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Way
back in September '95 we heard of a high-tech helicopter
shoot-em-up that was being developed by the Wheelhaus team. Word
got around that this game would stretch the Playstation's
graphical capabilities to a boundary far beyond the imagination of
gameplayer's expectations. These were bold claims indeed during
the early day of the PSX. Then we heard...... nothing. The
expected release date of April '96 passed by and still we heard
nothing.
Some months ago we discovered that G-Police was in the
capable hands of Psygnosis, a company who have already played a
major role in stretching the boundaries of the 32-bit console with
top titles such as Wipeout 2097, Destruction Derby 2 and Formula
1'97. This was indeed good news and our expectations were high.
However, the million dollar question remained, could they provide
the Playstation consumer with their first realistic flight sim?
Well there's no need to skip to the foot of this review as I
will reveal all now. G-Police is not without it's niggles and
frustrations but our general concensus of opinion is a
resounding... YES!
Sit back, buckle up and prepare for the ride of your life as
you take control of a heavily armed Havoc Assault Gunship for 35
formidable missions through the corrupt cities of Calliasto, one
of Jupiter's many moons. G-Police is set in the year 2097 when
technology has advanced to the point where humans are able to
colonize our solar system. Callisto has been colonized with an aim
to extract its great mineral wealth that lies deep below the
surface. War is raging in space as each nation battles for control
of the planets that contain the essential minerals. Corporations
now rule the roost. People lost confidence in their governments
after war over the squandering of Earths mineral resources. They
tore established society apart so the major corporations decided
to restore it in a form that was good for business.
Vast domed cities now litter the nearest planets and moons
protecting their occupants from the harsh conditions outside while
the corporations reluctantly agree to fund an independent force to
police their territories, G-Police have been formed to control the
colonies within.
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G-Police
is a fast, exciting flight simulator based in a highly populated
true three dimensional city-scape, although it is heavily biased
towards shoot-em-up air/ground combat. G-Police provides the
player with a unique opportunity to become a G-Cop and patrol the
streets of a virtual city in a heavily armed, close air support
gunship. Unfortunately the domes are also inhabited by renegades,
out-casts of society and murderous villains and it is your task to
clean up this city.
The story line of G-Police was originally written by a
professional script writer but was adapted to suit the game
structure. This meant that the script and missions were developed
to compliment one another - you won't find out how it ends until
you reach the outro.
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Wow!
What an intro. The story is revealed by a FMV sequence that was
provided through the use of a Silicon Graphics Workstation and
advanced motion-capture technology to provide an opening intro of
movie quality. Not only does G-Police begin with the longest
computer generated full motion video but it is by far the most
stunning ever witnessed on the Playstation console. If this does
not raise your expectations through the roof then I'm afraid that
you suffer from impaired vision or you are stone cold dead. If you
do not intend purchasing this game then at least visit your local
games supplier and gawp at Psygnosis' efforts. As you progresses
through the missions, you are rewarded with further high quality
story segments and campaign briefs.
The in-game graphics are a work of art and reach a standard
that I expected Syndicate Wars to achieve (but sadly failed).
These are living, breathing, high rise cities where the citizens
go about their everyday business (travelling back and forth in
their vehicles) oblivious to the daily chores you perform above
their heads (frantic dogfights against enemy craft). Aw shucks,
it's all in a days work for the G-Police. Street lights brighten
up the heavily congested roads which are lined with individually
designed buildings and structures. Subways and bridges bypass
industrial sites, in fact, you would think that Psygnosis had
employed an architect to work within their development team.
Although each level is divided into groups of domed cities
that are connected by warp tunnels, you never really feel hemmed
in. The fact that each city is surrounded by a mesh dome actually
helps, not hinders the gameplay and allows you to corner the enemy
fighters rather than chase them through endless space. Once they
are tracked down and eliminated the resulting explosions are
stunning. Rather than a quick flash and a puff of smoke, the enemy
craft catches fire, spirals out of control, spectacularly collides
with the sides of buildings, before crashing to the ground in a
ball of flame. Movie quality.
After saying that the in-game graphics are remarkable they do
suffer from one major problem, the redraw distance is very short.
You are flying along with your mind on the mission... then, wham,
a multi-storey office block appears right before your very eyes
causing you to quickly take evasive action. This is obviously the
penalty for stretching the PSX to it's limits, but fear not as a
short visit to the options screen allows you to determine how you
want the game to look. Maximizing the viewing distance is
beneficial when you first begin to play but this will slightly
reduce the frame rate and slow the game down. Once you become
accustomed to the handling of your craft the frame rate can be
increased to improve the speed of the game but the view angle and
distance will be reduced. Tinker around with this option before
you begin the first mission to avoid disappointment.
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The
sound of your jet engines accompanies your every move and can only
be described as a silent roar. This is soon lost amidst the
whizzing of lasers, whooshing of rockets and resounding thump as
your bomblets hit the tarmac. Mission updates are transmitted
directly to your cockpit as are the frequent screams of your
comrades as they bite the dust. "I'm out of control. I'm
going down. I'm going down. Aaagggghhh..." KABOOM! Get the
idea.
The background music is a selection of futuristic
electro-synthesize sounds which reminded me very much of the movie
Blade Runner.
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First
of all I must mention that G-Police is Analog compatible. At last
we have a game on the market that is enhanced by using those two
twiddly sticks. The left 'thumb rest' is ace for maneuvering your
craft, the right allows you to glance all around the cockpit for
incoming enemies and the directional buttons are transformed into
weapon select buttons. Don't worry if you do not own one as
holding down the circle button switches the up/down direction
buttons into weapon select but you lose the all round vision. Why
not use G-Police as an excuse to treat yourself this Christmas. I
personally couldn't imagine playing this game without the new pad.
G-Police comes on two CD's and is the game divided into 35
mission. Your tasks include reconnaissance, protection, high
action battles and city patrols. Rather than individual levels,
G-Police follows a script that is guaranteed to hold your
attention right up to the thrilling climax while the intricate
plot will always keep you guessing.
As a recruit of the G-Police organization you must pilot the
Havoc, a highly maneuverable vector thrust gunship much like the
helicopter gunships of today. The Havocs agility makes it the only
choice for the airborne policing of urban areas, full of high-rise
blocks and skyscrapers. The Havoc is nearing the end of its
service life but is still the best ship for the job. To help you
get to grips with the controls, G-Police includes a five level
training mode where your instructors take you step by step through
a selection of maneuverers. This includes:- flying through a
series of hoops around an obstacle course in a race against the
clock, following your leader as he attempts to shake you off,
using weapons on static targets and finally a spot of dogfighting
against drone pilots. The training exercise is of vital importance
as I charged straight into the first mission and didn't have a
clue what was going on. I then retired and completed the training
course. Suddenly the whole thing began to make sense.
Your Havoc helicopter is packed with high tech weaponry that
will aid you on your mission based orders from the Vulcan cannon
to a devastating Plasma launcher. Then there's the 1000kg laser
guided bomb for getting rid of a whole bunch of things that move
and those things that don't - such as buildings. An interesting
little weapon is the EPP which is used to paralyse and disable a
vehicles avionic and computer system. These are particularly
useful when chasing a fast moving road vehicles. Dog fights will
take place as you hover over the busy streets where the civilian
traffic is vulnerable to your missiles and guns. A misplaced
rocket could easily destroy an innocent passerby or an
unsuspecting bus full of harmless passengers, but don't worry as
your bosses believe that civilian casualties are inevitable in
this tough old world. Don't get too cocky, though - your enemies
have military hardware far more powerful than your Havoc. If the
action becomes a little to hot for your liking you can always turn
tail and shake off those chasing enemies by weaving between
buildings, ducking under bridges and cutting through subways.
The opening mission is fairly straightforward and involves a
spot of reconnaissance work. Cargo boxes must be scanned for
illegal weapons and if anything is untoward then you must call in
the ground cops. Each objective is constantly displayed on your
intelligently designed compass/radar panel. This not only keeps
you pointing in the right direction but also registers incoming
enemies. Scanning is a simple process and involves locking on to a
target and waiting for five seconds while your computer
scrutinizes the information. The same process is used to lock on
to an enemy craft. Once you have pinpointed an enemy he will
remain on your radar until he is destroyed. Ah, the wonders of
science. Missions are usually divided into two or three tasks and
a password is offered on completion along with a total of enemy
kills. Unfortunately the records also show the number of innocent
civilians killed during your mission so hold back on wild firing.
The following missions range from providing air support for a
police riot van to bringing down out of control droids who are
destroying the city. As you progress the missions become extremely
difficult but to counteract this your weapons are upgraded to
stunning proportions. Your most important asset is your wingman
who accompanies you on each mission. That's right, for once you
are not on your own. Take care not to shoot him out of the sky, so
check that each target has a red border and not a blue one. Your
computer controlled assistant will independently take out targets
but you have the facility to select a target for him on your
weapons hud. Correct use of your wingman is essential during later
missions.
There are several ways to view the action. The in-cockpit
camera is probably the most suitable but a top down view will need
to be used when you take part in a bombing mission as this is the
only way you can accurately position your laser.
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G-Police
has so much depth and gameplay that it is a must buy for budding
Top Guns. The visuals are stunning that it's hard to believe it
was only a few months ago we were content with flight shooters
such as Descent 2. It may become a little difficult for some
players after the first two groups of campaigns but all this will
prove is that you are not hard enough to be a full time member of
G-Police. Yet another classic for the Playstation.
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MARTIN |
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GRAPHICS: |
Brilliant |
The
training missions will be essential to your progress. I must have
spent a good hour practicing maneuverers and getting to grips with
the controls. Once I had stopped ramming my craft into the
skyscrapers I felt confident to begin the first mission. The first
six levels were fairly easy but then the difficulty steps up a
notch. By level ten I could turn my craft on a pin and the game
became more enjoyable. Some of the missions were a little short,
perhaps a few breaks between tasks would have allowed me to patrol
the streets and take in some of the splendid scenery. The short
redraw distance is soon forgotten when eight enemy craft are
buzzing on your tail. |
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SOUND: |
Good |
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PLAYABILITY: |
Brilliant |
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VALUE: |
Brilliant |
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OVERALL
9/10 |
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