with the guns in a firing range; but it is a little bit different from what you would be used to when firing a gun. See, instead of aiming and shooting, you need to utilise an aim, which takes you into a sort of mini-game where the target goes left to right across the enemy and you have to shoot when it hits the middle.
The next bit of training is another shooting section – this time with someone shooting back at you. It’s here where you’ll get to make the most of a turn-based system, understanding how to use cover to your advantage, not to get hit but to take a turn. I quite liked how the turn-based elements played out, as well as the tactical possibilities it offers.
And then we have some stealth, creeping up on your opponent and then tackling them to the ground, handcuffing, pulling in an arrest. I guess it beats shooting them! There is also some integration that plays through a series of prompts, choosing from the info gathered as you pick the right info in order to ensure your arrest holds up.
On the Beat: Missions, Weapons, and Tactics
There are eleven missions to be had in Police Shootout, taking place over a number of locations across the city including a supermarket and a motel. And it’s in these in which you find use for your radio to call for backup and let HQ know what’s going on. You also have a baton for hand-to-hand and stealth takedowns, as well as handcuffs. Of course, that gun is ready to go whenever you feel the need. Making the most of a combination of these will be for the best, as each mission comes with several different crimes like hostages being held, a robbery or a domestic issue.
Your job is to go in and evaluate the situation at hand, talk to the witnesses, and then tackle it as best you see fit. This could be through a series of negotiation techniques and trying to talk to the perps, via some slow stealth takedowns in the shadows, or as a good old fashioned shootout takes place.
I think the choice mechanics and how the game is set up feel intriguing and new, as is the opportunity to tackle each situation in a completely different way. The problem is in the mechanics themselves, which aren’t as fluid as you would like from a modern game.
The same could be said for the visuals. The characters you meet along the way are very old gen in terms of how they look. And whilst the locations are fine, there is absolutely nothing to be found in Police Shootout that will ever challenge the power of an Xbox.
The soundtrack is also fine and some of the voice-over is good, but, as you may suspect, it can at times feel a bit cheesy.
Intriguing Ideas, Rough Execution
There are some good ideas kicking around in Police Shootout. A few of these work well, like the interrogation and turn-based combat. However, other moments bring it all down – shooting is weird, as is stealth, and the whole thing feels like it is stuck in another generation.
Still, if you want to try your hand at being the best cop on the beat, then it would be a crime to miss Police Shootout.
Shoot For Some Important Links
Trade High-Speed Chases for Turn-Based Tactics in Police Shootout on Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/trade-high-speed-chases-for-turn-based-tactics-in-police-shootout-on-xbox/
Buy Police Shootout on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/police-shootout/9p257pbslx11
