Future Cop: LAPD

Future Cop: LAPD
Developer(s)	Electronic Arts
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Platforms	PlayStation Windows Mac OS PlayStation Network
Release date(s)	PlayStation Windows MAC OS PlayStation Network
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

This article is for the 1998 video game. For the electronic music group, see Futurecop!

Future Cop: LAPD is a third-person shooter published and developed by Electronic Arts and released first for the PlayStation, then Mac OS and Windows. Future Cop was originally developed as an installment of the popular Strike series of games. The final cut-scene of Nuclear Strike includes a trailer for the next game in the series, Future Strike, including shots of a mech robot called 'Warrior'. Future Strike was never released, but that development of the game evolved into Future Cop: L.A.P.D., which features gameplay similar to the previous Strike games and a mech robot like the one seen in the Future Strike trailer.

In the game, players assume the role of a pilot for the X1-Alpha, a robot designed to fight in the "Crime War" in Los Angeles in the year 2098. The X1-Alpha is a police vehicle that can transform between a fast, hovering pursuit vehicle, and a slower, full-fledged combat mecha

Modes

There are two modes of play in the game, Crime War and Precinct Assault (both modes can be played either as single player or two player). Precinct Assault is a strategy mode that is similar to Herzog Zwei and is known for inspiring MOBA games like DotA.

Story mode

Crime War is a story mode, following a day in the life of an LAPD X1-Alpha pilot. The story events range from rogue lunatics arming observatories with weapons, to a malfunctioning supercomputer. Players begin in a futuristic Griffith Park, but as they advance through the game they may unlock areas such as Venice Beach, LAX and Long Beach. Crime War also supports a second player in cooperative play. Cooperative play features the unique feature that the life bars of the two players are intertwined; if either player is destroyed, it counts as a failure for both players.

Free-combat mode

Precinct Assault is a free-combat mode in which each player starts with a single base and can capture automated Turrets or Outposts across the level. The objective is to defeat opponents by purchasing and deploying Hovertanks to invade their bases. The game ends when one player's base is breached by either a standard or super-sized "Dreadnought" Hovertank. Players may also deploy defensive Helicopters or the "Flying Fortress" Superplane to assist in securing their perimeter, shooting down enemy tanks that enter the base. Single-player mode consists of fighting a computer opponent named "Sky Captain", whose in-game avatar is a Superplane, more powerful and advanced than the X1-Alpha. Two player mode is a competitive battle between two X1-Alpha robots. There are five different precinct assault areas with 10 difficulty settings (for single player); however the level "La Cantina" was not on the original Play Station release, only being added later for the computer versions. There is also a bonus area, known as 'Bug Hunt', which is the same as the 'Proving Ground' level, except all objects have been made into insects like worms and butterflies, instead of Hovertanks and Helicopters. The Flying Fortress is now a bat, and the Dreadnought is a large, armored caterpillar. The level features an up-beat music track in comparison to the game's normal dark military music and "Sky Captain" is a sort of Dragonfly.

Weapons

Future Cop boasts a wide arsenal of unlockable weapons, including the Gatling Laser and the Plasma Flare, as well as several others, each weapon having its own pros and cons such as range, damage level and firing speed.

Some weapons become available as you progress though the single player game while others (Riot shield, K-9 drone, Grenade launcher) must be found in certain levels.

Guns

Powered Mini-Gun, Gatling Laser, Electric Gun, Flamethrower and Riot Shield.

Heavy Weapons

Hell Fire 2000, Hyper Velocity Rockets, Concussion Beam, Fusion Torpedo (single player only) and the K-9 Drone.

Special Weapons

Mortar Launcher, Shockwave Generator, Pop-Up Mines, Plasma Flare (single player only) and Grenade Launcher.

Reception

Barely selling 200,000 units, the game failed to sell. The members of the production team have since split up and moved to other studios.

Despite its poor sales, the game received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the PS1 version a 8.3, while saying "The whole package is there. Great sound effects, good single-player action, tons of non-stop shooting, lots of great weapons, massive explosions, and a super two-player mode."

GameSpot gave the game a 7 out of 10, while saying "Future Cop is a good game. Returning to the beginning of the level after dying really hampers the main game, but the other mode is really outstanding. Definitely worth checking out."

External links

• Future Cop: LAPD at MobyGames
• Roger's Future Cop web site
• How to play Future Cop on Windows XP (German)