Police 911

""We Thank You For Having Such a Devotion to Stopping Crime!""

Police 911 2 is one of my most favourite arcade games of all time, and every time an arcade has one in it, I spend a great deal of time (and coin!) Playing it, as it is a great game, and a great workout! It's predecessor, Police 911, laid the groundwork for the fantastic game that its sequel is, though it is just as good as the sequel. Well, maybe a touch below, however it is still a great game, and again, a great workout. Game play will let you know more.

Game play: 9/10

Motion Capture (MoCap from here on out) technology is a great bit of technology, that really turned me on to this game more so than anything else. I found that with Police 911, there is less ducking and such than in its sequel, however there is still a fair amount of ducking and weaving that has to be done. The difficulty level is also not as tough as the sequel, though I guess to those who are not especially proficient at the game, that should not be a problem. In Police 911, you battle the Gokudo-kai in two locations, the first being in Los Angeles (I believe, that cabinet was not too loud), the second in Japan (I prefer Japan personally, it looks much better). While the game is suited more to those who are not in shape compared to the sequel, it still makes for a good workout, (if you want to use the game for that purpose) and as a result, the game is simpler than its sequel, as you can stand up for longer periods of time without having get out of the way as quickly and the like. As for the rest of the game, it plays like a great gun-fighter, with melee enemies, automatic firing enemies, and the innocent bystanders, who never get out of the way, and who make you wonder why they are amongst criminals in the first place. SO the game play is great, how about the story?

Story: 9/10

The Gokudo-kai are a small-time criminal outfit in Los Angeles, and when the police force is dispatched to take them down, the bigger picture reveals that they are also a large criminal organization in Japan as well. As the game progresses, so does the story. Graphics will be covered next.

Graphics: 9/10

While still being crisp and vivid, Police 911 is not as good looking as its sequel, which looked fantastic. The cop that you are looks fairly generic, and he walks with a funny animation (though the animation bit has more to do with programming than graphics). The enemies look the same as they do in the sequel, though not as detailed, however that makes no difference as they still look good. The backgrounds are look different and detailed, though, again, they look very generic and normal. Other than that, not much else to say, on to sounds.

Sounds: 10/10

A voice fills you in on the story as you progress throughout the game, as well as cop voices that explain to you as you progress, certain, "goings on," in the city that you are in (where the gang has just taken something over, how many people are with the boss, etc.). The great death sounds are here, as well as the obligatory, "officer down!" There is no music, though a game like this does not require music.

Cab: 10/10

MoCap cabinets look incredible, with the bars for sound, and the bars for the motion capture technology itself. The screen is nice and big, and the buttons are well placed, so when it comes time to inputting another credit, you do not have to move too much, or bend down too much to put the credit in. All in all, Police 911 has a fantastic cabinet!

MoCap games are a lot of fun, and provide a fantastic workout, and Police 911 is no exception. While it is a shade below its sequel in almost every category,it still is a fantastic arcade game, one that I will be coming back to for a long time. "Officer Down!"

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/09

Game Release: Police 24/7 (EU, 2001)