Cops
2170 not only flings you into the future but it drops
you off in the middle of a futuristic police station
to fend for yourself with virtually no information
or outside assistance. I don't think that part of
the strategy, or difficulty, of a game should include
figuring out how to begin playing it.
Cops
2170 so closely resembles a typical action shooter
that I'm sure many potential customers will be disappointed
to learn that the gameplay is turn based. You have
a certain amount of action points that you can use
before your turn is up and then things are handed
over to the enemy. The points can be used for moving
around the map, firing weapons, acquiring items and
healing. This method requires that every move you
make is carefully planned which is not always the
case in realistic, day-to-day police activities -
even if events do take place in the future.
Kati
is fresh out of the academy but she's got a bit of
an attitude on her. She may be a rookie but that doesn't
excuse the fact that she doesn't have a clue as to
who to talk in the station about how to outfit herself
with weapons or find her first mission. A training
mode is definitely needed here. Wandering around the
precinct looking for information is needlessly frustrating.
Thus, the tone is set for the remainder of the gameplay.
It's
very easy to deplete your points early on in the game.
Sometimes you'll use them all up just getting to the
location of an enemy. It's also very easy to get killed
since the enemy can fire at you off-screen - before
you even see him. If he tosses a grenade you'll have
to start over at the last save area.
There
are different ways to complete each mission but the
process can become quite tedious especially if you're
an action buff. The strategy is not very complex.
Once you figure out what it is you're supposed to
do, and you come to terms with the control system
the strategy becomes more of a lesson in conservation
of points than anything else. There are some 60 weapons
which you will get to use as you complete missions
and rise through the ranks.
Almost
everyone has something to say. And say and say and
say
There is so much dialog in this game that
it could be turned into a play - possibly a musical.
The story takes forever to unfold as there are too
many unrelated plots and unnecessary character development
devices to wade through. The writing is comic-book
caliber but there's just too much text. Obviously
the author has never heard that a picture is worth
a thousand words. Things may not seem so bad if the
voiceacting was decent but it's forced and phony.
It's hard to listen to after a while because it just
sounds so insincere.
Just
looking at the screenshots you have to admire the
graphics. Skyscrapers are monolithic; casting the
streets in an almost perpetual gloom that captures
the "Robocop" ambience of the game. The
animation is another story. It's slow and stiff -
basically mirroring the gameplay. The interface could
be a thousand times more helpful and easier to access.
The tunes are decent but it's hard to image this techno
stuff being listened to 165-years from now. 
At
best, Cops 2170 may stimulate an interest in strategy
games with those unfamiliar with the genre. I would
recommend checking out a walkthrough just to get to
the first mission because if I didn't have to review
this game the disk would have ended up smashed on
the other side of my office in the first fifteen minutes.
|