History Main / IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon

These aren't your average, overweight [[DonutMessWithACop donutmunchers]]. 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 tough 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!

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''; challenging the CityGuards is inadvisable, as they tend to be max level. The game 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. (And don't even ''think'' about trying to enter enemy territory. You won't last long.)

* ''VideoGame/SpiderMan'': During the Police chase, the helicopter is invulnerable and the cops will keep respawning when defeated, so your only option is to run.

* In the 2013 ''Bonnie and Clyde'' TV movie, the titular OutlawCouple seal their doom when they start killing police officers. They can no longer use JurisdictionFriction to their advantage as the task force sent after them pursues them across county and state lines. When they go on vacation to Florida, the task force finds them there. When their hideout is discovered, an army of police officers surrounds them and engages them in a massive shootout. This culminates in the couple's deaths in an ambush when their car is riddled with bullets as police officers fire machine guns at them in a classic example of ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill.

These aren't your average, overweight [[DonutMessWithACop donutmunchers]]. 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 tough 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!

The usual end result of maxing out a WantedMeter. Often overlaps with ShopliftAndDie, if this response is provoked by the slightest infraction. This can be one of the AcceptableBreaksFromReality or GameplayAndStorySegregation if the police or military is said to be understaffed or incapable of handling the criminal problem yet somehow can cough up all these redshirts just for you.

* In the ''[[Videogame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'', fighting the [[CityGuards Police and Border Patrol]] is [[PoliceAreUseless generally not difficult because they mount terrible weapon]]s, but god help you if you piss off the racial naval fleets enough that they start chasing you down, especially in ''Albion Prelude'' or with the [[GameMod Rapid Response Fleet mod]], where they will react much more aggressively to player hostility - typically by siccing a couple corvettes on the player. Blow those up, and they'll start throwing [[MileLongShip frigates and destroyers at you]]. The one law enforcement/navy faction you ''do not'' want to piss off is the [[PlanetTerra Earth State's]] [[EliteArmy AGI Task Force]] - partly because if you make them angry, [[HeelFaceDoorSlam you cannot get back on good terms]], and partly because their ships are [[PurposelyOverpowered apocalyptically powerful]], especially their [[MacrossMissileMassacre Skirnir missile frigate]] which can destroy an entire fleet from 60 kilometers away.

->''"Robbing people with a six-gun;\\

* 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 reenter the zone.

The {{Trope Namer|s}} 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, Music/HankWilliamsJr, and various others. Contrast PoliceAreUseless.

** In ''Videogame/UltimaVIII Pagan'' there's only one guard -- Beren -- but he's completely invincible. You can, however, exploit a [[GoodBadBugs glitch]] to kill him.

** In ''Videogame/UltimaV Warriors of Virtue'' guards are massively powerful, able to take out a low to mid-level party with ease. This even applies to the ''villain's'' guards -- if, of course, they don't simply "strike thee unconscious" and capture you without a fight. Fortunately, there is a shop where you can buy unlimited numbers of [[GameBreaker invisibility rings]] ...

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, Music/HankWilliamsJr, and various others.

* Played straight in the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' in the scenes where the cops chasing Max actually catch up to him. In most levels the police never actually show up regardless of how long Max hangs out at the scene of a shootout, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation despite ambient siren noises and comic book cutscenes frequently trying to sell the idea that they're right behind him]]. However, in the scenes where they are scripted to show up, they do so in the form of heavily-armored, riot-masked {{Faceless Mooks}} that immediately open up with automatic rifles. While the player can shoot at them, shots landed have no effect and the only option is to run. Nowhere in gameplay is it possible to actually kill the pursuing police.

* Played straight in the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' in the scenes where the cops chasing Max actually catch up to him. In most levels the police never actually show up regardless of how long Max hangs out at the scene of a shootout, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation despite ambient siren noises and comic book cutscenes frequently trying to sell the idea that they're right behind him]]. However, in the scenes where they are scripted to show up, they do so in the form of heavily-armored, riot-masked {{FacelessMooks}} that immediately open up with automatic rifles. While the player can shoot at them, shots landed have no effect and the only option is to run. Nowhere in gameplay is it possible to actually kill the pursuing police.

* In most of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, there's a semirealistic 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.)

* Played straight in the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' in the scenes where the cops chasing Max actually catch up to him. Throughout most the game the police never actually catch up regardless of how long Max hangs out at the scene of a shootout, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation despite ambient siren noises and comic book cutscenes constantly trying to sell the idea that they're right behind him]]. However, in the scenes where they are scripted to show up, they do so in the form of heavily-armored, riot-masked {{FacelessMooks}} that immediately open up with automatic rifles. While the player can shoot at them, shots landed have no effect and the only option is to run. Nowhere in gameplay is it possible to actually kill the pursuing police.

** In the second game, the police respond to the number of hostages you have: if you have more, they delay longer in assaulting (after the first assault, which will start as soon as SWAT arrives on the scene). Conversely, if you kill a hostage, on purpose or accidentally, they will assault much faster to stop you from doing it again. If you have ''no'' hostages, they'll basically stop assaulting you in name only: MissionControl will tell you they've backed off, but they'll still keep attacking you. Fighting the law is always a losing proposition, though: you can't kill enough of them to stop them from coming, so your only hope is to do what you need to do and get out.

* ''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. However, before that point you ''can'' give yourself up, and after paying a fine and serving a short sentence you'll be free to go.
-->[[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/stop-right-there-criminal-scum STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!]]
** Also averted in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' if you get the [[GameBreaker Cowl of Nocturnal]]. As long as you don the cowl before doing anything illegal, you can kill as many guards as you wish. When you want to stop fighting guards, take the cowl off and yield. Due to the magic of the cowl, the guards will think you are innocent and accept your yield without giving you a single fine, and the guards you killed will still have some measly loot on their bodies.
*** Of course, with the proper magic item sets and/or proper leveling, you can indefinitely fight off the guards until you get bored. Word of warning, though: Once your bounty gets too high, the only way to eliminate it is to serve time, unless you bother with the Gray Fox quest. The Cowl, of course, is a better choice, more so if you combine it with your 100% reflect damage combinations. So it becomes more a matter of "The law has more endurance" than it being able to actually win. Nothing can stop arrow damage aside from dodging, so you can't even get the violence in motion then go do something else.
*** Also, in the ''Shivering Isles'' DLC for Oblivion, similar things happen in one of the two towns there. Given that this is a very magical place, the cowl's magic doesn't work. However, if you complete the main storyline, you gain clothes that give you the exact same ability as the cowl to go off without getting your main character busted. Mainly because at the end of Shivering Isles, you ''ARE'' [[MadGod Sheogorath]], which means you're the law's ''[[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem boss]]''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': If you have Evil Karma, you will regularly encounter [[CowboyCop Regulator]] hit squads. Inversely, Good Karma will attract the attention of Talon Company mercenaries.
** Similarly, in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', having a negative reputation with either of the major factions will cause them to send hitmen after you every couple of days. The NCR Rangers give you a three-day warning, while the Legionary Assassins will shoot on sight. In the second act of the game, the NCR and Legion will declare you an enemy and permanently turn hostile once you progress far enough into the opposing faction's quest line, gain significant general infamy, or kill one of their leaders.

* ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'': 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.

*** Also, in the "Shivering Isles" DLC for Oblivion, similar things happen in one of the two towns there. Given that this is a very magical place, the cowl's magic doesn't work. However, if you complete the main storyline, you gain clothes that give you the exact same ability as the cowl to go off without getting your main character busted.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''; challenging the CityWatch is inadvisable, as they tend to be max level. The game 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. (And don't even ''think'' about trying to enter enemy territory. You won't last long.)

So, you think you're bad, huh? You eat Dragons ([[TheDragon both]] [[OurDragonsAreDifferent kinds]]) for breakfast. You're WEARING the Level {{Cap}}. You're carrying so many Ancient Artifacts of Game-Breaking Power that you start [[PowerGlows glowing]] whenever you turn around. NOTHING can stop you!

...unless, of course, you piss off The Law.

These aren't your average, overweight [[DonutMessWithACop donutmunchers]]. 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!