This is the Police breaks the convention of how to tell a story. You wouldn’t think that the story of a police chief would be something you could relate to, but the game stands as a testament to how video games can really make you think.
In spite of its design as a strategy game, This is the Police reminds me more of a Sim title. With a compelling narrative weaved into the fabric of its gameplay, this story-based strategy game might be a first for the genre.
Much like how Papers, Please takes us to a darker time during the Soviet Era, This is the Police examines the reality of law enforcement in the 1980s. As police chief, managing your employees presents all the quandaries that the police went through during that epoch. Racism and sexism come heavily into play. There are hard moral choices to make. Do you bail out your best friend when he’s in trouble with the mob, or do you do abide by the law and let him die? Either way, there are consequences your actions—even if he dies, either way. (Don’t worry, this happens within the first few minutes of the game.)
The biggest thing about This is the Police is how intriguing it manages to be by defying genre norms and telling a compelling story about a cop who just wants to do his job. He’s a good guy deep down, but he’s caught in a bad situation and forced to make some difficult choices he doesn’t really want to make just to get out of what he’s caught up in. He’s someone who’s been through a lot. He’s someone who doesn’t know what to do with his failing marriage. His early retirement is being thrust upon him and he’s forced to make political decisions he never wanted to make when he joined the force. But now, he’s forced to choose between aligning himself with one of the two mobsters in a gang war that’s plunged the city into chaos.
The best part about it is that it does it all in a strategy setting. If it were an RPG, it’d be just as impressive, but it’s even more compelling due to the fact that it’s done in what’s ostensibly a strategy game. You send your police on missions, and you feel bad when they die because you get attached to them. There’s a father-son duo, for instance, and it can be gut-wrenching to see one of them die to your decisions.
Missions range from the mundane to those with a moral element. Do you help a mobster rob a place by turning a blind eye to his actions, or do you send the police to respond to the call? Ignoring the call might cause civilians to die. Do you try to respond to every call and spread your force thin, or do you pick and choose the cases you’re most likely to get a good result with? Each day is compelling, and decisions must be made in a city rife with crime and corruption.
If anything, the game teaches you that being a cop is a harder job than anyone gives it credit for. In an age where police are often vilified, we learn that sometimes, there’s no right decision to be made and that you can only do whatever you think is best by choosing an ugly option for the greater good.
This is the Police is a humanizing game, wrapped into a strategy title. Like we’ve said, that’s rare and that alone is reason to check it out. But it’s also worth checking out for the interesting cutscenes, engaging dialogue voiced by Jon St. John (Duke Nukem), and for the setting that really does feel like the 1980s.
IF you’ve ever wanted to manage a city from the perspective of a police chief, this is your game. If you’ve ever wanted to deal with being a retiring cop, this is your game. And if you really love the choice-based events in The Sims, this is definitely your game.
Wanna play This is the Police? We have 10 copies to giveaway!
With the help of GamesRepublic.com, provider of the review key, we have 10 copies of This is The Police to giveaway, sponsored by THQ Nordic. Just enter the giveaway below!
