The Precinct is an indie recreation with ambition. Its fictional Eighties setting of Averno Metropolis is an enjoyably advanced little sandbox, presenting gamers with an infinite provide of procedurally generated crimes that should be stopped from a top-down perspective, harking back to outdated Grand Theft Auto video games.
You play as rookie cop Nick Cordell, who’s surrounded by a solid of endearingly cliche characters, starting from hardboiled detectives to comically evil criminals. Nick’s on the path of his father’s killers, you see, however the one method he is cracking that case is by hitting the streets.
To be clear, you are not enjoying The Precinct for its story. Plot factors are dished out by static, portrait-driven dialogue scenes, and though the writing’s fairly snappy and entertainingly schlocky at instances, narrative rigidity is not actually what the sport’s going for.
The primary story performs out in chunks, with new missions unlocking everytime you rack up sufficient proof whereas out in your commonplace patrols. It is a respectable construction given how dynamic these patrols might be, however the grind for proof — which drops at random as you full aims — does begin to really feel a bit tedious in the direction of the top of this 10-ish hour marketing campaign.
However as talked about, the title’s sandbox leanings are on the forefront of the expertise. Every in-game day begins with Nick and his beat companion Kelly selecting a patrol route and fixing crimes inside the space. Once more, the crimes themselves are procedurally generated; one minute you are issuing a parking ticket, the following you are chasing down armed financial institution robbers.
The entire system feels impressively alive and fluid. Whether or not you are driving down the freeway or hoofing it by alleyways, you will be alerted to close by disturbances — after which you have to attempt to do issues by the guide.
Image this: you hit your sirens on somebody suspected of dashing. They pull over, you get them organized out of their automotive, and run by the standard procedures; a background test on their ID, a breathalyser take a look at. They’re clear and it is trying like a simple superb, however then you definitely ask them to pop their trunk — and guess what? They dive again into their automobile and bomb off down the highway.
A automotive chase ensues, and after requesting some help — or perhaps even a spike strip — the escapee’s able to name it quits. You slap the cuffs on them, discover some narcotics of their trunk, after which work your method by the sport’s costs menu. You guide ’em for possession of unlawful items, dashing, and, after all, evading arrest.
All of this occurs within the house of about two minutes, and that is what makes The Precinct such a moreish recreation. Any of the components we simply described can change on the fly — each crime’s completely dynamic, and by paying consideration and slapping suspects with the right costs, you are awarded further expertise factors upon ending your patrol.
And naturally, callouts do not all the time go so easily. When firearms are concerned, you are given license to make use of deadly drive, by way of the title’s twin-stick taking pictures mechanics. Though we want that the quilt system was a bit extra concerned — you may solely get behind waist-high objects, for some motive — the gunplay is surprisingly tense and lethal, even on the default problem setting.
On that notice, we should always level out simply how technical The Precinct feels. Due to its branching crime mechanics, the controls do take a bit getting used to. Between remembering totally different button prompts for sure actions and navigating the assorted charge-related choices by way of the aforementioned menus, there’s rather a lot to maintain observe of.
However as soon as you’ve got received the cling of issues, the sport’s well-balanced mixture of pretty commonplace policework and full-on cop film motion makes for a delightfully enjoyable sandbox. Everytime you depart the station to begin your shift, you simply by no means fairly know what you are going to encounter.
As with all sandbox title value its salt, there’s potential for hilarity on the streets of Averno Metropolis. When you’re supposed to attempt to function like RoboCop and observe the legislation to the letter, there’ll, inevitably, be instances when the whole lot goes to sh*t and all you are able to do is snigger within the face of catastrophe.
Certainly, NPC AI might be brilliantly reactive, leading to a form of domino impact the place whole neighbourhoods devolve into chaos. Firefights, for instance, can spill out onto highways, the place criminals might be mistakenly mowed down by oncoming visitors.
Abruptly, each driver within the neighborhood begins to panic, pedestrians are working for pricey life from rogue autos, and you have no selection however to only watch in awe as automobiles pile up on the nearest intersection. Your goal’s a complete bust — you may’t arrest a highway stain — however you may’t presumably be mad about it.
Conclusion
The Precinct is a powerful sandbox romp. Fueled by a dynamic crime system that gives up hours of enjoyable, bite-sized aims, it is a very tough recreation to place down. Each patrol is totally different, and though tedium does begin to set in because the marketing campaign approaches its conclusion, it is nonetheless simple to understand the intricate and tight design of this ode to outdated cop films.