Psygnosis is on fire.  Colony Wars is obviously an incredible game.  This year's
F1 is arguably still the best racing sim (although something must be done about
the popup).  And of course there's G-Police.  This game was a must buy for me as
it reminded me alot of Warhawk, which was one of my early favorites - and still
one of the prettiest games ever made.  You're Jeff Slater, out for vengeance for
the death of your sister.  As a G-Police pilot, you fly a "Havoc", which is sort
of a mix between a Cobra copter and a Harrier, patrolling the domed cities of
Callisto, using this cover to eventually avenge your sister's death.  Psyg
certainly is banking alot on this game, as I've seen more ads for it in mags and
on TV than for any other game this side of FFVII and Gameday 98.

Graphics.  Of course, trendsetting graphics are expected in Psyg titles.
G-Police is a great looking game.  The gameplay takes place in various "domes"
where, oddly,  it seems every mission takes place at night.  Missions 1-21 so
far anyway.  The domes are for the most part densely populated with buildings,
bridges, roadways, etc.  These structures are very detailed, with many of the
buildings decorated with impressive lighted billboards.  Sort of Blade
Runnerish, and I must say, I'm impressed.  The graphical detail and the amount
of colors used is definitely a highlight in the game  Unlike say the structures
in Mechwarrior 2, which left me wondering how lazy some game programmers can be.
Fly real close to the structures and the different vehicles, from trucks, to
cars, to the various flying craft, and they still look good.  OK, OK the
buildings do get that polygonal "wash" look to them up close, but they're still
impressive.  The vehicles actually look even funkier up close.  You'll notice
that the "Havoc" craft you're flying is also very detailed - if you happen to
choose an outside the cockpit view.  Unfortunately, the most impressive view is
100% unplayable.  Here it seems numerous cameras around the dome film your
flight, switching from one perspective to another.  In this view mode, move the
Havoc up or down and watch it's engines rotate...very cool.  The weapons fire is
also impressive, especially the guided ones - although I still think the
Tomahawks in Warhawk are the coolest looking weapons to date.  The resulting
explosions are as good as I've seen, yes even compared to Colony Wars.  Unlike
CW, which has explosions in space, G-Police explosions take place in an oxygen
enriched atmosphere, thus resulting in traditional fiery orange bursts of flame.
You have to see how cool a doomed craft looks spiraling to the earth in a
fireball, shooting it's guns aimlessly all the way down.  The only downside to
the graphics is the dreaded draw-in that I'm sure you've heard about.  It's
definitely a problem that has to be addressed as it's prevalent enough to make
me claustrophobic at times.  Yes, the draw-in virtually eliminates any
occurrence of popup, but the trade off is an incredibly short horizon that makes
it impossible to see more than two seconds of flying into the distance.  Ace
Combat 2 also uses horizon draw-in, but it's actually realistic looking.  In
G-Police, it can be a nuisance.  Even with this problem, though, the graphics
still ooze tremendous quality.  It's quite obvious that Psyg spent a lot of time
putting this game together.

The audio is also very good.  Like Colony Wars, you get great audio/visual
mission briefs.  Also like CW, mission orders are provided via spoken directions
from headquarters.  After you take out a Nanosoft fighter you'll here something
like, "Good work, now provide cover for our G-Police ground units," or, "head to
waypoint 1."   I like the music too.  The game menu music contains serious
militaristic beats, while the mission music is sorta funky, jazzy stuff, making
G-Police one of the few games where I've actually turned the music up.  The
sound effects are even better.  I especially like the sound of downed craft
striking the ground.  It's all available in Dolby Surround, which obviously
requires a good sound system for best results.

Control.  This may be a sore point for some.  The Havoc takes awhile getting
used to, as it should if you ask me.  The game is compatible with the analog
controller (please go out and buy one already), and cannot be fully enjoyed
without one.  Of the flying games I've played to date using this controller -
Ace Combat2, Colony Wars, and now G-Police - this one required the most
practice.  You have to concentrate on learning how to move the stick gradually.
In the other games there's alot more frantic mashing of the sticks from side to
side to get the job done.  I've heard some complaints about this game's poor
control and I'm sure those gamers haven't taken the time to learn how to glide
around gracefully.  I've also heard complaints about the lack of strafing
capability.   Personally, I do not believe it's an issue.  Look at the design of
the Havoc.  It is not a true helicopter, which can move sideways.  The Havoc
moves forward, backward, up and down, and must turn it's nose to move side to
side.  So, how would it strafe?

Gameplay.  Done very well too.  The difficulty level is tough, and it's made
even harder sometimes by the aforementioned draw-in distractions.  However, once
you get the hang of your Havoc, and later in the game, the more powerful
"Venom", it is an incredibly fun game to play.  There some minimal collision
problems which may result in you briefly getting hung up on a wall or rooftop.
Once you get good enough though, you're control will be excellent, and you'll
rarely fly into any structures anyway.  The missions are long enough to contain
several primary and secondary objectives.  I also like the fact that if you fail
a mission, you can immediately start it over without load times.  My favorite
missions are the ones where you're flying around the city domes amongst the
skyscrapers fighting flying enemies.  It's a visual treat, and hard too because
the enemies know how to hide around the buildings.  One thing I should mention
is because you're flying around in domes, you are limited to where you can fly,
i.e, there is a barrier around the dome.  Not a big deal if you ask me.  My
estimate is that in the larger city domes, the ceiling height is around 500
feet.

Presentation.  The in-game menu system is also done well.  It's no nonsense, and
the menu music is to.  The memory card management is about as good as it gets.
If you like, you can adjust not only the audio, but the graphics as well.
Apparently, Psyg realized that with the draw-in problems, folks would want to
try and maybe slowdown the frame rate to improve the situation.  Well, I'm not
sure if I noticed any difference.  The FMV cut scenes were outstanding and long,
some of the best I've seen to date.  They're sprinkled throughout the game to
lead you along the story of Jeff Slater and his quest to avenge his sister's
death.  The load times are too long for me, but then I'm an impatient fellow.

Summary:
+ Outstanding graphics and sound - cool explosions, great looking vehicles
+ The best FMV scenes to date?
+ Very fun to play once you get the hang of it
+ Great menu systems and mem card management
+ Control that becomes a joy with practice
-  Distracting draw-in - somewhat claustrophobic
-  Difficult learning curve
-  Load times are on the long side
-  No strafing ability may be a problem to some (not me)
-  Flying restricted by dome barriers

There are reasons why some gamers will not like this game.  For me it's as fun
to play as Colony Wars, and I play it more than any other game in my collection,
which includes the latest games like FFVII, CW, F1:CE, Gameday 98, TP98, etc.
It's one of those rare games that's so good you're willing to learn how to deal
with it's shortcomings, you know, actually treat them like part of the game's
challenge.  I recommend it highly.   

D. Davila