Future Cop: L.A.P.D. - Mechs, Mutants, and Mayhem

Hi folks. Some of you may have read my previous write-ups on playing PS1 Games. I’ll link them at the bottom of the post.

This is part of my effort to play PlayStation 1 games that I’ve never played– and often never heard of– until now. I’m buying these games physically, popping them into my PlayStation 2, which is hooked up to an old Sony Trinitron KV-1981R TV, and trying to give each title its due. I love early 3D graphics, tank controls, and everything that comes with this generation.

Today I want to discuss Future Cop: L.A.P.D.. This is a third person shooter developed by EA Redwood Shore where you control a mech in a Robocop-like hellscape.

This game was a blast to play. Besides some cutscenes to setup the missions, the game wastes no time dropping you into its third-person running and gunning action. You can freely change from a mech to a mech-car at any time, which changes how the mech moves.

The cutscenes create this mix of dystopian satire which perfectly punctuates the insanity of the premise. You’re a cop in a mech gunning down mutants and criminals. Just accept that and enjoy the gameplay.

There are eight levels, each a variety of locals like a beach, a prison, and an airport. For how simple they look, I never had a hard time parsing the environment – whether to understand the space as a game or a simulation of reality. The maps sort of look isometric in their presentation. Maybe I get that feeling because the spaces look miniature, particularly when there’s deep water and you can see bodies or sea creatures crawling on the bottom. A map editor for this game would be a lot of fun to play with.

Mostly, the game consists of shooting enemies, finding switches, and navigating the space with light platforming to find the boss and defeat it. Sometimes there’s side objectives, but overall each level is linear.

As you progress, more platforming gets added into the mix. I’m generally good with platforming, although the camera and sometimes the physics did make these sections a little difficult. In one late level, you’re jumping from conveyor belts over pits of lava or drops that can kill you. Thankfully, I made it through that on the first try. I really like how the game makes full use of its vertical space, often having you re-navigate an area from a higher vantage point.

Many levels required multiple plays, though, for me to clear. Often, I would get to a boss, get obliterated, and then have to play the whole level over. I admit to wanting checkpoints some of the time, but honestly, the game is fun enough that I didn’t mind speeding through the levels.

A better variety of weapons also wouldn’t have hurt. I get each of them is supposed to be useful for different situations, but I rode the Gatling Lasers, Fusion Rockets, and Shockwave special for most of the game without needing to switch. Only the final boss, a rogue AI, benefited from switching to the grenade launcher.

The gimmick of changing from a mech to mech-car, I think, works well. The game rarely forces you to do so unless you’re traversing water, which gives the player a lot of freedom to make those decisions. Admittedly, there are times where you have to jump a ramp as the mech-car, and the game does sign post that with dialogue. But more often than not, I would change into the mech-car when dealing with crowds or wide-open spaces.

I always mention music when discussing games, and Future Cop is no slouch in this regard. Some of the electro beats this game deploys are so funky! Go listen to “Zuma Beach” when you get a chance to see what I mean. Some of the later tracks aren’t as memorable to me, but they get the job done.

Now, Future Cop has the distinction of inspiring the MOBA genre with its multiplayer mode. I’m not familiar with MOBA games except passingly, but I did try out the “Precinct Assault” mode against the AI. I can see the appeal and definitely would have enjoyed that mode with friends. However, on my own, after beating the game, I couldn’t put more than one try in before calling it quits. Very cool stuff to see where inspiration can come from.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with Future Cop: L.A.P.D. and would recommend it as a solid PS1 game right up there with Syphon Filter and Tenchu.

However, after the “hardcore” nature of this game, I figured I should play something more lighthearted, so I picked up Ape Escape! I’ll be sure to write about that game soon.

Prior PS1 Reviews:

Syphon Filter

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

[Omega Boost]( https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/1vo4weo/omega_boost_ps1_a_shootemup_thats_all_style/)

[Spyro the Dragon]( https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/1vut2hs/spyro_the_dragon_ps1_a_charming_3d_platformer/)