HALT! This is the Police 2 comes to PC (Consoles Later 2018)

Updated August 10, 2018

By: GeekyGamerGirl87

Developed by Weappy Studio and published by THQ Nordic, This is the Police 2 is the sequel to the hit Indie Adventure game This is the Police. I will admit I did not know what to expect when I first was offered the game code from the developers as I have never played This is the Police. However, I will say that I was intrigued by the art style of the game and the name caught my attention. After playing the game, I can honestly say I wish that I did play the first game because since playing This is the Police 2, I find myself having a hard time pulling myself away from the game. Every time I stop playing the game, I think about it and next thing I know I am on my PC  playing even more. Before I begin my review, I would like to take this moment to thank both Weappy Studio for creating this masterpiece and THQ Nordic for publishing this game. I would also like to thank them for providing me with a free copy of the Steam version of the game. It is because of them providing me with the code that I can review this excellent game.

One of the first things that drew me into the game was the art style of the game. What intrigues me about the art style – if you would give me the pleasure of being a bit nerdy for a moment— is that it gives me a sense of the art style of Expressionism and I happen to like that art style a lot. I love the technique that has been used on the artwork and the fact that none of the characters have faces drew me further into the game. The game also has a great storyline as well.

The game starts off introducing you to Lilly, who is the newly appointed sheriff of Sharpwood’s Police Department. She is given this position after the former sheriff is killed in the line of duty. Lilly, although the sheriff; is seen to be taking as a joke and I don’t think it’s because she is a woman. I’m sure most people will say it is since she is a woman, as the guys from the station give her a little trouble from time to time. However, I strongly believe she is taking more so as a joke because she lacks confidence in her abilities of being the Sheriff of police. Instead of being a stern and aggressive Sheriff. She tends to be laid back, timid and soft spoken and has a hard time taking charge of situations. Therefore, because she doesn’t insert dominance; it causes others to think of her as a joke. This comes up in a few situations involving her that I will not go into full detail about as I really do not want to spoil the game for you all. I can honestly say  I really felt a deep connection to the character Lilly. I think it is because she was very relatable to me and that is what keeps me playing the game because I want to see if she can become that stronger Sheriff that she wants to be.

During the game the SPD gets information about The Neckties – a notorious gang that is known for their drug dealings – and how a stash of said drugs are hidden at a house where an old man is living. This old man –whose name is Warren Nash—turns out to be Jack Boyd former Chief of Police from Freeburg. Apparently, Jack is currently hiding out from the feds in Sharpwood under the alias of Warren Nash. As I stated before I have never played the first game. Therefore, I know that I am missing a bit of the story behind Warren Nash (Jack Boyd) mainly the main questions which are, “Why is he hiding from the feds?” and “Is he really a wanted man?”  The only reason I know he must have been from the first game were because of context clues from the game, and the fact that I did look up a little information on the first game.  Apparently, Jack is clearly fighting his own demons from the events of the first game, and this is shown when “Warren” is introduced to us and he is writing a letter to his children explaining everything that is going on and answering what questions he feels they may have regarding the things he did; before going into hiding. Warren also appears to find his happiness at the end of a bottle and is content living in hiding.

However, Lilly’s path crosses “Warren’s” path when he is brought in by two of SPD’s officers. Lilly knowing who “Warren” is – because apparently, she is the only one in the station that reads the most wanted board—  makes the decision to employ him at the SPD, again mainly because of her lack of confidence in her skills. They come up with the story that “Warren” was an under-cover cop and that he is going to be leading his own team of officers. It is here in which you take control of the game, besides the tutorial in the beginning of the game explaining how to do the tactical missions. The story does get more in depth, but again to avoid spoiling I won’t go any further into the story.

The gameplay starts with you playing as Warren Nash, giving orders to his small team of officers. You start the game off with about thirteen officers – at least in my starting game I did— it will walk you through the basics of the game. Even though you select which officers you schedule to work, depending on what they have done the night before or the day before some of them may not show up for work or ask for the day off. Once you go through your scenarios of the no show’s and who’s asking for the day off, you then start the day.

You will get calls throughout the day, in which you must send your officers out on. You will need to read each call scenario and make your choices accordingly. This includes selecting the right officer(s) for the job, and even what the officer will do throughout the call. Unlike the Tactical Missions, these are calls in which you read and select your answers. Some are timed calls where others need to be completed by the end of the day. Whenever, you complete a call successfully meaning: that the offender was caught or in some cases the offender was apprehended, and civilians were unharmed; you will earn beer can tabs. Beer can tabs are the currency that you can use to hire more police officers and buy more equipment for your  team.  However, if you aren’t successful you will also lose beer can tabs.

In addition, for every call that is completed successfully and for each officer who reaches fifty or more points in said call; they will gain a skill point that can be used to increase one of their skills. The skills that your officers can increase are: Strength, Intelligence, Speed, Stealth, Shooting, and Negotiation. Each skill is useful, and you need to really pay attention to who has what skills before sending them out on the calls. You also want to make sure each of your officers are equipped with supplies. This is because if they are not equipped with the correct supplies this may hinder them from being able to perform their jobs. You can manually assign them with the weapons or do auto-assign. I personally always use the auto-assign just to make it easier on myself.

The new feature that has been added to this game, that from my understanding was not in the first game is the Tactical Missions. Doing the tactical missions gives you the most when it comes to beer can tabs, mainly because they take the longest to complete, and you must be very strategic when playing these missions. I have yet to take part in a Tactical Mission, mainly because I want to get all my officers to reasonable skills before I attempt one. The only mission I did was in the very beginning of the game, when it explained how the Tactical Missions were to be handled. I can honestly say, I enjoyed how they play out and am looking forward to completing one.

Basically, it is a turn-based system that is being used. You make your move(s) and then the suspect makes theirs. This goes on until you apprehend the suspect, or you’re unsuccessful in apprehending the suspect. Again, if you apprehend the suspect you will gain fifteen beer can tabs. If you don’t or choose not to do the mission you will lose fifteen beer can tabs.

There are also times in which your officers will go out onto calls that will result in the opening of an investigation. Investigations are not exactly timed as much as they are time consuming, meaning you can send your officers out to find more clues and frames (photos) from the investigation, just know that you will not be able to use those officers for half of the day. Again, this also relies on your skills of your officers; meaning that certain skill sets make certain officers better for these calls. Once you get all the frames you can deduce your own theory to the investigation, you then will indict that person and then have a warrant to go after said individual. I suspect that the investigations calls don’t go away until you do catch the offender. The only reason I say this is because when I did an investigation, I missed the offender the one day. The next day I was giving the option to arrest my suspect again and was successful in catching them.

At the end of the day, you are awarded the beer can tabs for all successful missions and subtract for the ones in which you may have had casualties or failed. You then get to choose your officers for the next day, there are some rules that go along with choosing your officers for the next day, but instead of telling you I will let you find that out on your own. After that, you will be given the option to end the day. Before the next day begins, you are given a cutscene with more of the storyline, which I enjoy even more because it’s like a reward for completing the day.

I do want to take the time to talk about the music in the game. I can honestly say that I absolutely love the soundtrack for the game. The music adds to the game and it is because of the music that I can get so lost in this game for hours at a time. Sometimes after a long day, I find myself going to the game and playing it. Not only to relax because I love listening to the music of the game. I enjoy the music from the game so much; that I have found the soundtrack on Spotify and I listen to it when I am working on other items.

When it comes to the controls for the game. You have the option to use both the gamepad or mouse. Personally, for myself because I have been playing the Steam version of the game I just use the mouse. However, playing  with the controller is fine as well, just a few more extra steps with having to use the buttons to perform tasks. Therefore, if you are playing this on PC and sitting at the PC; I would just recommend playing it with the mouse. On the other hand, if you have the leisure of having a wireless gamepad/mouse that you use with your PC as you are relaxing –not to mention I envy you a little— then you would be okay to kick back and relax and play the game that way as well.

The game offers twelve different achievements to collect throughout the game. I can say that the game does take some time to collect the achievements, which is good for replay value. As I enjoy the game and I do enjoy collecting achievements, I know this is a game that I am going to try to 100% it. For those of you who do collect trading cards; I am glad to report that This is the Police 2 does offer trading cards. There is a total of five different trading cards that you can collect for the game. I normally don’t collect the trading cards, but for this game I did manage to collect all five trading cards.

Overall, I can say that I highly recommend This is the Police 2. The game is well crafted and will keep you entertained for hours upon hours. I am looking forward to seeing what else Weappy Studios has to offer, because if their games continue to be this good, then I will continue to play them. Since, I enjoyed playing This is the Police 2 so much, I am adding This is the Police to my Wishlist, just because I do want to know; “What is the story behind Jack Boyd?” If you would like to give This is the Police 2 a try for yourself the game is currently available on PC, macOS X, and Linux on Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, Fanatical for $14.99 USD again the game will be releasing for PS4, XBONE, and Nintendo Switch later on this year for $29.99 USD.

UPDATED August 10, 2018 – This is the Police 2 will be coming to Consoles on September 25, 2018. 

For those who maybe looking for a gameplay video of the game. I have included my gameplay video here. As I have written a review of the game, I do not include voice over in the gameplay video so that you can enjoy the gameplay in all its glory.