Eighties nostalgia is so hot right now. Thankfully, the hair isn’t coming back (yet), but the 80s have tapped into video games like few other time periods have. I suppose it’s because all of us GenXers who had fond memories of movies, music, games, etc. from that era are now the ones making video games. Which brings us to Beat Cop, another 80s-nostalgic game from the pixelated graphics to the 80s cop-genre it emulates. As soon as you start a new game, the devs rush to inform you that this is 100% based upon these really bad cop movies. In other words, please don’t judge us for the bad writing and racist commentary because this is how cop movies were in the 80s.
Well, I know I always like beginning a game with an apology and a warning. Don’t you?
I Can Drum to This Story’s Beat
You are disgraced detective Jack Kelly, forced to be a beat cop while Internal Affairs investigates the last homicide case you were part of. Simply put, things didn’t go so well. Someone was murdered in a Senator’s house and diamonds were stolen from his safe. Jack Kelly has been blamed for all of it. Before they can straight up fire him, however, IA has to do their investigation to see how much of the allegations are true. Until then, he gets to pound pavement for three weeks while his Captain looks into it.
Kelly has to patrol his beat, make arrests when needed, respond to residents’ complaints (no matter how ridiculous they are), write up tickets, and try to stay out of the cross-hairs of two rival gangs residing in the area. While he’s at it, he needs to try to solve his own mystery. Who really stole those diamonds, and are they the same person who committed the murder? Fortunately, the answers to both can be found on his beat. Coincidence? I think not!
One of the most charming features of Beat Cop is the ability to completely miss clues about Kelly’s diamond case. All it takes is one missed phone call, one forgotten meeting, or not finding one address and it’s impossible to solve the case. It’s also possible to have Kelly’s beat end early, either due to firing or crossfire. If he pisses off either the Mob or the Crew, they will put his name on a bullet. It’s up to the players and their choices to write Jack Kelly’s story.
Unfortunately, though, solving Jack’s murder/theft mystery is less than satisfying. Once the player has all of the information, they can make four choices to end their story. When I got to that point, before I made a single choice, I couldn’t help but ask, “Is that it?” I expected the truth to be a bit more in depth, despite the fact this is a bad 80s cop movie.
Instead, the more interesting stories are the side stories found while performing daily duties. I was far happier with the ending when I didn’t solve the case compared to when I did.
We Got the Beat
Beat Cop‘s gameplay is one of those that starts off simple, and then as you progress through the weeks, you see that its simplicity was grossly deceiving. Each morning, Kelly starts off his day in briefings where the Chief hands out assignments for the day. Sometimes you have to write up 5 tickets of any kind. Other times, you’ll have to write up 5 tickets for tires, 5 for lights, order 5 cars to be towed, fully patrol the beat twice a day, and be on the lookout for a wanted person/car. And of course, that’s all on top of responding to the residents’ needs and solving your own case.
The game is kind at first though. You’ll start off only writing a few tickets a day. Gradually, the tasks will compound each day. The last day on the beat, you will run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
As you’ve probably gathered, time management is crucial in Beat Cop. The beat lasts from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Some tasks have to be completed during a specific time window. I normally hate games with timers like these, but in this case, it fit the game perfectly. Also, if you mess up on a timed task, you can easily restart that day (if you haven’t been fired for not guarding the autoshop during an illegal porn movie filming).
The game choices aren’t just limited to the diamond mystery either. As already mentioned, you can choose to help either the Mob or the Crew or piss them off or even ignore them entirely. You can choose to buy drugs from the crew, solicit sex from the neighborhood prostitutes, or accept bribes from people trying to get out of tickets. However, if you’re caught doing any of these things by undercover IA cops, you can have your pay cut for that day or lose your job entirely.
And yes, there is a bit of money management in the game as well. You will never be bored a single day on the beat.
Hard to Beat the Price
I’d speak more highly of Beat Cop if it had a better main story conclusion. The ending choices really did stick to their 80s movie guns, but no one has really said those movies had the best endings. Authentic? Yes. Good? No. That said, though, the journey to get there is more than entertaining, just like a bad 80s cop movie. For $14.99 digital-download from the eShop, the entertainment value can’t be beat.
Received Beat Cop Switch review code from publisher.
Beat Cop (Switch)
The Good
- Fun retro visuals and style
- Deceivingly simple gameplay
- Various endings depending on choices
The Bad
- Solving the mystery isn't that thrilling
- The racism is overdone to the point it feels unnecessary.
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