Simple Series Review: Police Chase Down

Game: Police Chase Down
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Tamsoft
Release Date: 17th February 2004

It's been a while since I last played a game from the Simple Series, but having found this gem recently I couldn't resist giving it a try. Players are challenged to take the role of a motorcycle cop protecting a VIP inside of a limousine which is under attack from bad guys on bikes and in vans. There are 10 missions in total which are set across the 3 locations featured; City, Highway and Desert. While there's a different road layout for each mission, the developers could clearly have tried a little harder with the theme of each locale.

Controlwise the game doesn't make it easy for players; steering wavers between complete understeer and turning on a dime, making any precision driving difficult, and all 4 of the featured characters bikes are slow to accelerate. Shooting is controlled with the R1 button, but it's anybody's guess as to where your character will want to aim; sometimes it's at the target, other times there's a strange curve on your bullets and it's hard to hit anything. Luckily motorcyclists can be knocked off their bikes with a simple collision and even the vans can be defeated with enough hits.

Graphically the game appears to use the same engine and assets as Motorbike King in some parts, and the overall quality is on par with that game (which is to say it's pretty bad). There's nothing particularly unforgivable in the visual department, but the animation and general feel is cheap as ever. Soundwise generic rock music is used to accompany the gameplay, which works stylistically but doesn't add much to the overall experience, especially as many annoying sound effects play over the top of the music, to alert players to anything and everything the game considers important.

Overall, with only the one mode to choose from (unless you count Result Mode, where players can see the grades they attained on previous missions), Police Chase Down is a classic example of a Simple Series game. Very little gameplay, fiddly controls, and an overall cheap feel. The difficulty isn't too high, but there are some moments when enemies pull out guns which can do a lot of damage, or you're asked to clear mines from in front of the limo that can be frustrating. On the whole, I'd avoid any Simple Series games as a rule, but this one is at least playable... for 10 minutes or so.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E