LA Cops review

[Administrator]

LA Cops has two very distinctive influences. One is the Beastie Boys iconic Sabotage video, an explosion of 1970s cop show cheese, all wide lapels, handlebar moustaches and aviator sunglasses, that sparked a million Student Union fancy dress club nights. The other is the nightmare of blood and depravity that is Hotline Miami, Dennaton Games' neon-hued top-down twitch classic. Spend just ten minutes with LA Cops and it's impossible to deny that both of those names must have dominated the early design discussions.
As in Hotline Miami, it's a frantic action game in which you move around from an overhead perspective, mouse-aiming at enemies in high-speed confrontations. You're playing as retro-styled detectives rather than a pig-masked sociopath, but the difference is largely cosmetic in terms of intent. There's no due process here - you open fire on everyone you see, even if means shooting them in the back with an Uzi. Get up close and a melee attack will arrest, rather than kill, your target but rare are the occasions where you're able to afford such namby pamby luxuries.
The key difference between LA Cops and its inspiration is that there are two characters in play. Cops enter each of the games eight missions (plus a sprinkling of bonus stages) as partners, and control can be switched between them as you advance through the level. Alternating control is a good way to fail, however. It's far smarter to position your partner where you need them, then call them into action. They'll automatically move towards the point you were aiming at, taking down any enemies that cross their path.
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