Capital city has a crime problem. Not a little problem, a big problem. Five of the worst gangs have laid siege to the city and conventional police tactics just aren't cutting the mustard. Enter the Pursuit Force, a team of obviously unbalanced Police men and women who's job it is to take down these gangs by any means necessary. Of course, it doesn't hurt that as a police officer, you don't have to be put on paid suspension when you are involved in a shooting. Instead, you are given rewards for blowing away the bad guys, civil rights be damned! I love this game.

Pursuit Force is somewhat of a hybrid game, not only do you chase down the bad guys in blistering racing sequences, but combat is also used as you actually jump form vehicle to vehicle while firing away with your hand-held weapon, smearing passengers and driver alike all over the interior of the vehicle only to toss their body out and assume control of said vehicle, then it's on to the next one. But there's oh-so-much more to it then this.

Can I see your license, registration and proof of insurance please?

You see the game isn't designed quite like other games that could be in this vein. No, as you play along in career mode, you will notice that there are two different gangs initially available with missions to complete. You must tackle a mission for one gang and then two on the other gang before any other missions are unlocked. This sounds fairly common, but where most games would have you tackling one gang from beginning to end, this title has you working your way through all the gangs bouncing from mission to mission involving the different gangs.

And just so we're clear, this isn't a one trick pony; the missions do vary and can be incredibly difficult. One mission may have you doing a simple (yeah right) outrun as you are trying to get a witness to the airport as mafia-types are trying to kill you. Another mission may have you racing along a river in a speedboat trying to thwart an assassination or stopping rampaging criminals from killing innocent people. The point is that this game never lets up. It's a full-tilt barn blazer, and those who like their action games with a lot of action would do well to pick this one up.

 
Nooooo.... Mine is faster.

The game looks really great, in fact I am somewhat surprised it isn't a PS2 title. The framerate is top notch and trust me, there is an awful lot going on when you are speeding at 100 mph. What I thought was kind of a nifty eye-catching tool was when you make the leap from one vehicle to another, you can fire your weapon at the occupants and the screen will go into slow motion, like an action movie. Some may say that this is a bit cheesy, but hey I thought it was cool looking and well implemented in a game that normally is going by at a very quick clip. The villains too look over the top evil, but I assume that this is what the programmers were trying for. I liked that they were varied with both their look and the nefarious deeds they were up to. The Mafia gang was into silencing witnesses and killing prominent heads of state where the Convict gang was more about causing anarchy and death. But more then that, the game has nice field of vision, good use of the horizon, really smooth looking cars and lots and lots of explosions, all accompanied by strong lighting effects.

Now when I play an action title, I think I look at how the sounds are used maybe a little harder then any other title since I like to go into these things thinking I am going to be part of a big budget action flick. Well, the game does not quite put me where I would like to be, but it isn't all that bad either. The voice acting of "the chief" is done with a fair amount of over-acting, but that's what I like. As far as the other sound effects, they aren't as big or booming as I would have liked them to be. I can recall on numerous occasions making a vehicle explode right in front of me and the end result not sounding as BIG as I thought it should have been.

 
Driver only carries $20 worth of ammunition.

As you play and complete the missions, you are given a score and a grade and as you get further, promotions are given to you allowing you to access more missions - it's all pretty standard fare. But as you beat the missions, vehicles and tracks are unlocked, which can be accessed when you play the game's Race or Time Trial modes. I thought it was funny that the game's manual speaks about how officers should be law abiding and beyond reproach when off-duty, then goes into how to race around town with no regard for safety.

Gameplay: 8.7
Well controlled, well-executed action title that features all sorts of vehicles to drive, courses to unlock and five really mean criminal gangs to take down.

Graphics: 8.9
Really strong visuals, complemented by easy-to-read health bars and other HUD information readily available. Vehicles, levels, gangs and even the cars all vary in appearanced; looks like a strong contender for action game of the season for PSP owners.

Sound: 7.5
While the voice acting is fun and over-the-top, the sound effects are a tad on the "light" side.

Difficulty: Hard
The first couple of levels are fairly easy, but then the game gets hard in a hurry and never lets up.

Concept: 8.0
I really thought the game did a good job of bridging several different styles of games, racing, action and even third-person adventuring at some points. If ever there was an action game that sounds like an 1980's action flick then this is it.

Overall: 8.6
The biggest problem with this game is that it has no sort of multiplayer capability, otherwise Pursuit Force is a heck of a good time to play; hard, but fun.