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A.P.I Review:	FUTURE COP L.A.P.D.
Developer:	EA	OPTIONS:	SCREENSHOTS: No.1   No.2   No.3
Distributor:	EA	1-2 Player
Game Type:	Strategic Shooter	Memory Card
Review Date:	October 1998	Analog Compatible

Setting the Scene

Los Angeles is one rough place to serve and protect, but you won’t be 
patrolling the streets alone. Meet the TAC X-1 Alpha, a revolutionary 
miracle of modern science - durable, armed to the teeth, and capable 
of handling the worst the crime lords have to offer. 

This advanced piece of hardware has the ability to transform into two 
unique vehicles: the Walker and the Hovercraft. And if you plan on a 
lengthy career with the force, you've got to take advantage of the 
strengths of each.

Lt. T.J. Ryder is your dispatcher. She'll help you survive this dangerous 
world. She's a cool head; got the best eyes in the business; technology 
to burn--and knows how to use it; and she's watching your every move.

Genre

Future Cop: L.A.P.D. is a strategic action-shooter set in futuristic 
Los Angeles. As a member of the police department, players must use 
their wits and massive firepower to destroy the army of criminals who 
have overrun the city.

Graphics

Several Playstation games came to mind when I first cast eyes over 
Future Cop.  The environment reminded me of Syndicate Wars.  The 
lighting brought back sweet memories of ReLoaded.  Explosions could 
easily have been Crime Killers.  Sound effects definitely Soviet Strike.  
The strange thing being that Future Cop L.A.P.D has succeeded in 
combining the best parts of all these games while retaining it's own 
identity.

The CG intro set's the scene superbly and welcomes you to Los Angeles 
in the future where the only safe way to patrol the streets is in a 
mother of a mech robot, X-1 Alpha.  It looks something similar to the 
ED209, the mech that went berserk in Robocop the movie.   

Playing in the X-1Alpha, gamers cruise through richly detailed rendered 
3D environments of eight real Los Angeles locations such as Griffith 
Park, Venice Beach and the Los Angeles Airport's "Space Port".  The 
main objective is to reclaim the fair city from the domination of the 
ganglords, who have turned Los Angeles into a cesspool of extortion, 
theft and drug trafficking. 

Future Cop: L.A.P.D., features an all-new engine developed exclusively 
for the game, offering intense 3D graphics as well as rich, real-time 
lighting effects.  The realistic and fluid animations for the bad guys 
were created with motion capture technology. For instance, there are 
more than 50 different character animations, including over ten distinct 
random death animations. 

Sounds and Effects

The sound effects within this game are very good indeed.  Explosions vary 
according to each missile fired while during the riot scenes gunshots and 
screams ring out all around.  During each mission Lt. T.J. Ryder constantly 
keeps you informed of your movements in a helpful and witty style.
   
The music constantly changes with the flow of the game.  A selection of 
rock tracks thump away in the background when the action is fast and 
frantic (most of the time), but calms and helps create a nervous tension 
when things ease down a little.  There's also a chirpy 'The Sting' type 
piano rendition that accompanies the closing credits as X-1 Alpha jigs 
along.

Playability

In Future Cop: L.A.P.D., the player is a cast as a member of Los Angeles' 
finest, and must rescue the city from ruthless criminal gangs that have 
taken over.  Fortunately, you are equipped with a revolutionary assault 
vehicle, the X-1Alpha, packed with an explosive arsenal and given the 
capacity to transform from a powerful but nimble mechanical walker into 
a speedy and agile hovercraft.  

The ability to transform the vehicle into a walker or hovercraft adds to 
the game's strategic elements.  Different in-game environments dictate 
the use of either the walker or the hovercraft.  It is up to the player 
to decide which one to use for optimal performance and survival.  Along 
the way players can use over 15 futuristic weapons to blast through the 
heavily fortified strongholds and eliminate the enemy.

Future Cop: L.A.P.D. features two distinct game modes: Crime War and 
Precinct Assault.  In Crime War, the player must reclaim eight sections 
of crime-infested Los Angeles.  This mode can be played as single player 
or multiplayer.  In multiplayer, gamers play cooperatively to team up 
and annihilate the criminals' reign of the city.

Precinct Assault offers two unique challenges.  In one-player mode, you 
battle Sky Captain, an Artificial Intelligence opponent.  In two-player 
mode, you challenge a human opponent in a head-to-head match-up to 
determine the superior tactician.  Precinct Assault involves players 
defending their respective bases against opponents using hover jets, 
tanks and automated defensive turrets through four levels of high-octane 
action.  Gamers roam in their X-1 Alpha and earn points buy claiming 
neutral turrets and destroying enemy craft, which they then use to build 
the hover jets and tanks.  The object of the game is to invade the 
opponent's base with one of your tanks.  At the end of each level, a 
scoreboard broadcasts valuable statistics such as points earned and 
enemies destroyed, giving bragging rights to the player with the highest 
tally.

Controlling X-1Alpha is fairly simple when using the directional pad or 
even the analog control pad, as long as you select the correct viewing 
angle.  There are five selectable views... all are from the third person 
perspective.  The face buttons allow your mech to jump forwards, and 
fire three different types of weapon.  The shoulder buttons work 
perfectly well when strafing side to side, action and changing target.  
Combinations of buttons with the action command allow the robot to walk, 
crouch, jink and transform from hover mode to walk.

Value for Money

The gameplay is fairly straightforward.  Shoot everything in sight and 
press the action button when near any switch, lift or power up device.  
However, Future Cop: L.A.P.D. is very playable and can be recommended 
to those who yearn for more strategy, action shooters that play in a 
similar way to games such as ReLoaded.