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huh's This is the Police (PC)
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| [September 27, 2018 04:19:53 PM]
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Day 28. I'm beginning to better understand how this game forces the player to walk a fine line between corruption and moral righteousness. Every small decision to placate or upset a character in the game can cause a domino effect, culminating in disastrous effects later on. I discovered this when I pissed off City Hall. I'd refused to fire all black employees, I didn't suppress riots with force, and I accidentally missed a few opportunities to send the Mayor officers for unofficial business. So I wasn't entirely surprised when the Mayor cut the police force budget, and I was forced to fire an employee. It wasn't ideal, but I adapted and realized I should be more cautious with City Hall requests in the future. Then I was reported to the Labor Union by an employee. I couldn't figure out what I might've done. I decided to let it play out, trusting that I could navigate my way out of it or call that employee's bluff. What I didn't know was that I had broken the law when I fired that employee for the Mayor. The case went through, and my pay was dropped 50%. Now I pull in $724 each week.
Worse than the pay cut, that experience made me nervous. Through the future, I worried about the City Hall and their ridiculous requests far more than I had for the first 22 days. So when the Mayor demanded that the police force have a balanced sex ratio, I felt obligated to make it happen. At least this time I supported the sentiment. So for the next four days, I made calculated firings and hired any female applicant available, gradually yet legally bringing the ratio from 14 men and 9 women around to 12 men and 11 women. It was that last day, however, that I ran out of options. I'd run out of old officers, drunks, and unreliables. There were no more female applicants left. I knew that Burch Jr. was the man who needed to go, but I didn't have the legal means. I spent that last day in anxiety, hoping for a deus ex machina moment that might save my ass. But as the day came to a close, I couldn't help dwelling on that final resort: a mafia-aided assassination. It was at that moment that a call came in from the Ghetto, only a noise complaint but calling for three officers and a SWAT team. I sent Burch Jr..
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| [September 27, 2018 02:35:38 PM]
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September 26th Entry
I lost "This is the Police" by Day 11. I could tell that the game was pushing the player to accept the mafia's grip and reluctantly embrace a certain level of corruption. But I was curious to see what would happen if I chose only to uphold the law and refuse to participate in perpetuating the corrupt system. I turned down each and every offer or request from Christopher G. Sand, the mob boss at the head of it all, and on Day 11 I was gunned down in my own kitchen by a drive-by shooter. So I restarted. I overlooked certain low-level crimes from Sand's men, but I made a personal decision to punish the more serious transgressions. Doing this, I discovered that Sand could be placated without fully indulging his every wish. However, now I began to understand a new complicated issue in my gameplay, this time a moral one. The game's mechanics offer no distinction between crimes aside from the potential challenge they may pose to the responding officers. Petty theft, vandalism, suicide, arson, terrorism, homicide, or even mass murder are all treated with the same unemotional calculation of success or failure. So when weighing whether or not to respond to Sand's criminal activities, I realized that I was deciding on the basis of my own personal moral values, though admittedly through a more utilitarian lens than I might normally use. At what point do I believe that the crime outweighs the potential good I can do later on if I keep Jack Boyd within Sand's good graces? Robbing a casino with a hand grenade? Alright. A sentenced criminal shooting up a court room and taking a hostage? Not okay. But a shooting in broad daylight leaving the victim in critical condition in the middle of the street? Fine.
Now I've reached Day 18. A gang war has started and I had to choose who to back: Sand, the ruthlessly efficient kingpin with powerful connections everywhere and the mayor in his pocket, or Varga, the old-fashioned upstart with a propensity for taking down untouchables and getting what he wants. I chose Varga, mainly because I hate the mayor and hope that he suffers along with the Sand gang in the upcoming bloodbath.
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| [September 25, 2018 11:47:01 PM]
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I am already obsessed with "This is the Police" for its engaging, challenging gameplay and significant moral dilemmas. You play as Jack Boyd, the chief of the Freeburg city police department. Entering into the game, the police department is just recovering from a massive corruption scandal in which officers operated in the pocket of the local mafia, and the game makes it explicitly clear that these issues are ongoing. The local mayor is open about his complicity while the player is directly presented with decisions between corruption and righteousness. Gameplay consists of managing a squad of cops and delegating them to handle crimes and occasional special tasks. To that end the player must manage the experience and energy levels of each cop, discover hidden vices that may impact job performance, and hire/fire police officers as needed. This all takes place on a delightful little isometric diorama of the city on Jack's desk with sunlight (and weather patterns) that comes through the window to light up the setting. The game also intersperses this with cutscenes and dialogue decisions that reveal more of the game world and the overarching plot. Already, I've been confronted with a decision between saving the life of a corrupt cop by taking on his responsibilities as the mafia informant or letting him die at their hands. I believe this game will continue to focus on similar moral decisions, choosing between upholding the law and keeping people safe.
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huh's This is the Police (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 24 September, 2018
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