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| | Title:
The Shield: The Game
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System:
Playstation 2
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Genre:
Action
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Publisher:
Aspyr
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Developer:
Point of View, Inc.
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Release:
01/09/2007
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Mature (M)
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Vic Mackey is one of television’s most dominating cops, hands down. His tactics are always questionable, and the results aren’t always in the best interest of all parties. Nevertheless, Vic and his Strike Team [usually] pull through whatever vices have a grip on them. Only this time, Vic and his squad couldn’t muster through the 15 missions and 33 interactive scenarios to save this game from an early grave to the bargain bin.
The story in the game follows the latter season’s exploits, after Vic and the gang have taken their “fair” share from the infamous money train. Yet with heat from the higher-ups bearing down on his squad, and several of his members wanting to transfer to another station (and get away from all the heat), Vic is left to do one thing: the right thing. He tells the Chief that if he and his men can make one good clean bust, they’re worthy of staying on the force. So, players are tasked with carrying out Vic’s promise of making one “clean” bust on a gun ring. There’s one problem, though, everything that the Strike Team does…is anything but clean.
Players are thrust from one situation to the next, taking on all the perils of living the risky (and rarely rewarding) life of Vic Mackey. To ensure that Vic has a suitable stash – for when it’s time to get out of the business – players can “keep” evidence as a way to add to his retirement fund. Otherwise, players can turn evidence in to lower the “heat” that the Strike Team has on them. In other words, every time you commit a crime in the game, the “heat” meter goes up and once it’s full, Vic and his team are history. So turning in evidence is a surefire way of keeping the higher-ups off the backs’ of Vic and his men.
Now in theory, that entire setup might seem interesting. Running around town trying to uncover a gun ring at any cost – while trying to stay out of trouble with the Chief of police – might seem kind of cool. However, the melding just doesn’t go over as well as it should. The entire gameplay setup is much more adventure-oriented rather than run-and-gun. Hence, gamers spend a lot of time investigating scenarios and interrogating suspects, yet the danger is always seemingly minimal. In a way, the entire pace of the game is almost like Indigo Prophecy. And that wouldn’t have been bad…had it not been an action game.
One of the good things about the game, though, is that the interrogation parts are somewhat interesting. Even though many of the “techniques” look the same, players can smash suspects’ faces onto the top of a stove, drown them in a toilet, or grate their heads onto a dog cage – and that’s just to name a few. Players can also punch suspects, or handcuff them and beat on them (because if a suspect isn’t handcuffed there’s the high possibility of getting beat up by them). Suspects can also be threatened simply by bringing out Vic’s gun, but you can bet that it’ll cause panic amongst everyone in the room. Occasionally players must interrogate suspects without physically leaving any marks, because otherwise they might file a complaint. Hence, various alternative means of interrogation must be employed to ensure that the point is put across without physical damage being visible. It’s these schemes that keep the game (or Vic) from falling flat on its face.
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