Pursuit Force

"In pursuit of a good action game."

Wow, did this fly in under the radar. I was entirely convinced my PSP library for 2006 would consist almost solely of Capcom (Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, Mega Man: Powered Up, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Capcom Classic Collection Remixed, etc.) and Konami (Gradius Collection, Suikoden I & II, Metal Gear Ac!d 2, etc.). Then Pursuit Force came out of nowhere and forced me to reevaluate my attitude towards original games for Sony's portable machine.

The plot for Pursuit Force is fairly straight forward- You play a nearly over-the-edge cop in the crime wave-gripped Capital City. To combat the deadly gangs that are taking over the metropolis, the Chief creates a new division called Pursuit Force headed by you- a no-fear, ruthless cop willing to take risks and bust heads in the name of justice. So maybe a page or two was borrowed out of the generic action playbook, but it's enough to get the game going and carry it through to the end.

When I first saw Pursuit Force in motion I knew it was setting a benchmark by which all future action/shooters on the PSP would be measured. An adrenaline-fueled game like this needs to be fast and have a clean frame-rate that can keep up with the action. Thankfully, Pursuit Force more than delivers while managing to offer crisp, detailed graphics and a fairly hefty draw distance. I won't lie and say it's perfect... but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

The game's audio is a mixed bag: On one hand, the voice acting is about as cheesy and over-the-top as it gets. Seriously, it reminds me of a badly dubbed anime, but it is done with such gusto you can't help but applaud Pursuit Force for its efforts. On the other hand, the music is done rather nicely, adding a mix of great pacing and tension to the gameplay. The sound effects are fairly commonplace but the sample quality is nice, so overall, nothing to complain about.

Intuitive is the best word I can think of to describe Pursuit Force's control. All you have to worry about is acceleration, braking, shooting and a handy, do-all action button that let's you dodge enemy attacks or leap through the air to take the attack to them. The actual control is, for the most part, spot-on, with some vehicles controlling better than others (though I confess the boats took a bit of getting used to). I like that the game isn't all vehicular action- there are also first person shooting sequences and on-foot missions to shake things up a bit, which can be a welcome relief from some of the tougher cases.

The actual game design is simple, yet still manages to refine what similar titles before it have achieved. While missions may seem to be broken down into linear, objective-based levels, the variety of ways you can achieve your goals is where the real fun takes place. The ability to leap from vehicle to vehicle during the chase sequences makes for a far more exciting gameplay mechanic than shooting them from the safety of your car. Being rewarded for not harming civilians is a clever way to pull off some spectacular stunts or save for a quick nitro boost if you prey has gotten to far ahead of you. The end result of all this careful game design is you decide the style that best suits you to complete the mission.

Pursuit Force, unfortunately, doesn't have any real secrets. When you complete certain missions with a high enough rank, you are rewarded with cheats (some helpful, some not) that have the negative effect of not being able to actually complete a mission while you've got them turned on, so they are there mainly for fun. You can also unlock races, time trials and images, but as the races and time trials don't offer anything new, you are mainly doing it for the sake of completing the game and giving yourself an extra challenge.

If you've been looking for yet another reason to play your PSP, look no further than Pursuit Force. It's a surprising action game that melds several traditional gameplay elements while adding a refreshing twist to what has become a stale genre. Even if you don't think this game is for you, find someone who owns it and give it a try- you just might find yourself surprised (as I most certainly was).

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/09

Game Release: Pursuit Force (US, 03/07/06)