Strategy First seems to have a penchant for turn based games, and COPS continues this paradigm by delivering a tactical, turn based strategy set in a high-tech future metropolis.



Now, I would love to say that COPS represents a technological leap in tactical strategy or that is was outstandingly crafted with a taut plotline and compelling characters. But the truth is that COPS just doesn? live up to the marketing fluff.

On the positive notes, I believe that Mist Lands may have a real future as a solid developer. The code is tight and well implemented. In all my play time I didn? find a single anomaly or bug that disrupted my gameplay or distracted me in any way, except one. Not a terribly big deal and it did not affect my game rating but when I initially started the game I had some real issues with flicker, but after adjusting the game settings I was able to obtain a refresh rate that eliminated the problem and provided smooth graphics and gameplay.

Not only did the developer provide clean code, but they also dished up a really well envisioned cityscape. The urban landscape, architecture, vehicles and plethora of other common inner city objects are artfully crafted and evoke a real cyberpunk feel. The type of place you would expect to find depicted in any of the fine novels by William Gibson or Philip K. Dick.



Let me point out that I am not comparing COPS to the works of these paragons of science fiction literature. These titans of text set a standard that few, if any, have ever matched but all have striven to attain. They are the gods of cyberpunk and it is in their universe that COPS seeks to play.

And falls short. COPS puts the player into the role of a multi-generational line of career officers who is just starting her career. Not a bad setup, if bland and overused, but the role you are assigned simply possesses no character or depth. Like the city and the other officers on her squad, the lead character has a name. But I never bothered to learn or remember any of them. For me they never became more important than the weapons they used or the armor they wore.

That? not say that they didn? try to establish a story, or to drive a plot. For from it. During the course of the game, as you travel from mission to mission, you are often presented with a series of dialogs from teammates and other personalities that seek to establish not only the current situation, but to show that your character is an honest and forthright upholder of the law. The problem isn? with the intent, but the execution. The character types are not new but tired NYPD Blue retreads. And the lackluster dialog is not done any favors by some astonishing inferior voice acting. In fact, the voices became annoying enough that I simply turned the sound off.

The only analogy I can provide that might put this in context would be to imagine cheap, direct-to-cable, science fiction movie with a mediocre script, shallow characters, low production quality and a wooden lead. Hey, isn? that Johnny Mnemonic?



The lead gets to recruit officers to her team and one cool aspect of this is that you can visit the armory and customize the kit for each of the team members as well as move items between team members. This allows the player to create a custom team with just the right gear to fit whatever tactics you may need to handle any scenario.

However, all this menu work exposes another failing for COPS. The interface itself isn? bad, though it could have used some polish, but the text of the menus is small and blurry, a fact punctuated by an odd color choice that had the overall effect of making everything difficult to read. Additionally, the images used in the interface to represent simple objects, such as weapons and armor, are really disappointing.

From a tactical and strategy aspect, COPS isn? bad. It won? win any awards for innovation but it truly does provide ample opportunities for stretching a players tactical and strategy talents. Most strategy gamers will have player similar fare. Each team member can move a certain distance and perform certain actions during a turn. You position your team to take advantage of obstacles and objects and to put the proper unit in the best place to take advantage of their skills and weaponry. Once you?e performed your actions or moved your units, you end your turn and wait for the computer to do the same.

Obtaining proper position and familiarity with the abilities of all the team members is critical because the enemy is highly capable and well armed. These miscreants run the range of predictable stereotypes; combat oriented robots, cyber enhanced thugs, etc. When you and your team hit the scene it is typically, as you might imagine, chaos. Any officers on scene may provide some clues as to where the enemy might be located but too often I found myself searching the area and often engaging them with my units out of position.



Gamers who just happen to be both cyberpunk freaks and strategy addicts might find some real value from COPS, but overall this is a very disappointing title that most gamers would be better to pass on.