Police 911

"Any more realistic and you'd need a bulletproof vest!"

When I walked into my arcade recently, I noticed a new game with the words 'Police' on it. Nope, it wasn't Police Trainer! This one looked different. Then I got closer and saw that it was called 'Police 911!' I had read about it, but never actually thought it would come out over here. So I popped in a few tokens and after a few moments, I was not only breathtaken, but out of breath as well!

Graphics: 10/10
Extremely realistic! When a bad guy gets their weapon shot out of their hand, they'll run for cover, and if they get hit, they'll go down, but they won't disappear! Depending on how you move, the scenery reacts accordingly. You'll even see things like splattering wine and bullet holes depending on how close or far you are! Although no blood is spilled, the graphics are very realistic. What's real cool is how when a bullet comes at you or you get shot, everything blurs and goes slow-motion kind of like the Matrix!

Sounds: 10/10
Gunshots echo out in full sound, and you'll hear chatter over police radio, including 'Officer down!' when you get hit. If you don't hit a living person, depending on the surface you hit, you'll hear a proper reaction, meaning that bottles shatter, metal clinks, and so forth. When you do hit someone, they'll show their reaction vocally!

Controls: 10/10
It seems like Time Crisis, and it is like it in some ways, but there's no action pedal (unless Konami wanted to get sued by Namco!) Instead, the cabinet has a special mat which acts as a playing area. This way, while the player stays within the area, the motion sensors can read his/her every movement, so if you see a criminal about to shoot at you, you actually have to duck down, dodge sideways, or a combination of both! It sounds simple, but if you're out of shape, you won't get very far! After one game, my legs felt like rubber (goes to show you what too many games can to do you!) Another interesting thing is the fact that the term 'life' is actually used appropriately. When you're hit, your officer goes down for the count. Of course, another will replace him if you've got extra lives.

Replay: 10/10
Each scene (basically set of criminals) lasts slightly longer than Time Crisis standards. After each scene, you'll get a brief synopsis of your ranking. Do good enough and you get promoted. If you die, you return to the lowest rank. If you hit an innocent or your comrades, you are demoted. As you improve your rank, you earn bonuses like extra time (yes, there's a time limit in this game!) and extra lives. If you can get to the highest rank, Commissioner, there's a prize that I'm sure every player would love! Also, just because they look easy doesn't mean they aren't. If you can see them while you're hiding, odds are they can see you, meaning that you may have to lean over a little more!

Overall: 10/10
The action pedal was interesting enough, but now we have motion sensory which puts us one step further into the gameplay, starting with Police 911! The ability to manually hide and attack makes it so realistic that if it were any more real, you'd probably need a bulletproof vest!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/01, Updated 07/16/01