I’m not shy giving games a hard time for translating any possible game setting into shooting things as you travel from point A to B. That’s why it’s even more commendable that Beat Cop, a game about being a police officer patrolling the streets, explores so much more than handling a gun.
Not that Max Payne wasn’t fun or anything, but as Papers, Please! taught us, there’s a hidden depth to doing mundane things, in this case writing parking tickets and checking vehicles for bad tires. Just like with stamping passports, it’s all to support the feeling the protagonist finds himself in, as he is framed for murder and demoted from detective to being called a pig in the streets.
You’ve got 21 days to clear your name while at the same time trying not to fail your alimony payments or miss your quota of tickets. Yes, being a cop is much harder when you have the establishment weighing down on you.
I played the beta version through the first few days and it really has that 80s cop show vibe to it, police radio chatter included. There is so much happening that you’ll be glad you’ll get to play through it again and again and again as there are numerous possible endings and twists to the story.
Check out the trailer, it has everything I just said, but in a freakin rap song music video! WHOT! Definitely a contender for best game trailer ever.
How soon is soon? Very much so. Beat Cop will be available March 30th (Steam).
