Line #29 VideoGame/PoliceStories


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/police_stories.png]]
2	It's near the end of TheNineties, and recent Police Academy graduate John Rimes has joined the local precinct with his best friend and partner Rick Jones for his first day as a police officer. Together they take on crooks around the city, and gradually uncover a sinister conspiracy.
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4	...so sets the scene for ''[[https://policestoriesgame.com/ Police Stories]]'', a top down shooter developed by the Russian studio Mighty Morgan and published by [=HypeTrain=] Digital. It was [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/262888687/police-stories-pc-mac-and-linux-free-alpha-include funded]] on Website/{{Kickstarter}} on July 2nd, 2017, and released on September 19th, 2019 for [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] through Platform/{{Steam}} and for Platform/NintendoSwitch, with the versions for Platform/PS4 and Platform/XboxOne expected in the near future.
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6	You control one of a two man team, responding to multiple crime scenes with armed perpetrators. Much like [[VideoGame/SWAT4 the SWAT series]], however, you are expected to ''arrest'' suspects as a default course of action; multiple less-than-lethal items are at your disposal to take down more stubborn perps and civilians, and lethal force is only allowed as a last resort. Not that you'll want to get into an actual gunfight, [[RocketTagGameplay because you can take a few bullets before dying, and in the close quarters distance the crooks' aim is about as good as yours.]] Combined with how the levels are re-randomized each time you die, the game makes for a terse, NintendoHard, experience...
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8	[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused]] with Creator/JackieChan's classic ''Film/PoliceStory''.
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10	----
11	!!This game provides examples of:
12	* AKA47: Played straight as of the 1.3.0 update. Several new weapons were introduced to the game, all of which have fictionalized names. The R226, [=NP5=], Moss 500, [=MA41=], AAR 15 and Stelvio M4 are based on the P226, [=MP5=], Mossberg 500, [=M4A1=], AR-15, and Benelli M4 respectively.
13	** Prior to this update, the HK [=MP5=] was the only firearm in the game (excluding the nameless pistol that came equipped with the ballistic shield) and was known by its actual name.
14	* ArmorIsUseless: One of the later equipment unlocks is Heavy Armor, which increases your survivability. Unfortunately, ''everyone'' in the game is either using automatic weapons or shotguns, which means that Heavy Armor will let you survive two additional shots at best (and one from shotguns). And those shots will unfortunately be coming immediately after the one that just tagged you.
15	* ArtificialStupidity: Your AI partner is pretty useless in combat. He doesn't react to enemy movement, and pretty much the only time he'll down any suspect is if they happen to walk in front of wherever his gun in pointing at the time. He's mainly just there as a pack mule to carry grenades and breaching kits, plus he's good for quickly picking up evidence and handcuffing suspects.
16	* BloodlessCarnage: Averted. A puddle of blood soon forms around the body of anyone shot to death. Stepping into it leaves bloodied footprints as well.
17	* BottomlessMagazines: Subverted, as both you and your enemies have to reload. There's even an achievement for killing a suspect while he's reloading.
18	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Bullets in this game travel so slowly that it's possible for an enemy to shoot you before the bullet you fire first actually hits him. Fortunately, you get an achievement for this situation the first time it happens.
19	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: DaChief gets arrested for masterminding the events throughout the game, though both John and Rick know that he’s only a pawn of his FBI bosses who actually orchestrated the whole thing. In fact, they’re the only ones who end up knowing, because the FBI threatened them and their families if they ever talked. In any case, the Chief gets released after two years for “good behavior”. [[HeroicBSOD John Rimes, having become disillusioned with how powerless the police are, doesn’t show up to work the next day, and is never seen again.]] The only consolation is that 15 years after the fact, the true story is relayed by a now-old Rick Jones to a journalist, having “made peace with death, and hoping to bring the true story of what happened to light.]] Pretty damn depressing for a ClicheStorm story.
20	* DynamicEntry: A possible, and oftentimes recommended manner to enter and clear a room, either via breaching charge or [[BlindedByTheLight flash-bang]].
21	* EveryoneLives: Possible, but unlike ''VideoGame/SWAT4'', where you can take a beanbag shotgun and a pepper-ball gun, in Police Stories you get a taser with 4 cartridges and a couple of grenades tops, (and if you’re playing coop, you get an actually useful teammate too, but he’s also limited to using the above gear,) making achieving this significantly harder and [[ViolationOfCommonSense at times counterproductive]]. [[GameplayGrading To get an A+, you]] ''[[GameplayGrading will]]'' [[GameplayGrading have to take everyone in alive though.]]
22	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: During gameplay, John and Rick have armored vests and carry [=MP5=] submachine guns. During cutscenes, they frequently are only wearing blue t-shirts and carrying handguns.
23	* GameplayGrading: At the end of each level you get a rank based on how well you did. To get an A+, not only do you have to take everyone in alive, and have neither John nor Rick take damage, [[ViolationOfCommonSense but you’ll also have to be extremely quick, to the point where you’ll be forced to ditch standard room clearing doctrine in favor of sprinting everywhere like a madman]]. [[spoiler: It's ''possible'' to get an A+ without a time bonus, but it depends on the availability of randomly placed drugs throughout the level. You still have to completely avoid injury and arrest everyone alive, but if you get enough drugs (and you're on a bomb level) you can get the A+. Barely.]]
24	* HeavilyArmoredMook: Some enemies in the later levels wear full body armor, making them rather tough to beat in an open shootout. Magnum bullets can be really handy when dealing with them. Also, their heavy armor doesn't have any effect on melee attacks or tasers, which will still force them to surrender with one hit.
25	* IncrediblyObviousBomb: Bombs in the game are clearly marked, and they flash red the first time you spot them so you can clearly see where they are.
26	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: On bomb levels, you'll need to interrogate the criminals on site for the bomb code, either by smacking them with your gun's stock, or by pepper spraying them. Some criminals will instantly give up the code, some will take a few smacks to start talking, and a few will refuse to talk at all, and attempting to interrogate those people will result in you killing them. Everybody seems to instantly talk with pepper spray, though.
27	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The ballistic shield can protect you from enemy gunfire, but it will only block a limited number of hits before it is destroyed.
28	* MagicalDefibrillator: The “defibrillator” item can bring any person back to life, albeit only once, despite the fact that the only possible injuries you can suffer from in-game are bullets and shrapnel. [[AntiFrustrationFeature So if you accidentally kill someone with unauthorized force, you can bring them back to life after the level ends to mitigate your score penalty.]]
29	* TheNineties: The events of the game take place in 1998, and the weapons available are realistic for the time period.
30	* OneBulletClips: Subverted, as the game actually gives you a limited amount of magazines and keeps track of how many rounds are in each one. An advantage of taking a shotgun is you don't have to worry about keeping track of your mags, since you can always fill up your tube after you fire.
31	* PacifistRun: Completing a level without killing anyone will get you an achievement.
32	* PhoneTraceRace: {{Parodied}}, when John and Rick come across a ringing phone at the Stone & Roberts warehouse:
33	-->'''Rick:''' I’ll get it.
34	-->'''John:''' Wait, wait! We should try to trace the call!
35	-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Rick:]]''' [[SarcasmMode Great idea, Johnny!]] Now let me just go get the tracing equipment... Oh, right. I don’t have it with me, since we’re...you know, NOT in a TV show.
36	** Of course, they still get enough info from the criminals on the other end blabbing a bit too much to find where the call came from anyway. And the lack of being in a tv show doesn't prevent John and Rick from somehow carrying enough handcuffs to detain over a dozen civilians and suspects in each level.
37	* RaceAgainstTheClock: Bomb levels have a time limit to find and disarm the bomb.
38	* RocketTagGameplay: Getting hit with one bullet ''may'' kill you. Getting hit with two ''will''. The same is true for the suspects you're fighting. Fast reactions and quick decision making are a must.
39	* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay:
40	** Each level has a minimum point counter, and points are gained in each level by following proper police procedure. So if you treat the game like a generic first person shooter and just shoot all the perpetrators, you will never unlock enough points to play the next levels.
41	*** Following on from that: failing to announce that you're the police and demanding that a suspect get on the ground will allow you to sneak up on them. But if they hear you and move to attack, and you kill them, you ''still'' get penalized for unauthorized use of force, because you didn't announce that you're the police.
42	** Opening a door will make everyone in the room turn to face it, which could result in you getting shot. Standing ''in'' the doorway while opening it ''will'' get you shot.
43	** A TapOnTheHead isn't as non lethal as some games make it out to be. If you butt-stroke an enemy too many times, they'll die.
44	** While the game clearly labels the civilians and the criminals, it also features "fake civilians", i.e. either civilians who are conceal carrying a pistol or criminals who are disguised as civilians. And if you're not paying attention, a "fake civilian" with malicious intent will kill you as fast as an armed criminal will.
45	** Getting punched in the face ''will'' make a suspect or civilian give up immediately. Same as being hit with a taser round. It's really hard to resist when you're riding the lightning or bleeding profusely from your broken nose. Ironically, this makes it very efficient to just melee hit everyone on sight, including civilians. Melee hitting a civilian won't cause the player to suffer any penalty, while hitting a fake civilian will cause immediate surrender and remove the risk of them drawing a pistol instead.
46	** Rushing into a hostage situation without adequate preparation will result in a dead hostage. You ''must'' stun the hostage taker immediately, or the hostage will be killed as soon as you try to do something. Magnum bullets can be very useful for resolving these situations, since you can shoot enemies through closed doors with them, and if their gun is already pointing at the hostage, there will be no use of force penalty.
47	** If you take your eyes off a surrendered suspect before you have taken their weapon or handcuffed them, they will pick their weapon up and get back in the fight.
48	* WireDilemma: If you can't find the code for a bomb, you can try to disarm it by cutting one of three wires on it. However, the right wire is random, so there's no way to be sure which is the right one.

Context VideoGame / PoliceStories