Playing cops in games is nothing particularly new. Back in the heyday of arcades, we had games like APB and Chase H.Q, not to mention lightgun classics Virtua Cop and Time Crisis. The former were mostly tongue-in-cheek and shared the same characteristic as the rest: you only focused on one aspect of police work and in quite exaggerated fashion. For that reason, The Precinct caught my eye as it looked like something much more involved, and after dabbling with it, it didn’t stray too far from that initial impression.
Filling in the boots of a rookie fresh off the academy, you have the dire job of living up to your deceased father’s famed career as a police chief. You start off low in the totem pole and gradually make your way through the ranks as you investigate leads into those who might be behind your dad’s killing, all the while having to deal with the internal politics of fictional Averno City’s best.
The Precinct is played from an overhead view and the gameplay structure is stiff at first, but gradually opens up to reveal more of the town and other activities you can partake in as a badge day-by-day. It’s a game that has you going through the stuff that a normal beat cop would go through and in that it’s got a very 1990s’ action movie style to it – insofar that you get into a gunfight with bank robbers on your very first day at the job.
You’ll be tasked with taking down traffic law offenders, for instance, by patrolling the streets in search of speeders, or simply watching parking meters so you can issue tickets, while at other opportunities, there might be a drug bust just waiting to happen, requiring you do read a suspect’s rights, checking their I.D and possessions, before eventually arresting them.
In that, The Precinct does a good job at spreading your character all over town, and showing you the ropes so when the story opens up and gives you room to breathe, you’re able to hit the ground running. And in that, it gives you enough variety to keep your days fresh and somewhat interesting. Then again, there’s only so much that can be done running around and driving.
Then again, even when going behind the wheel, it’s not always of a car, but of a helicopter. The controls are pretty basic and there’s not nearly as much nuance as in older overhead GTAs, though. At all times, The Precinct gives you just enough to get from point A to B, and the chaos that is wrought along the way is brushed aside in favor of keeping things moving. Shooting is particularly stiff and has you awkwardly taking cover in between shots and fumbling for extra ammo in conspicuously placed boxes that just happen to be close to wherever a firefight is scripted to take place in.
There are no rampages to speak of as the game tends to stick close to its serious tone, very rarely giving way to some personality from secondary characters in the story. In that, you’ll know where it all might end up when it comes to the protagonist’s motivations and his search for the truth, but that’s not really a bad thing per se as The Precinct’s ambitious in control: just high enough as an action-heavy with loose ties to actual reality of police work.
In terms of presentation, it’s a decent looking game. The city looks grimy and lived in, and technically it performs well, with little to no drops in framerate. There’s a simplicity when it comes to the dialogue scenes that works well without skimping on the voice acting, which is decent enough. The one part of the package that you might find lacking is the score, which is very contained and to-the-point. There are no memorable pieces to be had.
While not having any particularly noteworthy qualities, The Precinct does what it aims to do satisfyingly well. Now, whether or not you are interested in living the life of an up and coming police officer in a very videogame-y manner will be the deciding factor in giving this one a try. The closest comparison you could make is Beat Cop, which came out a few years ago. That one had a more open premise and twists to what is otherwise way more straightforward in this. It’ll ultimately depend on what you are looking to experience, really.
