Policing the Neighbourhood

Time for one of my gaming posts… Lets go arrest some bad guys…

I wrote a while back about The Precinct – A great and fun Police simulation. This remains a really fun policing game but it is just that – intended to be fun while wearing a policing hat. There’s always that feeling that the police are just there for you to play! That is not a criticism of an excellent game that deserves you all to be playing.

This post is about Police Simulator: Patrol Officers.. A very different game but with a lot of similarities – Both push the correct approach to policing for example. The biggest difference is that you will find your self much closer to your character and also the criminals… Though you will probably see fewer shootings…😅

The name – Police Simulator – tells the story of what the dev’s are seeking to achieve. It’s an amazing goal. Can you imagine how big a challenge to achieve a realistic simulation of the police officers day would be? So we now know that this a simulation that doesn’t quite meet with reality. That said – It does a very good job providing the player with lots of real world policing challenges.

Now I’ve given you the base sale I need to roll back a bit – This game is a buggy mess… yes, I said a buggy mess! There are things in this game that will have you tearing your hair out if you let it! For example you can find your character trapped in a vehicle that won’t let you out… The driving by the ai cars can be politely described as unrealistic… You can get penalised for a myriad of things like running red lights that you didn’t. These issues will piss you off…

The key thing with this game is to rise above it… You know… You can do it 👍

Ok – that’s the negatives out the window. Let’s look at the game play…

A quick bit of background – this is a Police Sim set in the US coded by a group of German programmers. Something that may play a part in some of the issues within the game. Whatever… We’re going to try to give a view of a playthrough.

Meet Mia Torres…

…She will be my Character for this post.

If you’re starting this game for the first time you will be advised to play the ‘Classic’ – This is the no penalties for you actions version. If you are a beginner then that is the best option to get yourself started and recommended. But if you’re like me and have already had a brief look at the easy version, it’s time to roll up the sleeves and accept that policing isn’t always done right! Choose the more realistic Simulation Mode. Now there are Conduct Points to be lost by ill considered actions. That’s what Simulation Mode is about. You’re here to arrest criminals where the evidence shows a burden of proof. Sometimes you will be letting someone go that you know in your gut is guilty but you just don’t have the key evidence to justify an arrest. Equally, sometimes you’ll get it wrong and your CP will suffer for that shift.

That’s the game summed up… But let’s run through some play with screenshots. One thing this game does well is introducing the player and guiding them forwards. Your first shift will be about issuing parking tickets. As real world motorists know this is a great way for councils to make money and your first shift will be about that. Here’s a good little earner…

…This fool has chosen their parking spot badly. Even without a bonus for parking fines, that’s 30 points gained immediately – Ticket for ‘on the sidewalk’, Ticket for in a Bus Stop and that warrants a Tow!

Next you’ll move on to catching speeders – Lets go be Kojak with a Kodak…

…This is both the easiest way of earning points and also the most boring – Just get on and do it like a Good Girl 🤣

Slowly the game will introduce more types of criminal actions – driving crimes for example. This lady doesn’t even have a license!…

…One thing led to another and we found she was carrying LSD. I don’t think she’ll be driving in a while…

We get to deal with Graffiti ‘artists’…

…Normally that’s a simple ticket but this one turned nasty and had to be arrested.

RTA’s are fun (not really)… We have to check all the drivers involved assuming they haven’t run away. Often drugs or drink are involved… Here’s part of an accident scene before we start investigating…

…and there were three other vehicles involved. Note that the driver of the car on the right has done a runner. Nothing I can do about that – Just have to work with what’s there.

You’ll move on to things like Vagrancy…

…Drugs and rock ‘n’ roll (Noise nuisance) 😅

Sooner or later you’ll have people pulling guns on you! All of this is smoothly fed into your game as you progress which is well planned by the developers. However, less well planned is the introduction of Highway Patrols (An add on) and cross border customs (Another add on). These additions come via a season pass or as purchased DLC’s I think they distract from the base game and introduce more issues when the devs should really work on making the original game better. After all the work to progress the player through patrol officers base game, it feels that these additions are poorly thought out.

But at its base level this is a great game requiring care as you deal with each new potential suspect…

…Little miss innocence here had a stolen ID and was carrying a switchblade… Nasty… 😅

This game for all its bugs is a really fun and at times a challenging play. Well worth giving it a go 😎👍