Lemme take a solid position on this one:  it's my favorite flying game
yet.  The free-roaming environments are ripped right out of the *dark*
images of the movie Bladerunner.  Civilian hover crafts and other air
ships flit in and out of view while flying between, around, and above
buildings.  Civilian ground vehicles also drive around, stopping at
intersections or taking neat turns -- some fast, others slow.  Heck,
there are even lit-up, animated Fuji billboards!  And then you begin
noticing all the little details, such as stoplights, street lamps,
fire-spitting exhaust stacks, and graffiti.

The control takes a lot of practice, but I really like it.  Just as
the manual warns, you had best ease your way through each practice
level before going on to the real thing.  I use the Sony Dual Analog
Pad (DAP) exclusively, so I can't say anything meaningful about the
digital control.  But the responsiveness of the DAP is ultra-tight, if
initially bewildering.  You'll be like a babe learnin' to walk, at
first.

Some of the complaints I've read are reasonable, but only when one's
expectations haven't been served.  Instead of comparing the controls
to those of other ships in other games, I suggest that the controls be
accepted as they *are.*  After all, how many of us have actually flown
in a "DASA - Kamov HAVOC close air support Gun Ship"?  Truth be told,
I *love* the zippy feel of the thing ... it's quite unlike other
flying game controls.  Different is often good, as it is in this case.

I think most of the problems people are having with this one is that
the control is 360 degrees in a fully 3D cityscape;  it's tough
getting used to roaming anywhere in an environment at any speed, all
while referencing one's movement to city structures and inhabitants.
And then you throw in being able to look around any which way while
going in any which direction (need the DAP for that)!  It gets a
little crazy!  But I think the negative comments about the horizon are
pretty unfair.  Maybe it's because I play with the view fully extended
(which also makes control more deliberate, since the game then plays
somewhat more slowly -- according to the instruction manual).

To be fair to those who still don't like the feel of the game, a
strafe feature would have been nice, I suppose.  But the G-Police air
ship isn't a helicopter, as many have suggested, so it's not something
we should *expect.*  The ship is highly maneuverable as it is --
swiveling around is easily and quickly done.  I'm sure anyone who owns
G-Police will attest to that, *especially* the ones who don't like
this kind of ultra-responsivity!

To address another posted criticism, some have been unhappy with the
weapons-switching controls.  Well, the DAP allows the user to change
weapons with a tap of the digital D-pad, rather than by holding R1 +
D-pad, as when using the regular controller.  The fact is, if you
haven't gotten a DAP yet, you really *should.*  It feels better than
the original in or out of analog mode, and a buncha games will be
supporting it by the end of the year (plenty already do).

G-Police's HUD view is the best of its kind I've ever seen.  It's
brilliantly designed with a complex, yet uncluttered design.  All of
the views are useable, and all but the drop-camera view are highly
functional, sometimes almost necessary (like the overhead view for
bombing runs).  The weapons are the best!  The effects remind me of
those seen in Colony Wars, a game also produced by Psygnosis.

The flow and pace of this game is wonderful, so far.  You kinda need
to head off in this direction to do that task, but it's (at this
point) an at-your-own-pace experience.  This means I'm not rushed,
bored, or distracted when I don't want to be.  For these reasons, the
game's realism factor shoots way up;  it also helps that there aren't
any goofy power-ups that float around after you blow something up.

The warfare is diverse and exciting.  Air ships and ground vehicles
give actual chase (or vice-versa).  Just wait until your shields are
down around zero and you must fly away to recharge them or be blown to
bits.  You'll be able to zip around buildings, zoom under overpasses,
and even crank upward until you're so high above the buildings that
the ground has simply disappeared from sight (short horizon, but
still, it's a sweet effect).

One of the coolest things I've done yet is to chase after
crotch-rocket bikers, ala Tron.  Using the Electromagnetic Pulse
Paralyzer (EPP) weapon, you can bring these bikes to an jerking halt.
As you speed after them -- perhaps skimming along the road, or maybe
angling down at them from hundreds of yards above -- you'll see that
they're superbly skilled bikers, attempting to lose you with every
turn.  But when you finally hit one of them with an EPP burst, he'll
stop hard, suspended in some sort of translucent red force field.  At
that point you can ID scan him (takes a few seconds), if you haven't
already done so during the chase.  Then, at your leisure, you can tear
into him with your energy cannons.

You should see how a Matra 973 unguided missle splits into three
warheads that leave trails as they weave toward their intended target.
Equally cool is seeing how much of an enemy ship's shield percentage
is remaining after each weapons blast ... you have to scan them first,
of course.

My favorite visual so far may be seen when following around a ship
that has been damaged to the point that its hull is releasing a trail
of red plasma;  but watching one spiral to the cement, then explode in
a ball of flaming metal shards is also satisfying.  What a thrill it
is to witness the way a disabled ship will sometimes fire off volleys
of weapons as it spirals toward the deck -- quite hopelessly.  [Evil
grin.]

I really wish that G-Police were a linkable two-player game.  Oh, the
fun that could be had.  But it's just a one-player game.  It's just
that it has a bit of that Twisted Metal feel, what with the action
being played out in cities (but busy ones, for an even more realistic
effect).  If you have the patience to master the complex controls, and
like the idea that this one is reminiscent of Bladerunner, you could
be in for a lot of fun.  The CD case comes packed with readable
instructions and two CD's.  There are 51 cityscapes and 35 missions,
with nice slices of FMV storyline here and there.

One thoughtful poster suggested that this was not the successor to
WarHawk that he hoped it would be.  And I understand his reasons for
thinking this (the controls and style of play are not easy to grasp,
and may not suit some).  But, for me, it's WarHawk meets Bladerunner
meets Iron Soldier.  And to think that Colony Wars is supposed to be
so much better!  Psygnosis is on a roll again ....

Ricky Wayne Brown
brow0130@ix.netcom.com