This is the Police Review

It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate time for the release of This is the Police. However, like the game’s creators, I have no desire to make any political statements in this review. There are plenty of things about this game to discuss without broaching the subject of current events. It bears mentioning, however, that This is the Police does not shy away from the topics of racism, sexism, rape, corruption, terrorism, or other such atrocities. With this matter out of the way, let us begin to discuss the game itself.

As a combination visual novel and police management sim, This is the Police attempts valiantly to blend its gameplay with a strong narrative. At the outset, the player discovers that they are Jack Boyd, the sixty-year-old police chief of Freeburg. Jack has only 180 days remaining before the Mayor installs one of his family members as police chief. Immediately, we are shown just how unlikeable and corrupt Freeburg’s Mayor is, and this fact is hammered home early and often throughout the game. The visual novel portion kicks off the game and teaches us about Jack’s home life (or lack thereof) and his desire to track down his wife of many years. In addition, he bids farewell to his longtime deputy and begrudgingly welcomes a new, younger replacement. Boyd’s deputy has suspected ties to Freeburg’s mafia and, though he was acquitted, decides to step down and eventually flees the city. Indeed, Jack’s deputy was involved with the mafia and begs Jack to help him repay his debts. We are given reason enough to assist him, but the player is still presented with the option to do so. Choose to help, and Jack assumes his deputy’s debts and is now beholden to the Sand family mafia. Refuse, and the mafia calls on you anyway. Whatever you choose, you learn that Jack is focused most intently on making a cool $500k for his retirement fund, and the game allows Jack to do so in a variety of ways.

After the rather lengthy introduction and a short press conference, wherein the player can choose the responses to each question, the game switches to its management section. Each day, you must assign police to tasks that pop up throughout the city. Most of these are 911 calls that require your attention. Often, however, the Mayor will ask that you assist in less important matters. The mafia will also begin to ask for your officers’ precious time and attention. Of course, as with any management sim, the player will have to soon make tough choices. Do you prioritize one type of 911 call over another? Do you ignore the mayor’s pleas for assistance and instead help the mafia in order to make more money? What will you do when the mayor orders you to fire all of your black officers because of a death threat they’ve received? These ultimatums happen regularly, and provide the bulk of the game’s difficulty. Cutscenes occur with regularity as well, in between many of the “day” transitions.

As one might expect, each choice you make carries rewards and consequences. Support the mafia over the mayor? Make more money in the short run, but city hall cuts your budget and requires you to cut a space on your roster, reducing your effectiveness. Suck up to the vile and corrupt mayor? Money trickles in much more slowly, but you can choose a boon from the city each week, such as more staff or a fatter paycheck. Snub them both, and quickly realize how hard it is to operate with no money and a hampered police force.

Music and Sound

While this provides a general overview of the game, the strongest and weakest points of This is the Police are found in the specifics. First, let me say that the soundtrack is fantastic. Each day, the player may choose a record to place on the turntable (a cassette or CD later in the game). From funky jazz to soothing classical, these tracks are sure to combat the stress of your job. Chopin and Beethoven are on display here, along with the Pearce-Pickering Barrelhouse Band, along with a few soundscapes presented in the late game. The music selections fit both the style of the main character and that of the game perfectly.

Graphics and Design

This is the Police shows off a unique art style, most often on display during the "visual novel" portion of the game. It appears to be a mix of polygonal abstract and watercolor, with detail often missing from faces and limbs. Officer portraits, however, are fully formed. It's an art style that works well for the genre, and the minimalist style almost seems to speak to Jack's mental state throughout the story. I encountered no glitches or bugs with the artwork or scene transitions, and the cutscenes play out smoothly.

Writing and Story

The writing proves to be very strong during both the visual novel and management sections of the game. Each call or situation feels distinct, even if some are more detailed than others. Let it be known that if indeed each call is unique, then around one thousand or so calls are present. Sensitive subjects are on display throughout, as mentioned earlier, but each is handled in a very human or believable way. The corrupt mayor is a complete and utter scumbag, most certainly, yet his racism, sexism, and derision are tools that build him as your adversary from the start. Jack remains a tough guy throughout the narrative, regardless of how the player guides him. This makes it difficult for him to relate to his friends, and also impedes his ability to handle his addiction and health concerns. He’s a very well written character, even if he doesn’t change much based on the player’s input. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that he is played by Jon St. John, the much-beloved voice of Duke Nukem. Mr. St. John gives an indisputably stellar performance alongside many other very capable voice actors.

Gameplay

What’s more, I found the gameplay to be rewarding and enjoyable throughout most of the experience. Your officers, each rated by a score called Professionalism, are each unique with their own distinct names and portraits. Some days your officers will tell you they can’t come in, and it’s your job to decide whether to tell them to suck it up or give them the day off. You then select what you believe to be the best cops for the 911 calls as they come up, making sure to prioritize more serious or labor-intensive calls. Some will be fakes, but it’s often too difficult to guess. During some calls, your officers will phone back and ask for advice. The responses you can give range from the ridiculous (“pick up a stick and sword-fight the offender!”) to the proper and appropriate procedures (“draw down on the offender and tell them to drop the sword”). I found myself making up stories about my officers, and often sent them in specific pairs. My buddy cops were unstoppable, even if they required the assistance of the SWAT team on occasion. The only implied drawback here, which is felt relatively early, is that your officers do not have much personality, and you don’t interact with them outside of fielding their complaints, combatting their negative attitudes towards you, and sending them on assignments. I would have enjoyed seeing more interaction with these officers, even if such interaction would be somewhat unrealistic.

The player can also help solve crimes alongside your detectives. After dispatching a lead investigator to the crime scene, you get testimonies and “frames” (picture snapshots) that you use to put the events together. Get it right, catch the crook, and each of your involved detectives and officers get a Professionalism bonus. At a certain point, you’ll be investigating entire gangs from the ground up. You even have the chance to help the Feds catch a serial killer that comes to town, which proves to be a very rewarding experience.

Though the game does its best to not date itself too specifically, one can presume that the game does not take place before the mid-80’s (when cell phones and CDs saw widespread commercial release). Civil demonstrations occur in support of equality in all forms, combatting sexism, racism, LGB discrimination, and even ageism. All the while, the mayor hands down mandates requiring that you support his regressive and self-serving agenda. Here, dear reader, is where the fatal flaw in the game’s design maligns what would otherwise be an overall positive experience.

Final Thoughts

As the player’s sense of morality and ethics guides them away from the mayor, so too does the game punish them. As stated above, the player loses access to officers and detectives each time city hall decides you haven’t been doing a good enough job. This judgement is based on several factors, including how successful you were in handling crime throughout the city, whether you declined to complete mandates from the mayor, and how often civilians and officers were killed. With each mistake, another slot on your roster is lost. With each lost slot, more 911 calls and mandates from the mayor will be failed. A vicious cycle begins.

During my playthrough, I noticed this cycle relatively early in the game. At that point, however, it was too late to stop it. I simply could not do my job as police chief and keep up with the mayor’s deplorable demands. I continued to lose officers and detectives until, around day 101 out of 180, I had zero remaining staff. The game did not seem to notice this, however. The next day began, and the whole shift played out without my involvement. There was no mention of the FPD having no officers whatsoever. At that point, I was simply amused. I let several days play out in the same way, until at a certain point, the mayor called again saying – surprise – the police department was not doing a great job. He cut my staff yet again. This time, however, I didn’t have anyone to cut. No “Game Over” screen flashed, nor did an alert box pop up. The game simply asked me to cut a member of the staff. I clicked everywhere on the screen and nothing happened. I tried to reload the game to see if I encountered a bug. The same events transpired in the same order. I had lost the game without actually losing the game. I was then about 11 hours into the experience and quite close to the game’s prescribed end point. Suffice to say, I ended my playthrough then and there.

I did not make too many errors throughout the game. I was generally successful in sending my officers to combat crime, even if I did occasionally assist the mafia. The game does allow you to reload any previous week, but because I did not support the mayor from the beginning, I would be just as well off restarting the game from scratch. All in all, by failing to capitulate to the demands of a disgusting despot, I set myself up for failure and, far more disappointingly, an unsatisfying end to an otherwise satisfying experience. While not everyone will have this same experience, I imagine many will.

In my humble opinion, This is the Police can and will be a fine game, just as soon as this important issue is fixed in some way. Though it is not necessarily my place to do so, I would like to offer the suggestion of including an option to allow the player to take a pay cut in their weekly salary instead of firing an employee, or instead allow the player to hire and pay their officers directly. I could certainly afford to do so towards the end. At the very least, the game should provide a “Game Over” screen and a brief wrap up in order to provide some sense of closure to the player’s very personal experience. Regardless, in its current state, I cannot in good conscience recommend this title for its full asking price of $14.99. I do, however, highly recommend that you keep an eye on this title for updates, especially if you like great narrative, amazing voice acting, and intriguing management sims.