G Police - PC & PlayStation Review - Coming Soon Magazine

In G Police, players take the role of Jeff Slater, who joins the G Police to pilot a heavily armed DASA- Kamov gunship, with an ulterior motive of discovering the truth behind the death of his sister. The stage is set for one of the biggest and best PlayStation action/strategy titles yet, with smooth FMV and a variety of missions that cover two CDs. Unfortunately, one serious problem pulls G Police down from what could have been a possible "Grade A" title. The horrendous draw-in throughout the game hinders much of the experience. Despite this problem, G Police remains an outstanding title that many will enjoy, but not at the same level of excellence that gamers were hoping for.

As Slater, players take control of what is essentially a decked out, futuristic helicopter, and pilot it through various high tech cities with a serious Blade Runner influence. The cities have buildings, signs, and other detailed structures at every corner, as well as tons of civilian vehicles with real time traffic patterns.

The controls are dead on, as after a few practice runs players will be weaving their gunship through buildings with great ease, looking very slick while doing it. This flying takes place over 35 varied missions, that range from escorting vehicles to stopping rampaging construction droids. Interwoven with these missions is a plot led along by extremely cool silicon characters, with great voice-overs to boot. The plot does a great job of pulling the player into the game without distracting from the actual gameplay.

Enemies come from the ground and the air, and demand a variety of attack methods. Players can't go in with guns blazing and expect to live, but there is plenty of firefight for everyone. Weapons are all very cool, and cause enemies to die in different ways, such as blowing up in mid air or spiraling to the ground in a cloud of smoke. HQ guides Slater through the missions very specifically, and very little time is given for wandering. Some missions include extra help such wingmen and police escorts, which are actually very useful.

Music reacts to the action, with a slick drum n' bass track kicking in when the fighting starts. Sound effects are also very cool and lively, pulling the player further into the experience.

The stage is set for a top of the line title on the PlayStation. All the elements are in place for an astounding and unique experience. It is unfortunate that the horrendous draw-in detracts from the otherwise amazing experience of G Police. It is so bad that enemy craft will disappear into the horizon before they are out of the line of fire, buildings pop up right out of nowhere when flying at high speeds, and looking down at the city from high above gives the appearance that Slater is flying in empty space. Adjusting the framerate to a lower setting helps somewhat, but not nearly enough. The extreme draw-in greatly effects not only the graphics in G Police, but also the otherwise amazing gameplay.

Conclusion:

So in the end, G Police comes off as a quality title that would have been much, much more had it did not have such a serious draw-in problem. Do not be fooled, it is still an excellent game, but not the end-all title that many were hoping for. Aside from the lofty expectations, G Police will still amaze gamers with its intriguing story line, great sound, tight gameplay, and crisp graphics. Wheelhaus and Psygnosis should be commended for their effort, as G Police points to the future of gaming. It is technologically a bit ahead of its time, and unfortunately, also ahead of the PlayStation.

Written by Andrew Phelan

Click here for screenshots

Click here to download the PC demo

PlayStation Ratings:

Overall:

PC Ratings:

Graphics:	88%
Sound:	89%
Music:	85%
Gameplay:	85%
Interest:	80%
Overall:	85%

PC System Requirements:

100% Microsoft Windows 95 compatible computer system (including compatible 32-bit drivers for CD-ROM drive, video card, sound card and input devices),
Microsoft Windows 95 operating system,
Pentium 133 MHz processor or faster (166 Mhz recommended),
16 MB of RAM (32 MB recommended),
256 Color (640 x 480) PCI video card with 1MB RAM,
DirectSound compatible sound card,
Quadruple speed CD-ROM drive (600 Kb/second sustained transfer rate).

Note:

3D accelerator card recommended,
Supports Intel's MMX and AGP technologies.