The problems start with the game’s implementation of fog of war and line of
sight. Enemies constantly pop in and out of sight as you move your cops, as do
interactive objects. Non-interactive objects remain visible the entire time,
whether or not they are currently in view. This does not just apply to enemies
and objects hidden behind walls or obstructions – your cops have a vision rating
which limits their viewing range. A cop can be standing in the middle of a
straight and wide street and not see an enemy just down the road. Because of the
vision limitations, in missions where you must eliminate all of your enemies
there is inevitably a long, time-consuming hunt for the last enemy or two. And
the maps can be quite large so it’s not necessarily easy to find a moving person
with a squad that can only take a few steps a turn. This would all be merely
annoying if it weren’t for the fact that the enemy AI does not seem to suffer
from the same handicap. You’ll lose count of the times a hidden enemy will
materialize out of nowhere to take a few steps and then obliterate one of your
squad. If the computer AI was straddled with the same limited code of vision as
your team, how can it consistently know exactly where your squad members are?
And since the game is turn-based, all your cops can do is stand there and watch
an enemy walk right up to them and shoot them point blank. Even worse, the enemy
far too often seems to have plenty of action points to pop out of hiding, kill a
cop, and then disappear out of sight again.
Not that you’ll get much help from computer controlled allies. Their behavior
is a complete mystery and they are just about useless to your cause. Random
motion, suicide strolls up to enemies, an inexplicable desire to avoid shooting
at enemies in plain sight … the list goes on and on.
To the game’s credit it does try to make things more interesting through
features like character experience that leads to leveling and stat upgrades,
implants to improve your character’s abilities, and a wide array of weapons.
However, these features just can’t compensate for the frustrating level design
and gameplay issues that abound in Cops 2170. There are just far too many better
options out there when it comes to strategy games, so why bother with a poorly
designed one that is in the end an exercise in frustration?
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
41%. Cops 2170 – I have seen the future and it is frustrating.
System Requirements: Pentium III 800; 128 MB RAM; 32 MB
Video RAM; 700MB Hard disk space; 4x CD-ROM; Mouse.
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