Video Game / Rebel Cops

Not all heroes wear badges.

Rebel Cops is a 2019 Spin-Off of This Is the Police.

Seven years after the events of This Is The Police 2, mob boss Viktor Zuev has taken control of the town of Ripton. In an act of Anti-Mutiny, several members of Ripton's police department have refused to bow to Zuev and become La Résistance in an attempt to bring him to justice.

Unlike previous entries in the This Is The Police franchise, Rebel Cops has no simulation elements, instead focusing on purely Turn-Based Tactics. The player can utilise up to six cops per mission with a seventh as sniper support. Maps are quite large and exploration is encouraged. In particular, most missions have optional sidequests, such as recovering evidence or rescuing hostages, which net the player extra money, supplies, and reputation among Ripton's townsfolk.

---

This game provides examples of:

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality:
  • Bodies of arrested criminals go poof into thin air instead of remaining on the ground to be spotted or needing to be escorted or carried away by your officers. Makes no sense from the position of physics and realism, justified from the game design perspective as it encourages you to try and take criminals alive as a cop should instead of gunning people down left and right like a maniac.
  • Your sniper can scout out any room with windows no matter what side of a building those windows are on, effectively having a vantage point from all four sides of the map at the same time. Also, if he can scout out the room he can take out a target in that room no matter where that target is, including in places where there is no conceivable way for him to have a shot.
• Actionised Sequel: The game does away with management aspect of its predecessors and is much lighter on the narrative, focusing solely on turn-based tactical missions.
• Anti-Frustration Features: The Buddy System can save you running your officers headlong into danger provided you have another officer nearby. If an enemy is not visible, they can be spotted by another officer and the move can be cancelled. The officer who gives the warning gains a small amount of experience for it, too.
• Anyone Can Die: Anyone who's even vaguely familiar with the X-COM style of game knows that this is a given, especially in one where one bullet is enough to finish off anybody. True outside of the gameplay as well: the kidnapped cop you will not immediately rescue will die; then Duvall Jr., your sniper, will be stabbed just before the final mission. And lastly, seemingly every rebel cop in the Downer Ending.
• Armor As Hit Points: Equipping your officers with body armour and helmets will allow them to take two extra gunshots to the body and one to the head before they're killed.
• Arms Dealer: Since your cops have essentially gone rogue, you have to outfit them out of your own pocket using donations given by townsfolk and money earned by selling scavenged loot on the black market. Said black market can be used to buy weapons and equipment.
• Barbarian Longhair: All Treybeks seem to be longhaired, and they are a "clan" of woodsmen/survivalists, so this is very fitting.
• Belief Makes You Stupid: It's safe to say that Zuev trying to seek a fortune teller's advice was the biggest mistake he had made.
• Bolivian Army Ending: The game fades to black as Jack Boyd orders his deputies to fire on the Rebel Cops, so we don't see their deaths onscreen. Although, given the dark credits music and the change of title screen, coupled with how dark the previous two games are, it's highly unlikely anyone survived.
• Boom, Headshot!: Shooting someone in the head results in an instant kill.
• Brand X: Firry-Cola makes its comeback from This Is The Police 2.
• Call-Back: Several to previous games, mostly to This Is The Police 2. For example, one sidequest giver mentions that she is going to take her alcoholic father to Sharpwood to treat him - to the very same guy you could take your alcoholic cops to to be treated in that game. Another sidequest giver is Rafa Ganim, an illicit goods smuggler from the same game.
  • Bloody Shirt movie series gets referenced a couple of times, and the mansion where the last mission takes place used to belong to Paul Shpagat, the star of the series.
• Cardboard Prison. Inverted. All those mob goons you arrest in droves during missions, where do you think they're going, to the official prison? No, since prisons and courts are in Zuev's pocket they get placed in temporary custody at a farm belonging to some helpful guy, who manages to keep all those hundreds of arrested in his farm's barns and cow sheds with nobody escaping, and seemingly all by himself too. It is never explained how he manages to pull that off.
• Chekhov's Gun: Shvets, your original sniper, will leave your group after the tutorial mission when Zuev's goons threaten him into giving their boss a few lessons. Zuev will put those lessons into practice during the final mission when he snipes at your cops as you storm his mansion.
• Counter-Attack: One of the perks allows an officer who has been fired on to return fire, provided the officer wasn't wounded.
• Cowboy Cop: The Rebel Cops are a cross between this and Vigilante Man. They have been forced to operate outside the system, since it's been taken over by the mob.
• Cult Colony: One mission will take you to an isolated cult compound.
• Defector from Decadence: Your band of rogue cops are these, having resigned from their police department after it was effectively taken over by a mob.
• Dirty Cop: Most of Ripton's police force has gone over to Zuev's side at the beginning of the game. They turn up as Elite Mooks in the final mission. Sharpwood's police force turns up in one mission fighting Zuev's goons and again in the ending to wipe out the Rebel Cops and Zuev.
• Downer Ending: After the assault on Zuev's mansion resulting in Zuev being taken into custody, Jack Boyd betrays the Rebel Cops by wiping them out while they take Zuev to Sharpwood.
• Elite Mooks:
  • Heavies are harder to take down non-lethally. The chances of holdup or capturer working on them is greatly reduced and it takes two hits with a baton or tazer to pacify them, and they can even ignore one sniper shot. Fortunately, they're just as susceptible to gunshot wounds from up close as anyone else.
  • Ripton's police force (the ones that went to work for Zuev) are armed with assault rifles that are unique to them.
• Enemy Civil War: The Rebel Cops get caught up in a shootout between Zuev's mob and the Sharpwood police department. Afterwards, Warren Nash (aka Jack Boyd) sends them an apology and aid, though this turns out to be for his own ends.
• Evil Overlooker: Zuev's face can be seen overlooking your cops in the main menu screen.
• Evolving Title Screen: The main menu background will change along with the music after you beat the game, showing Jack Boyd in his office as the Sharpwood sheriff after he had your band of rebel cops killed.
• Fed to the Beast: Depending on which branch of missions you take on to rescue your abducted cops, this may be the fate of the kidnapped cop you do not immediately go for - they get shipped to Colombia and fed to an anaconda.
• Fortune Teller: As Zuev gets more and more desperate to stop you he turns to a local fortune teller for advice on how to deal with you. It does him more harm than good in the end.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Viktor Zuev, the ruthless mafia overlord of Ripton, is shown wearing square-rimmed glasses.
• Gaiden Game: The game is presented as a spin-off of the series rather than a full-fledged sequel.
• Game-Breaking Injury: After the tutorial mission, your original sniper gets set upon by Zuev's Mooks, who break his fingers, rendering him unable to use a rifle and forcing him to leave your group.
• Gun Accessories: Slapping a scope on a rifle increases its range, while putting a Hollywood Silencer on a pistol will make it silent.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Initially, the game's story seems unconnected to This Is the Police until the Rebel Cops get caught up in a shootout between Sharpwood's police force and Zuev's men. Jack Boyd is in communication with the Rebel Cops, offering assistance until he double crosses them in the ending, wiping them out along with Zuev once they've done the legwork for him.
• I Am Not My Father: Duvall Jr. makes it clear that the only thing he has in common with his father, who was a Dirty Cop in This Is The Police 2, is his ability with a rifle.
• Lawman Baton: The baton can be used to pacify criminals, making it easier to arrest them.
• Lawman Gone Bad: A heroic inversion. You command a group of cops who had left the force, went rogue and now commit vigilante justice - because the mob put the rest of the police department firmly into their pocket, so now this is the only way to bring the mob to justice. They still try to act like cops as much as they can - they try to arrest and capture criminals instead of killing them, avoid civilian casualties, and what they intend for Zuev is not to lynch him but to put him behind bars.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Shortly after you start the Ginzburg estate mansion a jeep will drive up to the scene, with two guys with rifles stepping out and proceeding to rush the front entrance of the estate. With their rifles they will most likely score several kills on Ginzburg's security but will be overwhelmed by numbers. Mission Control reveals that this is intentional - the guys are two brothers whose sister was recently assaulted by Ginzburg's goons; so the guys, fed up with the mob's abuse, decided to just drive up to the mansion and kill as many goons as they could before dying.
• Limited Loadout: Officers can carry one pistol and one longarm as well as up to six (with the backpack upgrade) supplementary items.
• The Mafiya: Viktor Zuev is a russian mobster who took over an american town of Ripton.
• Marathon Level: The mansion on the Ginzburg estate is an absolutely huge map, especially if the player should decide to undertake all of the sidequests.
• Mission Control: Provided by a certain Conrad "Old" Spice, who gives you directions and situation updates.
• Never Mess with Granny: A notable member of your roster is Henrietta Bulka, the oldest-looking and sounding member of your squad. She has the highest level among your starting roster, has one more point in stats and one more perk than normal, meaning she maxes out at level 9 rather than 10. She is also the one who arrives as a reinforcement if you last long enough in the Rebel Yell mode - with fully maxed stats, all perks, a rifle and 9mm pistol, full armour and several other useful items.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Zuev's listening to the fortune teller advice and deciding to hole up in a freshly-bought abandoned mansion instead of sitting tight in his impenetrable hidden hideout is this, as it gives rebel cops the shot at capturing him they otherwise would not have.
• The '90s: The game is set in 1994.
• Nintendo Hard: You are a handful of rogue policemen fighting a guerrilla war against the whole city filled with both mobsters and corrupt cops, with no-one to help you. You are constantly outnumbered and outgunned, with your squad of six people at most will have to deal with maps filled with scores or even hundreds of enemies. Discretion, stealth and solid tactics become a must.
• No-Gear Level: A variation - the Ripton mine is a No Guns Level. Neither enemy goons nor your cops can bring guns there (because firing off a gun can cause an uncontrolled explosion), forcing you to rely on other means like melee weapons, flashbangs and tasers. Also no sniper support there (because it's underground).
  • The endless "Rebel Yell" mode starts like this - all four officers only have their knives, and must grab weapons and equipment from around the map as it appears.
• No-Sell: Zuev will deny your first attempt at stunning him, and will even reverse your attempt by holding up the offending cop with his rifle, disabling them for two turns.
• One Hitpoint Wonder: Getting shot at all will cause any of your officers, if not wearing armour, to die if not patched up with a medical kit in time. How quickly they'll bleed out depends on where they're hit. Fortunately, this also applies to enemies, including Heavies ; They might be bigger and tougher than regular Mooks, but a bullet will put them down all the same.
• One-Hit Kill:
  • Head shots immediately kill anyone who manages to receive one, even Heavies. Helmets can allow your cops to survive one head shot.
  • Melee weapons (not batons) allow for this - knives for your cops, axes and larger blades for enemies. It doesn't matter if you're a Heavy/decked out in an armour and a helmet and completely unharmed - a knife to the side/an axe to the face will immediately kill a cop, rather than wounding them.
• Optional Stealth: Since ammunition and supplies are fairly scarce and cops can't scavenge more from Zuev's Mooks, stealth, combined with non lethal takedowns and arrests, is highly recommended. Getting spotted doesn't necessarily alert the entire map, just those within a certain range.
• Orcus on His Throne: Zuev prefers to conduct his affairs through proxies and intermediaries while remaining hidden himself. This makes him that much harder to find.
• Pacifist Run: For the most part viable and practically encouraged by the gameplay mechanics. Arresting perps earns points towards powerful Command Center abilities, and nets more experience points for officers than simply shooting them, especially if you can pacify and arrest a Heavy. Ammunition is scarce enough, especially in the early game, that you'll want to conserve it for when it's really needed.
• Plot-Powered Stamina: Averted. Cops will be exhausted after operations, and if they are deployed on several consecutive missions, their performance becomes much worse.
• Punch-Packing Pistol: The 9mm pistol is the most versatile firearm of the four available. It comes with a nine round magazine, has greater range and accuracy than the shotgun and revolver, and can be fitted with a suppressor for silent kills.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Averted. The 9mm is superior to the revolver in every way, barring price and availability of ammunition.
• Sadistic Choice: Zuev captures two of your officers at one point and it's only possible to save one of them.
• Save Scumming: Initially only possible on the easiest difficulty, with normal only giving you three saves and hard allowing none. Alleviated in a later patch.
• Save the Villain: One mission has its objective to capture a member of a street gang that has info on Zuev's activities. Any member will do, so normally this would be a cakewalk - but unfortunately said gang had also crossed the Sharpwood police, who arrived at the scene before you to kill them. You will have to deal with Sharpwood cops and prevent them from killing all the punks so you would have someone to capture.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • Shvets, your original sniper, bails from your group after the tutorial mission when Zuev's goons visit his house and "convince" him to give their boss some lessons with a rifle. This is a Foreshadowing.
  • If you follow your mission control's advice and hold the surveillance operator on gun point in the casino mission he will eventually warn the other security, forcing your officer to gun him down. Said officer will leave your group after the mission, too shaken with what they did.
• Shop Fodder: You can find and loot various valuable items scattered across levels to sell later.
• Short-Range Shotgun: Shotguns have the shortest range of any weapon. However, if an enemy is within range, the shotgun will hit, even ignoring cover penalties.
• Shout-Out:
  • Wounding twenty perps in the leg nets the player the T-800 achievement.
  • The icon for the "Justice Machine" achievement is RoboCop.
  • The perk that allows your cop to ignore action restrictions from getting an arm or a leg wound is called "Black Knight".
• Sidequest:
  • Most missions come with a set of optional objectives in the form of requests from other citizens of Ripton that you can agree to help them with. It's a good idea to take them, not only because of rewards they give you but because accepting them unlocks new level starting locations for some of your cops, greatly augmenting your tactical options. Not delivering on the request loses you street cred though.
  • The photo studio chain of missions is this. They do not advance the plot and aren't necessary to complete, serving only to give you an opportunity to earn some money/XP/street cred/to do the right thing.
• Skill Scores and Perks: The game's RPG Elements have three stats for officers; Strength, Shooting, and Speed. Strength allows an officer to move better while carrying weight, Shooting determines accuracy with firearms, and Speed allows greater movement range per turn. Every level, the officer gets to choose a perk, such as "Capturer", which allows long distance arrests, or "Lucky Shot", which lets the officer fire again if they missed a shot.
• So Long, and Thanks for All the Gear: When Shvets leaves he takes some of your equipment with him (such as the 9mm pistols you used in the tutorial level).
• Static Stun Gun: The tazer will non-lethally disable a target for four turns, allowing them to be easily arrested. It takes eight turns to recharge.
• Stealth Run: Can be done on most missions, but a couple of levels involve unavoidable shootouts.
• Subsystem Damage: Shooting someone in the arm will disable their ability to shoot and will, untreated, result in their death in six turns. Shooting them in the leg will render them unable to move and also cause them to bleed out in six turns. A body shot will bring someone down entirely and cause them to bleed out in three turns. Finally, a head shot is an Instant Death Bullet. Of course, armour can mitigate this.
• Take Your Time: Averted. Just because some missions do not have an explicit timer does not mean things won't change for the worse if you dawdle. For example, the Ginzburg estate will eventually receive back up security. Same with the DDM shopping mall, if you do not disable the alarm in time.
• Tap on the Head: Downplayed. Striking a perp with a baton will not actually knock them out entirely, just stun them for two turns. Same goes for the tazer, which will do the same at range for four turns.
• Timed Mission: Several missions have time limit before you fail.
• Triumphant Reprise: The final mission is set to an actionised version of the same western-esque theme that plays on the mission planning screen. It makes the climactic assault on Zuev much more awesome.
• Unwanted Assistance: The Witt Brothers can be this or an aversion, depending on whether or not their alerting the enemies is enough to throw player's plans into disarray, or if you're fine with letting them die in their suicidal assault.
• Unusable Enemy Equipment: Despite their very thin and limited supplies, cops can never take weapons and equipment from fallen enemies.
• Van in Black: They deliver enemy reinforcements to levels. Your own Firry-Cola van could count as a heroic inversion.
• Villainous Breakdown: As your campaign against him strikes more and more victories Zuev gets thrown more and more off-balance, gradually making increasingly irrational decisions and leaving himself open in the process. By the last mission he's nearly lost it, shooting corrupt cops protecting him along with your guys.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Zuev will attempt to flee the final mission on a helicopter.
• Welcome to Corneria: Your field units' barks don't have much variety, and will get old fast.
• With This Herring: When you begin your campaign to take Ripton back from Zuev you don't even have enough guns for all of your available cops. Good luck.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After assisting them in capturing Zuev, Jack Boyd turns on the Rebel Cops by wiping them and Zuev out after they've done all the work.