Police Simulator: Patrol Officers takes you through the real-life experiences of an officer.
Have you ever wanted to know what being a police officer is about? You probably know a few bits and bobs here and there. But have you ever wanted to know what really goes on in the police force and how they go about things on a day-to-day basis? If your answer is yes, then the brand-new game Police Simulator: Patrol Officers might be able to provide the answers you are looking for.
It is one of the toughest, most demanding professions, being a police officer. Every day their bodies are being put on the line, and risking their lives to keep their communities safe from criminals. Are you able to handle the everyday duties of an officer? Well, you might be able to get that opportunity because Police Simulator: Patrol Officers aims to give you the experience you’ve always wanted. However, will the game give you the desired working experience? That is the question.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers tasks you with the responsibilities of patrolling the open world districts of Brighton. You are given a series of shifts to do, and it should motivate you to complete them accordingly. That means you have to let your superiors acknowledge that you are up to the job.
However in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, you are also given the free will to abuse your power, and it is strongly advised that you go against the corrupt aspects of the profession. Plus, it would be dishonorable. This is where you use your moral compass and be hard but firm and fair when fighting for justice and claiming order, and you can show your friendly side by responding positively to greetings from civilians. If you need more incentive, then here it is. How you deal with crimes strongly impacts your stats.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers gives you a handful selection of officers to choose from. Of course, they are a mixture of males and females, and each person is from a different ethnicity so that nails the diversity. Albeit, it would’ve been much better for you to create and customize your own officer instead.
You are constantly challenged to uphold the law and handle crimes, depending on their nature. Ranging from simply letting them off with a warning, or having concluded that handcuffing them would be the more appropriate action to take. Whatever it may be, you have many different alternatives, and that is pretty flexible.
Here’s the kicker, it’s not just the streets you have to worry about. It’s also what goes on from the inside. After your shifts, you can view all of the reports taken from your cases and evaluate them. A finely implemented intuition system lets you gather clues and other important information when solving cases.
You don’t only have to go on foot; patrol the streets of Brighton in vehicles that will get you from A to B. Yes, that includes the nice-looking unlockable urban terrain vehicle-free DLC. Which, by the way, drives better than the standard versions when in use. Throughout the time you are in your transport, you are able to do almost everything you can do when on foot. That includes monitoring license plates.
The car makes a very loud siren to make others aware of your presence providing more space for you to take in miscreants back to the station, and it feels fun doing it, too. But if you feel it’s absolutely necessary, you can call for backup and have them take the unlawful to the lockup or tow cars due to situations such as emitted smoke.
Like any other game involving vehicles, you have the privilege of driving in either first or third person in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers. If you choose to steer in the former, you can also view the integrated sat nav that pinpoints your current location. Plus, you can view the police computer. This is one of the times when this game makes you feel like an actual officer.
But you shouldn’t have to fight crimes on your own. You can take advantage of the two-player co-op feature with a friend and arrest the bad guys together. And you will somewhat realize that it is more enjoyable that way. You know the saying, two heads are better than one. Although, sometimes, it is a struggle to get into lobbies because of the laggy servers.
The developer has done very well in meeting their primary objective, and the developer teaches you to place your authority on those unwilling to comply with the law. But does the gameplay match the developer’s ambitions? Unfortunately, not. Well, not entirely, anyway.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers displays some promising features, there’s so much to do, especially when undertaking more serious shifts and cases and it’s quite fun. However, the content is very limited. There’s only one playable mode available, and even in that one, it isn’t necessarily worthy of grinding.
There’s also a news section where you’re kept up to date on frequent updates that refer to the game and if there are any changes made. Other than that, the game has nothing much else to offer. Occasionally, you’d find that you’ll have more pleasure in patrolling whilst free roaming to boost your credit than doing the objectives mainly because most of them don’t feel rewarding.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers sure do have very slow and tedious mechanics. This is one of the biggest letdowns and probably the key reason why most players won’t play this game for too long. There is no point in altering the options, it doesn’t improve things that much. You could say the real highlight is the selection wheel of actions to perform when engaging civilians and vehicles; you won’t have any problems with that.
Sadly the visuals of Police Simulator: Patrol Officers aren’t top-notch. In fact, they’re worse. They’re not even PlayStation 4 standard. Playing on a 4K monitor doesn’t help much either. And the animations do close to nothing to support the mediocre mechanics. The movements of the officers and civilians feel completely robotic; the same goes for their speech. And there are bugs and glitches that you simply cannot ignore, even if you tried.
Cars go right through you and sometimes, textures don’t load properly, especially when inside a vehicle, sometimes it’s troublesome responding to civilians, and this is just to name a few.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers definitely displays some positives to pose as a potential, but it is in dire need of updates to address the issues preventing the game from reaching it. As of now, this is one of those games where you have some fun but then leave it after a while and come back to it whenever you feel you have nothing better to do.
On the flip side, this game provides a good learning experience, and it can also be used as a practice tool for those who are actually seeking a real-life profession in the field.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows. Also, follow our website for the latest video game reviews.
