Platforms PC/XB1
Developer Modern Dream   Publisher Team17 Digital Ltd
Genre Action   Platform Played On PC

There’s no point in using diversionary tactics. Developer Modern Dream has taken Hotline Miami‘s brutal gameplay, and, instead of using the ’80s like developer Dennaton Games, it has instead created a fictional Los Angeles (as you’ve probably noticed by reading the game’s title) set during the ’70s, in which a bunch of cops fight a bunch of bad guys. Seriously, the premise of L.A. Cops is extremely simple. Still, for its price, even with its faults, the game is an enjoyable adventure. That is if you enjoy repeatedly dying (I hear Hotline Miami and Demon’s/Dark Souls fans love that).

Before each main mission, a cutscene plays out, although the minimalistic approach to the game’s graphics and dialog make them a bore. This guy Kowalski gets a divorce, then a new partner, then some drug-busts happen, the “wronged” gang takes hostage the entire police station, after which the game ends with a full blown assault of a casino. It’s silly, and you won’t really care about anything happening outside the actual shooting. L.A. Cops takes players through a doughnut shop, an apartment, a deserted mansion full of drugs, a warehouse, a casino, and a few other locations. Needless to say, the variety is there.

During each assignment, players select two out of six cops to play as. Bringing in two such lawmen/women means you have a second chance, in case any of one of them bites the dust. The game’s entire concept is certainly familiar to Hotline Miami fans, although it’s a little bit more forgiving. But, just like in Hotline Miami, everything’s possible. You could get lucky and storm an entire room with success, or you could be killed the second you open the door. It’s no wonder, then, that the achievement asking you to finish the entire game on the ‘Nightmare’ difficulty looks like a raging meme.

Each cop is identified through four skills: speed, health, damage dealt, and clip size. Obviously, because there are six in total, some are faster than others, while one deals more damage and another might hold a lot more magazines. All of these skills can be further upgraded with points earned by completing missions, in addition to unlocking new guns via the same method. Unfortunately, they’re all basically the same. I ended up choosing at random until I would start upgrading two of them. Even then, I still didn’t notice any major improvement.

A few lines above, I mentioned L.A. Cops is a little bit more forgiving than its obvious inspiration. That is primarily because players can revive either of their cops by bringing him a medic kit via the other. You can also order your partner to move anywhere you want, although that is where your power ends. The A.I. takes care of the shooting. At least he/she is not moving around and gets killed due to poor implementation of the A.I, which I’ll talk about in a minute. The way I see it, players can do two things: one, they can control the other cop if the first one dies; two, they can use one of them for cover behind a door or window, while the other goes in guns-blazing. If only that would actually work…

More often than not, the enemy A.I. completely ignores my partner and goes straight to me, thus making the whole tactic of having one’s back completely useless. The enemy A.I. is also shoddy. I would sometimes kill a gangster in a room with another one, only for the second gunner to completely ignore his dead fellow and continue strolling. Not to talk about the broken lock-on mechanic which got me several times killed because I would be targeting the wrong bad guy.

Each level analyses a player’s performance via a selection of variables like number of kills, their accuracy, arrests (yes, being a cop actually means you can arrest the perpetrators; if you’re skilled/lucky, you can even put the cuffs on everyone in the room), in addition to total destruction, time, and a several other factors. Thus, an overall score and grade are assigned for the usual leader-boards, which cover both global players and friends. This, alongside three difficulty settings, offer L.A. Cops a moderate replay value.

The soundtrack and aforementioned minimalistic art-style befit the game’s overall tone of the ’70s cops caught in the middle of a son-soaked Los Angeles full of drugs, corruption, and various gangs. Still, I would have liked a more diverse line-up of soundtracks.

You know how people say Lords of the Fallen is an easier Demon’s/Dark Souls? Well, the same can be said about L.A. Cops and Hotline Miami. It’s certainly not as frustrating, although the ability to heal and even revive your cops is brought down by the sometimes stupid A.I. Besides that, the game’s eight main missions alongside five more standalone ones should keep you busy for a while, especially if you plan on tackling higher difficulty settings. As I’ve mentioned above, for it’s price, L.A. Cops is a good investment if you’re into these types of games.

The Good

• Diverse
• Challenging
• Ability to Arrest Instead of Kill

The Bad

• Shoddy A.I.
• Upgrading System Feels Useless
• Soundtrack Could Have Been More Diverse

The Score 6.9