Pursuit Force is a PSP-exclusive racing/combat game that gives you the unique ability to jump between and fight on vehicles.
The game follows the adventures of a rookie Police Officer working for Pursuit Force – an elite, vehicle-based crime fighting force chasing down criminal gangs across an entire fictional US state. Engage in deadly gun battles whilst chasing the criminals at top speed. Powerslide round corners, drive the wrong way through traffic and push your vehicle to the max as you riddle the enemies’ customised cars with bullets.
System: PSP
Genre: Racing-Combat
Release dates: November 18th 2005 (EURO), March 7th 2006 (USA)
Players: 1
Developer: Bigbig Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Origin: England
The story opens with a news report showing a rise in vehicle related crimes across Capital State. There are five gangs to blame. The report also states that a new kind of police; The Pursuit Force has been organised to destroy the threat posed by these gangs and restore order to the city overrun with crime. With this leads up to is you seizing cars and motorbikes while engaging the criminals in gun battles at speeds of over 150mph.
There are a total of 30 criminal case missions, 6 per gang, set among 5 distinct environments. Throughout the various criminal cases, players will engage in adrenaline pumping action in vehicles, on-foot, and by air. These missions include escorting, protecting and destroying the enemy on foot, in a car, in a speedboat, on a motorbike, or in a helicopter.
You have access to 55 different vehicles and up to 25 types of weapons in the pursuit of justice. With the goal of taking the gangs down by any means necessary, players will be able to maintain constant pursuit by jumping from one moving vehicle to another as well as fight and dodge enemies while hanging on at breakneck speeds.
The game also includes a race mode with several different courses and scenarios, and a time trial mode that sets you across all the games’ tracks. There is also a wide variety of unlockable content such as pictures and videos to access.
Watch the Pursuit Force launch trailer.
So what are the main features of Pursuit Force?
* Jump between moving vehicles on land, sea, and air to overtake an enemy. Fight on vehicles, dodge enemy fire, and hang on while traveling at speeds of over 150mph.
* More than 10 hours of diverse gameplay including vehicle chases, on-foot action, and flying missions where players must operate a helicopter mini-gun.
* 55 vehicles available throughout the game including cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, bikes, and speed boats.
* More than 10 types of weapons at the player’s disposal including handguns, shotguns, machine guns, and some heavy artillery.
* Hollywood blockbuster-style production with white-knuckle chase scenes through city streets and off-road terrain, delivering action-packed shootouts throughout each criminal case.
* Five notorious gangs to bring to justice, each in their own distinct section of Capital City:
— Convicts – A gang of escaped prisoners intent on fleeing the region at any cost.
— Vixens – A sexy, high-tech gang of female thieves – in it purely for the money.
— Warlords – Elite mercenaries hell bent on freeing their incarcerated comrades.
— Capellis – The state’s infamous criminal family who strike fear in to the city’s inhabitants with extortion, kidnap, and protection rackets.
— Killer 66 – Savage Far Eastern gang at war with the Capellis for control of the criminal underworld.
* A unique boss and lieutenant represents each gang. Both boss and lieutenant have personalized vehicles and a specific case to complete.
* Bring criminals to justice lawfully and boost the Justice Bar meter. Activate a full meter to slow down time during vehicle jumps and shoot at enemies in mid-air. The Justice Bar can also restore player health as well as vehicle condition.
* Unlockable gameplay and features include Time Trial and Race modes and special game art that can be saved to memory stick for use as a background image.
Watch some more Pursuit Force gameplay footage.
Now let’s see how much fun Pursuit Force is on a scale from 1 to 10?
FUN FACTOR – 8.5
This racing-combat game introduces a new police action IP that follows a young officer in his quest to contain five notorious gangs throughout Capital City. As part of a new special unit called The Pursuit Force, you’ll track down each of the deadly gangs and use unconventional tactics to overcome the impending criminal threat. What tactics? Mainly a never-before-seen gameplay mechanic where you jump from vehicle to vehicle during high-speed chases! Bring justice to these gangs how? By shooting them dead in fun Hollywood-style movie non-stop action sequences, where you race against the clock. For variety, you get to do collect and follow assignments, high-speed pursuits, on-foot actions, boss fights, and also on-rails gun-blazing aerial attacks. Pursuit Force is the type of action-filled arcade racing game that’s so much fun, that you’ll suddenly find yourself shouting “YES! YES I DID IT!” It’s very cool.
Graphics – 8.5
The game’s visuals look great and deliver an awesome sense of speed! Everything about the game is very polished, it has smooth animations and beautiful cutscenes. The game takes you to see various environments: you can skirt along city highways and dusty tracks in speeding cars, bikes, SUVs, and buses, while high-powered speedboats are available for chases through metropolitan waterways and scenic, canyon lined rivers, and on foot sections provide run and gun combat through gang territory strongholds and city streets.
Audio – 8.5
The orchestral soundtrack and sound effects are very well done and help increase the tension during tough missions. The voice acting is great during cutscenes and helps kickstart you before the next action sequence begins. The cliche voice actors make their humorous appearance during the game, as you’ll be hearing scared people call for your help and Italian mobsters tell you to go sleep with the fishes. The entire game’s text is voiced and it’s all in good fun.
Ingenuity – 8.5
The arcadey controls are beyond cool. As with any great game, the gameplay will explain itself. Leaping between moving vehicles feels incredibly satisfying as you riddle those evil criminals with holes at the same time! What happens is that when you get within jump distance of a vehicle, a context sensitive icon will appear to warn you to press the circle button and send you flying onto the back or the hood of the vehicle you’re chasing (sometimes allowing you to shoot at the driver as well), which looks freaking awesome thanks to the Matrix Reloaded-style visuals. After which you proceed to take out the criminals by killing them, which isn’t always easy since you’ll need to dodge enemy attacks with the square button, which requires good timing. Once that’s all out of the way, you get to take over the vehicle. It all looks and controls smoothly. But the high-speed action controls are all there is to it, and while addicting and fun, they stay the same no matter what vehicle you control. That said, you know this coming in and so the intense action-oriented sensation the controls deliver are very rewarding. A minor complaint I should mention is that the jump-activation doesn’t always show up when you’re near an enemies’ vehicle, so you might find yourself going back and forth to activate it once in a while. If you’re into crazy stunts and arcade controls, you can’t go wrong here though.
Replay Value – 7.5
Expect the game to last you about 10 hours as the missions get progressively harder. It’s perfect for both a quick play during a break and for long hauls as you travel. While there’s no multiplayer, you’ve got Time Trial and Race modes to keep you busy, along with plenty of video and picture content to unlock as you play more.
What would it look like if the game were real? Find out: