G-Police

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G-Police
G-Police Logo.png
Studio United KingdomUnited Kingdom Psygnosis Stroud
Publisher United KingdomUnited Kingdom Psygnosis
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 EuropeEurope November 5, 1997
platform Windows , PSone , PS3 , PSP
genre Action flight simulation
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard & mouse , gamepad
system advantages
preconditions
medium CD-ROM , download (PS3 / PSP only)
language German
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended from 3 years

G-Police is an action-oriented flight simulation and the first title in the two-part G-Police series. It takes place in a dystopian future where the earth's metal resources are running low and the greatest power in society comes from corporate groups. The player takes on the role of the policeman and helicopter pilot Jeff Slater, who fights in the colonies on Jupiter's moon Callisto for the maintenance of order against the illegal machinations of large corporations. The game was invented by British game developer Psygnosis at his studio in Stroud developed and originally appeared on 5 November 1997 for Windows - PC and PlayStation . In 2007, the game was re-released as a download for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via the PlayStation Network . A direct successor to the game was released exclusively for PlayStation in 1999 under the title G-Police: Weapons of Justice .

action

background

In 2057 all ore reserves on earth will be exhausted. After a devastating two-year war between the earth states over the remaining resources, which only worsened the state of emergency, the fate of the people since the end of the war in 2087 has been largely determined by consortia of companies . All military powers and resources will be withdrawn from the now unified Earth Government. In order to be able to maintain order on the colonial planets of the solar system to some extent, in 2089 it will only be allowed to introduce the eponymous G-Police (= "Governmental Police"), which, however, is often corrupt and subordinated to the wishes of corporations is described. Psygnosis describes the scenario as “future noir”, based on the film noir .

Course of action

The action takes place in the year 2097. The player takes on the role of the war veteran and fighter pilot Jeff Slater, whose sister Elaine Slater died shortly before. While the official investigation suggests suicide, Jeff suspects that his sister was murdered. With a new identity, he is therefore hired by the G-Police as a helicopter pilot and is transferred to Callisto, where his sister was also stationed at the time of her death. There he wants to investigate the reasons for her death. Between the missions, the action is advanced with computer-generated FMV sequences.

Gameplay

G-Police is an action-heavy, mission-based flight simulation in which the player, as a helicopter fighter pilot, controls a so-called DASA-Kamov Havoc. Later on, a Venom attack helicopter was added as a second model. There are various camera perspectives available to the player to control his vehicle, including a cockpit perspective and a follower perspective . In 35 missions with several subtasks, the player has to patrol the futuristic urban areas of Kallistos with his combat helicopter, carry out object checks and provide escort or air support for ground units. The helicopter is armed with an on- board machine gun and, depending on the mission, with various types of missiles and bombs or EMP weapons.

development

G-Police did not need a 3D accelerator card for its 3D displays on the PC , but was one of the first PC titles to support graphics cards with an AGP interface. Due to the high number of polygons in connection with the low RAM of the PlayStation, the foresight is significantly limited, which is why objects are only visible very late. Jeff Slater is set to music by Wolfgang Pampel , Harrison Ford's voice actor , and Commander Horton by Clint Eastwood's long-time standard speaker Klaus Kindler .

G-Police was published and publicly advertised shortly after Psygnosis' also futuristic space flight simulation Colony Wars and the racing game F1 Championship Edition . The advertising budget in the USA was 2.5 million US dollars, with a similarly high financial expenditure for the remaining sales markets in Europe and Asia. The advertising measures included a TV spot that was created in collaboration with animation artist Peter Chung ( Æon Flux ) and was locally broadcast on German television. There were also cross promotion agreements with the fashion label Diesel and the watch manufacturer Casio . Diesel logos were integrated into the game and, in collaboration with the fashion label, a collection was designed that became the template for the characters' clothes and could be purchased at the Diesel flagship stores when the game was launched.

The common origin and similarities of the game principle of G-Police and Colony Wars often led to comparison and mention in the same context, both in test reports and in retrospect.

The game was released on November 22, 2007 as a download over the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.

reception

Rating mirror
PlayStation
publication Rating
Video games 76%
GameSpot 6.2 / 10
IGN 8.5 / 10
GameVortex 81%
Windows
GameStar 83%
PC action 88%
PC Games 89%
PC joker 87%
PC player 4/5
Power play 81%
CGW 4.5 / 5
GameSpot 5.9 / 10
Meta-ratings
Game ratings 81.67% (PS)
61.67% (Win)

The PlayStation version of G-Police received mostly good reviews from the international trade press (game rankings: 81.67%). The PC version only received average ratings internationally (game ratings: 61.67%), while the German-language PC magazines, in contrast, mostly gave very good ratings.

"Pure action for high-end hardware."

- Peter Steinlechner : Gamestar

"[...] turns out to be an extremely exciting and varied action game with an excellent background story from the very first missions."

- PC Games

"Anyone who knows the SF thriller Outlands [sic] starring Sean Connery almost knows what this is about."

- Power play

The scenario has been compared several times with that of the science fiction film Blade Runner . The action and staging were praised in the trade press, as were the special effects and the clarity of the radar. In the PlayStation version, the main criticisms were the limited visibility and the lack of variety in the mission design.

Over two million copies of the game have been sold. In 1999 Psygnosis released a direct successor exclusively for the PlayStation with the title G-Police: Weapons of Justice .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Psygnosis : Maximum Firepower, Zero Tolerance! ( English ) In: Press release . The Free Library. September 24, 1999. Retrieved March 26, 2012: “ The original G-Police, a futuristic action game for PlayStation game console and PC-CD ROM released in November 1997, achieved global penetration of over 2 million units. "
  2. ↑ a b c Psygnosis : World-Wide Launch of G Police This Fall; Psygnosis' Spectacular Flight-Based Shooter Combines Technical Wizardry With Powerful Marketing For A Holiday Hit. ( English ) In: Press release . The Free Library. September 16, 1997. Retrieved March 26, 2012: “ Psygnosis is investing 2.5 million dollars behind G Police domestically with similar investments by all other territories. Campaigns include everything from TV and national print placements to wide scale demo distribution; an editorial event featuring a fleet of helicopters, and co-promotions with such trend-setting apparel and watch companies as Diesel and Casio. "
  3. ^ Psygnosis : Psygnosis' G Police, a Stunning 3D Flight Shooter and Technology Showcase Title for Playstation and PC, Takes to the Skies in October. ( English ) In: Press release . The Free Library. August 4, 1997. Retrieved March 26, 2012: “ Although the game runs non-accelerated, it will also be optimized for a wide variety of 3D accelerator cards through Microsoft (R) Direct 3D (TM). To play G Police, players will need to download Microsoft Direct X 5 which will be provided in the game. A two-CD game, G Police is also one of the first PC titles to take advantage of Intel (R) 's AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) interface on the same sku, which will soon be available on new PC computer systems. "
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Peter Steinlechner: Action game in skyscraper gorges: G-Police . In: GameStar . 12/1997, December 1997, pp. 90-91.
  5. ↑ a b c Rick Sanchez: Colony Wars ( English ) In: IGN . News Corp . October 16, 1997. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Christian Schneider: G-Police . In: GameStar . IDG . August 8, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ Harley Jebens: Psygnosis' Big Push ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . September 17, 1997. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 21, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / uk.gamespot.com
  8. ↑ a b Psygnosis : G-Police, Psygnosis' Fast-Action, Urban Flight Shooter and Technology Showcase on PC CD-ROM is Ready for Play. ( English ) In: Press release . The Free Library. November 18, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2012: " Psygnosis has backed the title with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign for the holidays with five weeks of syndicated television ads created by renown animation artist, Peter Chung of MTV's" Aeon Flux " fame. "
  9. ↑ YouTube : G-Police English-language TV spot , last accessed on March 23, 2012.
  10. ↑ YouTube : G-Police German-language TV spot , last accessed on March 23, 2012.
  11. ^ Psygnosis : Psygnosis and Diesel Bring Together Cutting-Edge Interactive Gaming and Fashion Design. ( English ) In: Press release . The Free Library. December 8, 1998. Retrieved March 26, 2012: “ The original G-Police, a futuristic action game for PlayStation game console and PC-CD ROM released in November 1997, achieved global penetration of over 2 million units. "
  12. ↑ a b Jack Oughton: The PlayStation's Cult Shooters ( English ) In: IGN . News Corp . January 3, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  13. ↑ IGN Staff: Feature: Has the PlayStation Plateaued? ( English ) In: IGN . News Corp . October 15, 1997. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 21, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / uk.psx.ign.com
  14. ^ Martin Weidner: Test: Colony Wars . (Scan) In: play The Playstation . 11/1997, November 1997, pp. 104-105. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  15. ↑ Ben Stahl: G-Police ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . October 1, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  16. ^ Sony Computer Entertainment : G-Police . In: PlayStation official blog . Sony Computer Entertainment . Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  17. ↑ a b Ralph Karels: Tests: G-Police . (Scan) In: Video Games . 11/1997, November 1997, p. 100. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  18. ↑ Joe Fielder: G-Police ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . November 14, 1997. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  19. ↑ Fabian Blache: G-Police ( English ) In: GameVortex . Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  20. ↑ GameStar : G-Police . Evaluation overview. Last accessed on March 23, 2012.
  21. ↑ a b c d e PC Games Database: G-Police . Ratings & quotes. Last accessed on March 23, 2012.
  22. ↑ Volker Schütz: Test: G-Police . (Scan) In: PC Player . 12/1997, December 1997, pp. 124-126. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  23. ↑ Scott A. May: Blue Wonder . (Article scan) In: Computer Gaming World . 03/1998, No. 164, March 1998, pp. 127-130.
  24. ↑ Mark East: G-Police ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . January 5, 1998. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  25. ↑ a b GameRankings : Average rating of the PlayStation version , based on 6 articles. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  26. ↑ a b GameRankings : Average rating of the PC version , based on 5 articles. Retrieved March 23, 2012.