This is the Police 2

This reviewer enjoyed This is the Police, probably more than most. We got sucked into the first police simulation, the story of Jack Boyd, and the corruption that ran through Freeburg. It was definitely not perfect and we appreciate the fact that the game might be too monotonous for some, especially by the end, but we don't mind admitting that we liked it. With the sequel, developer Weappy promised that there will be more police drama with even greater gameplay variation. And now, after having spent several hours patrolling the streets of this new city, we're ready to write our report.

If you played the first game you may remember that there was a real focus on the story, and this aspect has been turned up by about 110% for This is the Police 2. Jack Boyd is on the run after everything that happened in Freeburg and, with one thing leading to another, he is once again walking the beat, this time in a new police district, all the while having to deal with his brutal past. The story is told mostly through stills and animated cutscenes and the distinctive visual style is supported by some decent voice acting. The story itself, on the other hand, is not very exciting or even logical, and the length of the sequences can be untidy; imagine the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of Liberty and you'll have some idea of what we're talking about, even if it's not as pronounced as that.

Just like its predecessor, This is the Police 2 is a clean and polished police simulator, even though Boyd is technically no longer in charge. This means that everything that concerns the police station must be reviewed and difficult decisions have to be made. For example, when one of your officers falls in the line of duty their colleagues will want to go to the funeral, which means, in turn, they will not be able to work much of that day, which puts pressure on the workforce you have left. You can deny the leave, but then the police in question may not listen to your orders in the future. There is a constant balancing act between humanity and efficiency. Most of the game is built around lengthy cutscenes, interrogation and investigations, strategic decisions and tactical actions. Many aspects are more or less intact from the first game but the tactical element is new.

It is clearly marked on the map which objectives are available, and unlike normal calls, you can go on missions at any time during the day, as long as it's before the end of work at 1am. Here it's important to make sure to send the right cops with the most suitable abilities and equipment, otherwise, it can be all over rather quickly. It all works in the same way as, for example, the Xcom games, in the sense that you control your units in turn-based order and the goal is to disable all enemies and then disarm the bomb or whatever similarly themed task you're presented with. Regardless of the status of the cop in question, as well as their experience and equipment, it is important to advance cleverly. Each time a policeman (or woman) succeeds in solving an assignment, their status increases and different abilities can be chosen. Placing an officer who is extremely good at negotiating but not particularly sharp when it comes to weapons in the midst of a firefight may not be the best thing to do, and if someone dies in the mission they are gone forever.

There are layers of game mechanics that feed into these moments but knowing which tools may be good to carry with you in advance can be difficult to predict. Fortunately, you can exchange things like cigarettes or canned food with witnesses and, with some luck, they can provide you with invaluable information, like how criminal guards patrol, how many there are, and so on.

Unfortunately, however, we felt that the odds were always stacked against us, just like they were in the previous game, and no matter what choices we make, we're often punished in some way or another. Sure, everything always has consequences, but in a game like this, we want to feel like there's a chance to come out winning.

It doesn't matter how many days off we grant the district drunkard, for example, as he continues to go to work drunk and messes up virtually every assignment we send his way. In addition to always fighting an uphill battle, the sequel feels a bit too random. We can get three jobs and have two available squads, but we skipped what we considered to be the least important of the three just to see later that the other two were false alarms. Once again; we understand that's how life can be, but being constantly punished for making seemingly logical decisions is simply not an enjoyable experience.

Graphically, This is the Police 2 is very similar to its predecessor. The cartoony style that relies more on contours and colours works superbly and the presentation in the menus is brilliant. The cutscenes vary between still images and animated sequences where the visual style clearly gels with the former. The soundtrack is great too, with sirens mixing with the noise of the police radio, and there's some swinging jazz to listen to when you're in the office. The cast does a good job for the most part, with a few particular performances bordering on excellence. The legendary Jon St. John (Duke Nukem) provides the voice of Boyd once again and although he is not the best in the business, he is entertaining to listen to and actually quite funny.

This is the Police 2 is basically very similar to the first game, a game we enjoyed at the time. However, we would have liked to have seen Weappy focus on some of the problem areas of the first, but instead, the studio has chosen to add more layers and make it all the more complicated. The extremely long cutscenes also make the pace very uneven and sometimes we just wanted to skip important conversations because we knew what was going to be said in the first 30 seconds or so, but we were made to listen for seven minutes of talking before we could move on. If you really enjoyed the first game you will certainly be able to squeeze enjoyment out of the sequel, but be prepared for more of the same and a couple of questionable additions.