(Review) Beat Cop
If you’ve ever wanted to relive an 80’s cop drama in a pixelated-game form… well then Beat Cop is really the only option I can think of. There’s a lot more than pushing paper and walking around to do in New York especially when you’ve just got demoted from Detective Jack Kelley to Street Cop. and it seems that someone high up has it out for you! Writing tickets? You bet! Chasing perps? You bet x2! Can you eat donuts? Actually yes… yes you can. Is Beat Cop fun though? Let me break it down for you.
No matter what you may think from the title of the game, Beat Cop isn’t a rhythm game. As a cop walking the proverbial beat, there are tasks assigned to you daily. Every day starts in the precinct with back and forth banter from fellow officers about cases, sex, being fat and your boss hating you. So usual workplace talk and shenanigans. After you get your daily assignments, you head out for the day. You find out that there are two main power players on your beat. You’ve got a gang called the Darkies and the Mafia. You can help or hinder whichever side you want. You can help both if you want. Myself, I chose to hinder both and arrest everyone that is committing a felony because: Justice! My inner paladin was mostly satisfied. I would be happier if I could hassle the Mafia more, but they do things behind the scenes and it’s harder to catch them.
Beat Cop can get repetitive at times. At its core, Beat Cop is a point and click adventure. Back and forth on your patrol you’ll be left-clicking to walk and pick things up and double left-clicking to run to make an arrest or beat the clock for an errand. Honestly, the simplicity is nice at first, but it does start to drag. The main story happens during your beat, but only at given points in time. That makes sense, but if you’re wanting to know what’s next in the Jake Kelley saga you’ll need to continue to play through your cop routine. That means more tickets, walking about, checking on people, escorting others and more tickets. I was starting to get burned out. I understand that there’s more to being a cop than just arresting criminals and shooting your gun, but come on… this is a videogame! Take it slow is my advice though. Take on a day or two at a time and then come back later that day or the next and it helps keep things fresh while not hitting on that repetitive nerve.
Further Reading on Beat Cop: Facebook / Official Page / Steam / Twitter
