History Main / IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon

** As long as you remain in secure space, CONCORD will respawn at your position until your ship is destroyed. If you were thinking of leaving secure space to escape them, they have locked down the jumpgates to keep you here. [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything They will even use "mysterious voodoo" on your ship to keep you from escaping via wormhole.]] If you still manage to find some way to escape their wrath... they will declare you a cheater abusing an exploit and you'll be banned. However, while CONCORD (the Po Po) may believe ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, even [[StreetFighter CONCORDOKKEN]] isn't punishment enough when DeathIsCheap and [[SuicideAttack suicide]] [[{{Griefer}} griefing]] is a [[BerserkButton fiercely defended]] playstyle.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': If you have Evil Karma, you will regularly encounter [[CowboyCop Regulator]] hit squads. Conversely, Good Karma will attract the attention of Talon Company.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has guards in neutral zones where players from different sides aren't supposed to kill each other. If one player attacks another, the guards kill the instigator. People have found numerous ways around this, but Blizzard tends to block a few more methods with each upgrade.

* Guards in ''{{Avernum}}'' are finite, and even beatable at higher levels, but they have a special trait that makes them more effective against player characters than against monsters.

* Happens in ''{{Crackdown}}''. If you kill too many [[strike:cops]] peacekeepers or civilians too quickly, the peacekeepers will go nuts and start mass-spawning all around you. Mind you, they are {{Red Shirt}}s and you're a SuperSoldier, but if you keep killing them, the hate meter stays topped and they'll never stop coming.

* Michael from the ''KnightAndRogueSeries'' refuses to bring in a murder suspect who he discovers is innocent, knowing that the court he's expected to take her too will be stacked against her for political reasons. Unfortunately, he's required by law to catch her, and his refusal to bring her in gets him branded as a criminal.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/BluesBrothers http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blues_brothers_1980_pic_5.jpg]]]]

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'': In the very first level, when you first get a weapon, you can backtrack and kill Keyes. Cortana will call in a squad of marines, who are completely invincible.

* In ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'', destroying a car as Venom will a [[WantedMeter point score]] to appear and endless waves of police to attack. Rack up enough points, and SWAT, helicopters, and SHIELD join in. The police spawn in around every corner, and while you can eat them to regain health (Venom's health gradually decreases) they don't nearly give as much as civilians, making the mini game a show of how many points Venom can rack up before being shot down himself.

* In ''BaldursGate'', The Flaming Fist guards the city of the same name -- and regardless of your level and divine blood, you have no chance against them. They are literally invincible.
** The sequel, on the other hand, is a subversion -- provoking the local mages in Athkatla will result in larger and larger squads sent to exterminate the player, but eventually the mages have had enough: they cut their losses and stop interfering with the player character's actions.

The {{Trope Namer|s}}, of course, is the chorus to "I Fought the Law" by Sonny Curtis and the Crickets, which has been [[CoveredUp famously covered]] by Bobby Fuller, Music/TheClash, Music/GreenDay, Music/DeadKennedys, and various others.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/EVEOnline http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1concord.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Nice try, ''criminal''.]]

These aren't your average, overweight [[DonutMessWithACop donut-munchers]]. These law-enforcers, whether they're plate-armored [[CityGuards city-guards]] or patrol-ships in outer space, are [[SuicidalOverconfidence suicidally brave]], [[LightningBruiser tough as nuts]], and/or attack in [[HammerspacePoliceForce endless waves]]. If you're ''really'' unlucky, every one of them is an InvincibleMinorMinion. It doesn't matter how hard you are -- the only way to survive is to run. If you try to take a stand, you'll be trounced sooner or later, and they NEVER STOP. So just pick up your {{Upgrade Artifact}}s and your Level-Cap and get outta town before I run ya in for loitering, punk!

* Played with in ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'': the game uses a scaling threat system similar to ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', rapidly going from local authorities to the Army to special Hulkbuster divisions equipped specifically to take you down. However, they aren't instant-kill enemies, just mildly tough; a decently skilled player should have no problem with them whatsoever. And of course, breaking out specialized mecha might seem excessive... if this wasn't the Hulk we were talking about.

* In most of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, there's a semi-realistic Sorting Algorithm Of Law Response, with only the earliest being normal police, progressing to SWAT teams, then the FBI and then the army. It is somewhat more realistic that the Army would be able to keep throwing bodies into the breach, which is where it usually ends. (''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA 4]]'' cuts out these advanced responses, however, and thus falls squarely into this trope.)

* The old board-game-style crime-simulator ''Chaos Overlord'' had a (relatively) realistic rendition of this -- basically, if you caused too much Chaos in any given city-square, it would cause The Law to descend on that area, reverting the area control to 'Neutral', and utterly destroying any units there. Not because of endless hordes, but because they ride around in squad-cars armed and armored like tanks. Even the toughest units available to you are still infantry and don't stand a chance against The Law's armored vehicles.

** As long as you remain in secure space, CONCORD will respawn at your position until your ship is destroyed. If you were thinking of leaving secure space to escape them, they have locked down the jumpgates to keep you here. [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything They will even use "mysterious voodoo" on your ship to keep you from escaping via wormhole.]] If you still manage to find some way to escape their wrath... they will declare you a cheater abusing an exploit and you'll be banned. However, while CONCORD (the Po Po) may believe ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, even [[StreetFighter CONCORDOKKEN]] isn't punishment enough when DeathIsCheap and [[SuicideAttack suicide]] [[{{Griefer}} griefing]] is a [[BerserkButton fiercely defended]] play-style.

* There are neutral zones in ''VideoGame/BionicCommando''. If you fire your gun in one, suddenly you're under attack by an army of white-suited soldiers (who don't give you any rewards for killing them) until you leave and re-enter the zone.
* In ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'', you can steal vehicles from civilians and run them over to your little heart's content. However, if you hit a Krimzon Guard or steal one of their vehicles, it causes a city-wide alert that will send tons of them after you. Luckily, you can run or hide from them.

* In ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'', it is possible (theoretically) for Yandere-Chun to outfight a teacher, but it isn't likely. More often than not, trying to do so will only result in her being caught, which will lead to her being arrested, a NonStandardGameOver.

* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeRedemption'' features an unusual example. Starting a brawl or trying to drink blood in public will call down infinite numbers of city guards/policemen down on you, but the real danger is not from their weapons. Instead, the danger is that every time you kill one, your Humanity score goes down by 5 points, and when it reaches 0, you get an automatic game-over.

* In the space-sim ''VideoGame/DarkstarOne'', doing anything to raise your wanted-level above one star will cause police-ships to rapidly descend on you. Depending on where you are (the ships will be equipped with the favorite weapons of the race), they may not be a major threat, but they'll keep spawning from the nearest Trade Station for a long time... and shooting them down rapidly raises your wanted-level until it hits Five Stars. At that point, a patrol-cruiser will be diverted into the system to teach you a lesson, and since you're basically flying a glorified Fighter, a Cruiser is a pretty serious opponent. It IS possible for a system to run out of police-ships, but even if you manage to take out the first Cruiser to arrive, another will just warp into the system shortly after. Better flick on that Afterburner and put some AU's between you and them...

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Mafia}}''. If a police officer spots you committing a crime, it's possible to stop being wanted by getting away quickly enough or by killing the officer. Unless another police officer spots you doing that, you can get off scot-free. Additionally, even if you earn a city-wide wanted level, you can wait it out by hiding somewhere. You may have to deal with a carload of cops enroute to your favorite hide-outs, though.
* Happens in ''{{Crackdown}}''. If you kill too many [[strike:cops]] peacekeepers or civilians too quickly, the peacekeepers will go nuts and start mass-spawning all around you. Mind you, they are {{Red Shirt}}s and you're a SuperSoldier, but if you keep killing them, the hate-meter stays topped and they'll never stop coming.

** As long as you remain in secure space, they will respawn at your position until your ship is destroyed. If you were thinking of leaving secure space to escape them, they have locked down the jumpgates to keep you here. [[TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything They will even use "mysterious voodoo" on your ship to keep you from escaping via wormhole.]] And, of course, if you escape their retribution, you'll be banned for cheating. However, while Concord (the Po Po) may believe ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, even [[StreetFighter CONCORDOKKEN]] isn't punishment enough when DeathIsCheap and [[SuicideAttack suicide]] [[{{Griefer}} griefing]] is a [[BerserkButton fiercely defended]] play-style.

[[IThoughtItMeant No, this isn't about fighting Marshall Law from]] ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''.

->''Robbing people with a six-gun;\\
I fought the law and the law won''

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1concord.jpg]]

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series usually features infinitely-respawning guards in the cities, becoming particularly infamous in ''Oblivion'' when they combine this with ShopliftAndDie. So not only will you be arrested for picking up a cup you just nudged off a table, attempting to fight the guard will simply result in an endless flood of auto-leveling guards who will, after a short time, stop trying to arrest you, and concentrate on killing you.

** Exacerbated in that many players don't [[AllInTheManual read manuals]] and don't know that you can yield. So if you accidentally hit a guard... whoa momma.

* An article on Website/{{Cracked}} was about insane mods of games made by fans. The first entry was that of implementing a fully working ComicBook/IronMan armor set in the game, as well as the chance to play Comic/TheIncredibleHulk, the latter of which making perfect sense. One image is of Hulk going nuts on cops with the caption "[[DefiedTrope HULK FOUGHT LAW AND HULK WON]]."

The equivalent in other medias would be TheFettered {{Determinator}}.

* In most of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, there's a semi-realistic Sorting Algorithm Of Law Response, with only the earliest being normal police, progressing to the FBI and then the army. It is somewhat more realistic that the Army would be able to keep throwing bodies into the breach, which is where it usually ends. (''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA4]]'' cuts out these advanced responses, however, and thus falls squarely into this trope.)

[[folder:First Person Shooter]]

* Cops in ''{{Turok}} 3'' are unkillable by the player, and ''will'' ventilate you if you attack them or try to cross a police checkpoint.

* The ''NeedForSpeed'' series, with the [[WeHaveReserves endless waves]] of cop cars (which can be [[ImprobablyCoolCar improbably cool]]) pursuing you until you manage to hide long enough from them. In ''Most Wanted'', all bosses require you to endure pursuit in a determined length of time before you can challenge them. [[spoiler: The final stage is you desperately fighting to {{def|iedTrope}}y this trope.]]

The usual end result of maxing out a WantedMeter. Often overlaps with ShopliftAndDie, if this response is provoked by the slightest infraction.

* Played with in ''TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'': the game uses a scaling threat system similar to ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', rapidly going from local authorities to the Army to special Hulkbuster divisions equipped specifically to take you down. However, they aren't instant-kill enemies, just mildly tough; a decently skilled player should have no problem with them whatsoever. And of course, breaking out specialized mecha might seem excessive... if this wasn't the Hulk we were talking about.

* Subverted in ''DestroyAllHumans'', where the threat scale will actually reset back to zero if you manage to defeat TheMenInBlack (the highest level antagonist), but only if you're on foot. If you're in your saucer, the tanks and missile batteries just keep coming.

* The original ''{{Halo}}'': In the very first level, when you first get a weapon, you can backtrack and kill Keyes. Cortana will call in a squad of marines, who are completely invincible.

* ''EveOnline'': but only for some peculiar and seriously confusing values of criminal.

* In ''JakII'', you can steal vehicles from civilians and run them over to your little heart's content. However, if you hit a Krimzon Guard or steal one of their vehicles, it causes a city-wide alert that will send tons of them after you. Luckily, you can run or hide from them.

* ''{{Starflight}}'', a memorable 1986 space exploration sandbox game, uses this trope as copy protection. Upon leaving the space station, the player is asked to look up a number on a code wheel. If he fails, the game lets the player fly around -- for a while. Eventually, you encounter a group of very well-armed ships and receive an incoming transmission: "PULL OVER! THIS IS THE INTERSTEL CORPORATE POLICE. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST. DROP ALL SHIELDS AND DISARM ALL WEAPONS. YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF INTERGALACTIC SOFTWARE THEFT LAW. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RESIST." The player has one more chance to answer the copy protection correctly. If the player fights, he dies. If the player gives the correct code, the police disappear. If the player cannot answer, the game ends without a chance to save.

* In the space-sim ''DarkstarOne'', doing anything to raise your wanted-level above one star will cause police-ships to rapidly descend on you. Depending on where you are (the ships will be equipped with the favorite weapons of the race), they may not be a major threat, but they'll keep spawning from the nearest Trade Station for a long time... and shooting them down rapidly raises your wanted-level until it hits Five Stars. At that point, a patrol-cruiser will be diverted into the system to teach you a lesson, and since you're basically flying a glorified Fighter, a Cruiser is a pretty serious opponent. It IS possible for a system to run out of police-ships, but even if you manage to take out the first Cruiser to arrive, another will just warp into the system shortly after. Better flick on that Afterburner and put some AU's between you and them...

* Averted in ''{{Mafia}}''. If a police officer spots you committing a crime, it's possible to stop being wanted by getting away quickly enough or by killing the officer. Unless another police officer spots you doing that, you can get off scot-free. Additionally, even if you earn a city-wide wanted level, you can wait it out by hiding somewhere. You may have to deal with a carload of cops enroute to your favorite hide-outs, though.

->''[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Robbing people with a six-gun;]]\\
[[LaserGuidedKarma I fought the law and the law won]]''

* In ''VideoGame/NetHack'', robbing a store will cause the Keystone Kops to spawn and attack you, and they do so in intimidatingly high numbers. They are amongst the only creatures in the game that cannot be rendered 'Extinct' by killing 120 of them. Hence, though it's possible for a high-level character to kill all of the 'Kops' that appear after a particular heist, there'll ''always'' be another wave waiting next time... ([[ShopliftAndDie The shopkeeper himself is a much bigger threat]], but nothing a high-level character can't handle.)

* This can happen in the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games, overlapping with ShopliftAndDie. If you're in a dungeon and attempt to steal from the Kecleon shop merchant, you'll find out just how ridiculous it gets -- in the first game, they're level 90. In the second, level 49 with max stats in everything but HP. Either way, when they're after you they're permanently at double speed and they spawn infinitely until you reach the staircase to get to the next level. Their moveset consists of attacks like Fury Swipes (instant death for most if it connects), Faint Attack (instant death that never misses), Screech (for the rest, this will make the aforementioned attacks instant death), Psybeam (long-range instant death), Ancientpower (an attack with a chance of self-boosting that shall be quickly followed by instant death), and Substitute (your only hope at a reprieve... given that you're traveling alone). I must not also forget to mention that you can't use Escape Orbs and the like while they're chasing you. You'd only steal from Kecleon for two reasons: to gain a hefty profit -- assuming you're actually strong enough to handle it -- and trying a very unlucky attempt to recruit the bastards...
** They have a base recruitment rate of -39.8% (note the negative sign). The maximum recruitment rate bonus one can get is 40% by being level 100 with a friend bow. In the best case scenario, you get .2 percent chance of recruiting them. By that level the only real threat is screech, which drops your defense into OHKO territory from fury swipes. Don't forget that you cannot stay on a floor forever with the purpose of farming them, as you'll eventually be killed for staying too long (granted, you're given plenty of warning). The second game would also require similar conditions. Given that not everyone can learn the IQ ability that increases recruitment rate, that means that there is a small set of Pokemon even capable of recruiting them, none of them [[spoiler:except for Mew]] are terribly good.