Pursuit Force
| Pursuit Force | |
|---|---|
 European cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Bigbig Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Composer(s) | Richard Jacques |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Vehicular combat. third person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Pursuit Force is an action game developed by Bigbig Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. The game places the player in the role of a police agent who is a member of the titular elite law enforcement agency that specialises in direct armed encounters with adversaries, whether it be on foot or on the bonnet of a speeding car. The player has to try to seize cars and motorbikes while engaging in hih-speed chases and gun battles against heavily armed gangs.
Gameplay
There are a total of 30 missions, six per gang, involving fighting enemies on foot, in a speedboat and a car/motorcycle chases, or in a helicopter while manning a minigun. The player character can leap into enemy vehicles and commandeer them after shooting their occupants. The player can earn different ranks which unlock different content while completing missions will unlock new ranks which will unlock new gang missions and different abilities to help make the game easier, such as regenarating health.
The game also includes a race mode with several different courses and scenarios and a time trial mode, setting the player across all the games' tracks. These two modes are completely independent from each other and will not help nor hinder the gameplay of the other game modes. There is also a wide variety of unlockable content such as pictures and videos to access. The amount of content to unlock, however, is completely dependent on the scores in the career mode.
Plot
The Pursuit Force has been organised to destroy the threat posed by gangs responsible for many vehicle-related crime sprees across Capital State and to eliminate their leaders:
- Capelli Family: One of the two gangs that are initially available at the start of the game, the Capellis are a Mafia crime family headed up by Don Capelli that have been around for at least 20 years before the game's events. The other significant member of the Capelli Family is their best sniper Stefano De Tomaso, also known by his crime name 'Deadeye'.
- Warlords: The second of the two gangs available at the start of the game, the Warlords are a group of mercenaries and rogue soldiers who feel that they were betrayed by the military. They focus primarily on hijacking military equipment and are led by 'The General', with the other significant member of the gang being 'Lieutenant Davies'.
- Convicts: The Convicts are a group of psychotic escapees who are out to cause as much chaos as they can and make an escape from Capital State to cause havoc on a much larger scale (many of their missions involve stopping them from crossing the state border). The Convicts are organised by an escapee who's known only as 'Hard Balls'; the other significant member of the Convicts being the Lieutenant 'Billy Wilde'.
- Vixens: The Vixens are an all-female group of professional thieves with a high-tech arsenal whose crimes focus around high-profile heists, from priceless artifacts to luxury speed boats. The Vixens are organised by their leader known as 'Whiplash' and her second-in-command and lover 'The Fox'.
- Killer 66: The Killer 66 are an all-Asian group and the most powerful of all five gangs in Capital State, focusing primary in vehicle theft and drug dealing. They are led by 'Monster Toshima', the other significant member of the gang being the second-in-command 'Sudeko Arakawa'.
Reception
The game was well received by critics. IGN gave the "highly recommended" Pursuit Force an 8.4,[1] and GameSpot gave it an 8 out of 10, accompanied by positive comments on its "stellar visuals and animations", as well as its "great voice acting".[2]
Sequel
A sequel titled Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice was released in 2007.
References
- ↑ Castro, Juan (March 7, 2006). "Pursuit Force". IGN. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ↑ Navarro, Alex (March 7, 2006). "Pursuit Force review". GameSpot. Retrieved May 16, 2015.