History CowboyCop / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' - According to [[AllThereInTheManual a prequel manga]], this was the occupation of Samus Aran before she became a bounty hunter, then savior of the universe. In ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', where Samus is revealed to hate following orders and ends up disregarding them entirely to eliminate the threat. And given that [[spoiler:when the Federation saw a being with equal firepower to Samus at her strongest, who blasted its way out of top-security quarantine, can reproduce through mitosis and have ten of itself running around (at full power) in a matter of minutes, can assimilate ''anything that isn't Samus'' by touch, and wants to spread the X throughout the galaxy [[{{Starcraft}} Zerg]]-style, they wanted to ''[[TooDumbToLive capture it alive]]'']], it's probably a good thing Samus didn't play along.

** ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' plays with this with Detective Tyrell Badd, who despite his {{badass}}ery tends to obey orders and do things {{by the book|Cop}} even when he finds it distasteful. [[spoiler: Except for that whole [[PhantomThief Yatagarasu]] thing.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' - According to [[AllThereInTheManual a prequel manga]], this was the occupation of Samus Aran before she became a bounty hunter, then savior of the universe. In ''Metroid Fusion'', where Samus is revealed to hate following orders and ends up disregarding them entirely to eliminate the threat. And given that [[spoiler:when the Federation saw a being with equal firepower to Samus at her strongest, who blasted its way out of top-security quarantine, can reproduce through mitosis and have ten of itself running around (at full power) in a matter of minutes, can assimilate ''anything that isn't Samus'' by touch, and wants to spread the X throughout the galaxy [[{{Starcraft}} Zerg]]-style, they wanted to ''[[TooDumbToLive capture it alive]]'']], it's probably a good thing Samus didn't play along.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney''
** Case 5 of ''Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney'' features Jake Marshall, a cop who's dedicated himself to finishing his personal investigation of his brother's murder, no matter what rules he has to break or who he brings down. He also wears a poncho and ten-gallon hat, decorates his office with cacti and speaks in a 19th-century Western dialect, all for no reason that anyone can figure out, making him both an example and a parody of the trope. [[{{Fauxreigner}} He's not even from Texas.]]
** ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' plays with this with Detective Tyrell Badd, who despite his badassery tends to obey orders and do things by the book even when he finds it distasteful. [[spoiler: Except for that whole [[PhantomThief Yatagarasu]] thing.]]

* ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA'' opens with Nick Kang coming back from suspension for his Cowboy Cop antics. It is his shoot-first-ask-questions-later nature that gets him invited to join the Elite Operations Division: to get the kinds of crooks the EOD goes after, it takes cops that aren't afraid to bend, or even break, the rules.
* As ''Videogame/SleepingDogs'' was formerly a sequel to the above game, it's no surprise that Wei Shen is not all that different from Nick. However, this does actually come to bite him in the Year of the Snake DLC, in which he gets busted down to beat cop due to his superiors having enough of his antics.

* Detective Manny Pardo from Hotline Miami 2 seems to be actively trying to invoke this trope, seeing himself as a Hollywood action star as he recklessly shoots his way through multiple crime scenes without even attempting to call in back-up or collect evidence.

* In ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', Anna Navarre's preferred method of law enforcement is to sneak in and kill everything in sight. She was the reason why you didn't go back to Unatco without pay during the Battery Park Mission is because she wrote a good report for you and claimed the NSF were beyond negotiation.

-->'''Bailey:''' This ain't [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas the Presidium!]] All they have to worry about is protesters outside their free speech zones or someone's poodle crapping on the grass. Down here, we have drugs, organized crime and murder. Policing a [[MegaCity ward]] is like policing [[BigApplesauce New York City.]]]]

** Captain (later Commander) Bailey of C-Sec is more of an OldFashionedCopper, but he certainly doesn't have a problem with bending or breaking the rules.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', a terminal in a police station has an entry written by DaChief, complaining about all the {{Cowboy Cop}}s under his (supposed) command. Of course, the poor bastard was [[Retirony three days from retirement]] when the bombs fell.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', a terminal in a police station has an entry written by DaChief, complaining about all the {{Cowboy Cop}}s under his (supposed) command. Of course, the poor bastard was ThreeDaysFromRetirement when the bombs fell.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutFour'', a terminal in a police station has an entry written by DaChief, complaining about all the {{Cowboy Cop}}s under his (supposed) command. Of course, the poor bastard was ThreeDaysFromRetirement when the bombs fell.

--->'''Sonora Cruz''' We've dedicated our lives to bringing the evil to justice. And out here in the Wasteland, there's only one brand of justice: the gun.

* According to the backstory of ''MegaManX'', Vile was one when he was still with the Hunters, to the point where he wound up being locked up before Sigma went crazy and freed him. The Archie comics show what he did to cross the line: collapsing a highway overpass on top of a recently reactivated Wily Machine. While civilians were still driving on it.

* Agent Nightingale in ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' really fits. Like Blake, he is a {{deconstruction}} due to him being rough in the edges, won't let regulations get in the way of justice, and his trigger finger really gets everyone to hate him. Also, according to the backstory, [[spoiler:he's actually been fired for a while.]]

* Lieutenant Carter Blake in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' takes this to RabidCop levels. He's hostile towards journalists, prefers to draw guns and beat the shit out of suspects rather than interrogate them, and is openly disdainful of Jayden's young, naive approach to crime fighting. [[spoiler:Unlike most examples, his actions hinder the investigation more than anything.]]

* Lieutenant Carter Blake in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' fits the model perfectly. He's hostile towards journalists, prefers to draw guns and beat the shit out of suspects rather than interrogate them, and is openly disdainful of Jayden's young, naive approach to crime fighting. [[spoiler:Unlike most examples, his actions hinder the investigation more than anything.]] A {{Deconstruction}} example.

* As pictured, there exists an AtariLynx game titled ''Dirty Larry: Renegade Cop'' which runs the gamut of cop thriller cliches. Larry's hands are glued to his pistol and he never makes legitimate arrests.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s Garrus Vakarian, although considerably more polite and soft-spoken than is usual for the trope, is certainly a Cowboy Cop. In his very first appearance, he is arguing with [[DaChief Executor Pallin]] over his most recent investigation, and throughout the rest of the game he's a frequent supporter of [[KillHimAlready killing criminals rather than giving them the chance to escape justice]]. He also is a {{deconstruction}} of the trope because his Cowboy Cop urges are not tolerated by C-Sec. As such, a Paragon character can rein him in and teach him that it's important to do things the right way, not just get them done. [[spoiler:Although it doesn't end up sticking completely -- even if you took this route with him, he's become a [[VigilanteMan vigilante]] by MassEffect2, which he will apologise for.]] In fact, Garrus even admits in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' that he isn't a [[PlanetOfHats very good turian]], because of his refusal to obey orders if he feels the order is unjust.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s Garrus Vakarian, although considerably more polite and soft-spoken than is usual for the trope, is certainly a Cowboy Cop. In his very first appearance, he is arguing with [[DaChief Executor Pallin]] over his most recent investigation, and throughout the rest of the game he's a frequent supporter of [[KillHimAlready killing criminals rather than giving them the chance to escape justice]]. He also is a {{deconstruction}} of the trope because his Cowboy Cop urges are not tolerated by C-Sec. As such, a Paragon character can rein him in and teach him that it's important to do things the right way, not just get them done. [[spoiler:Although it doesn't end up sticking completely -- even if you took this route with him, he's become a [[VigilanteMan vigilante]] by ''ME 2'', which he will apologise for.]] In fact, Garrus even admits in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' that he isn't a [[PlanetOfHats very good turian]], because of his refusal to obey orders if he feels the order is unjust.

* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' - Though, Max's idea of police work is pretty flimsy: If he isn't investigating the crime scene, he is making it.

* Role-playing games generally have a shortage of cowboy cop types. The closest the ''Final Fantasy'' series has come up with might be FishOutOfTemporalWater Tidus (FinalFantasyX). He gets shoehorned into becoming a Guardian for the Summoner, primarily because he has no other livelihood or hope of navigating an alien future where his celebrity is long forgotten. His ignorance proves to be a real asset, however, as the church of Yevon is completely foreign to Tidus; thus, it inspires no fear in him. He bucks the system at every turn, is branded a blasphemer, and eventually convinces the Summoner and his fellow guardians to disown the church. Worst guardian ever... or the best!

* ''TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA'' opens with Nick Kang coming back from suspension for his Cowboy Cop antics. It is his shoot-first-ask-questions-later nature that gets him invited to join the Elite Operations Division: to get the kinds of crooks the EOD goes after, it takes cops that aren't afraid to bend, or even break, the rules.

* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney''
** Case 5 of ''Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney'' features Jake Marshall, a cop who's dedicated himself to finishing his personal investigation of his brother's murder, no matter what rules he has to break or who he brings down. He also wears a poncho and ten-gallon hat, decorates his office with cacti and speaks in a 19th-century Western dialect, all for no reason that anyone can figure out, making him both an example and a parody of the trope.
*** [[{{Fauxreigner}} He's not even from Texas.]]
** ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' somewhat averts this with Detective Tyrell Badd, who despite his badassery tends to obey orders and do things by the book even when he finds it distasteful. [[spoiler: Except for that whole [[PhantomThief Yatagarasu]] thing.]]

* ''TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA'' opens with Nick Kang coming back from suspension for his Cowboy Cop antics. It is his shoot-first-ask-questions-later nature that gets him invited to join the Elite Operations Division.

* ''TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA'' opens with Nick Kang coming back from suspension for his Cowboy Cop antics. It is his shoot-first-ask-questions-later nature that gets him invited to join the Elite Operations Division.

** In fact, that is UNATCO procedure, most of the troops wants to shoot first and ask questions later. Even if it means racking up a huge civilian bodycount.