This Is the Police

The game has a great story and a fun gameplay loop, although it can get boring sometimes, there's always something to keep you on your toes. You can have a lot of fun and relax a bit

I love this game and sequels so much. And I want more sequels. A game with a good plot, non-casual graphics and noire atmosphere.

Compared to This Is the Police 2, this one has got a lot less micro-management, is enough fun without the squad missions and not all calls will require decisions. Even so, there's lots of tough decison making, and the mayor is a real pain in the butt that will keep throwing you (Boyd) under the bus, which then leads you to Machiavellic scheming. Some problems with this game were addressed in the sequel, though: the investigation frames lack any text explanation, managing detective shifts is terrible and you can't say whether the frames you got make any sense at all, so I kept failing at progressing at cases and still not getting any new frames. Overall I liked it, but the sequel is better.

A lot of complaints surrounding the initial release of this game didn't make sense to me. Some, like the simple gameplay loop being unable to sustain the exorbitant length, are valid concerns. Others, like not being given the option to play a purely lawful police chief, seem to hint at an unfamiliarity with the genre. It's noir. There's no 'right' choice and evil joke option. Noir is all about corruption and moral ambiguity. It's akin to criticizing a Lovecraft-inspired game for making you feel that you're an insignificant speck in the universe. That's cosmic horror, fella. What were you expecting? It'll be a shame to dismiss This is the Police based on the conventions of its genre because you'd be missing out on two and a half hours of comic book narration by the voice of Duke Nukem (seriously, he's great) with punchy dialogue, beautiful minimalistic art, and a 1950s style of music that you'll catch yourself humming for weeks. The limited gameplay loop is far surpassed by the sequel, but I still think the first game is worth it for the story alone.

You assume the role of the chief of police in Freeburg. You need to juggle between assigning cops and detectives to cases, handling the requests from mayor and mafia. Will you agree to suppress the peaceful protest by the force as the mayor told you? Then be prepared to face the investigation. Will you fabricate the evidence and pin the blame on one of your officers? Will you accept the responsibility for the action or point on the mayor's office? Then be prepared to face the consequences - reduced number of officers or reduced salary. You screw the mayor too many times, you're out of a job. You screw the mafia, you're a corpse. I love the voice acting and the soundtrack. Jazz tracks remind me of detective noir thrillers. The story is solid. There are a few choices you can make, but they all lead to the same slow path of corruption.