This Is the Police 2

I really liked the first game, and overall I do think this game is slightly better, the introduction of Xcom like turn based combat was great, almost wish there was more instances of them, although they did take up a long time at times, so I can see it as being a bit much if they came every other day. I was sad to see poker gone, while there is a card game, it's just blackjack, I found poker to be really fun, and imo a good way to refresh yourself on poker if you haven't played it. The story was ok, I did like the ending, but I can't say I really understood why Lana was so angry with you, but Boyd going all "breaking bad" tying up loose ends by the end, it was satisfying, far more satisfying than the end of the first game. I think they could have done more with the basic management part of the game, it's pretty much copy pasted from the old game minus investigators, now they're just cops., after a while you can't hire new cops, and the dificulty starts spiking, where even a small dispute will require 2900XP groups of cops, and when you have like 4 of those within 30 seconds, you can't really do anything except try and see if some of them are fake. Then there's the dialogue, sometimes it felt a little overly written? Like when Lana shows up and keeps talking in metaphores in a long rehearsed speech, and I was just zoning out.. That kind of thing happens quite a lot in the cutscenes, sometimes it's funny, but mostly you just wait for them to finish their over long script.. In any case, never thought I would enjoy manager games, but these are really good.

This game is very story rich, with great characters that feel real, and while the story is a bit unrealistic in some regards, the voice acting and the image style and sound effects are really well done. The management of the tasks and having to handle multiple complex situations is a lot of fun, and not overly stressful I would say. Early on, you gotta sink your teeth in and make sure you can gain loyalty from the team, Build up a police force quickly and worry about equipment later. Arresting suspects is much more rewarding. With that said, I think a couple of places this game still falls flat or makes miss-steps. I would say when it comes to the interrogations of suspects, you get a brief of information about someone when ready to arrest them, but then you are able to view this information again before interrogation. I think this is a mistake, as a lot of situations can come up and there is no reason this information shouldn't still be available to review once again before you start your interrogation. My interrogations all failed because I couldn't recall those details, and thus had to resort to alternative methods every times. I think this part should have been done better. The pacing of the story is done well, with real stakes and like I said I really enjoyed the voice acting from all characters, but of course the voice actor for Boyd stands out in this game yet again. The twist at the end of the game really struck me, but also made a lot of sense, and I really hope to see more titles like this in the future from the studio. I would say, leave the story where it is and write a new one, but future titles like this would be great to see.

All in all the game is great. The mechanics are a nice mix of unit management, CYOA and X-Com (new) like tactical missions. The story is just as tightly knit and gripping as the first game and actually continues Jack Boyd's journey. Since you're again playing as Jack, you now have no choice, but to play - and this is why I only gave this game four stars - as someone, who has become bitter and a pretty shitty human being. This might be a negligable thing for some, but one should be aware that this is the case, before buying and playing this game. If playing as someone who i.t.a. is not for you, this will not be your game. If you are okay with playing such a person, this game is a great tactical and managerial game with role playing elements in making decisions and developing characters over several levels.

The poorly written story just drones on and on. Number two just sucks a lot of the fun from the first game right out of it. Not a fan of the new UI or the tactical missions. Just so much busy work and very little reward. If you really liked the last one I would give it a go, otherwise I dont think it is really worth it.

Some players found the game slow and tedious, but actually the playthrough is shorter than the first game. It did take much time watching the cutscenes, but the voicing and the storyboards are still at the same and high level of the first game. You could exactly feel how the emotion went through these people's hearts. Other than the normal cop dispatching, cop shift, case investigation parts, the XCOM like turn based tactic game is also fun, and I think it smart to keep this new game experience as just a small part without ruining the whole playthrough. Yet the plot was still like the first game, the end was already set even you made different decisions in the playthrough, and this is the only part that I was not content with. I didn't expect our Old Jack to end up like this, but what could a poor old cornered man do? Might be sad, but it worths savouring.