Retro Rehash - Future Cop: A Hommage

You know what I think of when I see the police walking the beat? It isn't how they embody our lawful society and all that is good and pure within our democratic system. It isn't even how funny their big hats are. No, it's three words. "Crowd, control, situation." You see, way back in my formative years my family finally bought one of those crazy-fangled Personal Computers and with it came a whole host of new and exciting possibilities, or video games as I came to know them. As such with my pocket money I traveled to Electronic Boutique and purchased the game which most appealed to the mind of an eight year old boy, with a front cover sporting a fiery background and a mech letting loose. As I would come to notice just before I handed over my meager savings, this was Future Cop, and it would change my life. For this was no Mario or simple football game, rendered on my ailing Super Nintendo.  This was violent and positively gleeful in it's execution. By modern standards it's probably fairly antiquated, but back then it was the single greatest discovery of my short life so far.

Not your regular bobby.

In the year 2098 urban warfare is rife, terrorists, drug lords, mutants, cyborgs, they got it. So, it's up to you as X1-Alpha, to serve, protect and perhaps most importantly, survive, while bringing justice in all it's destructive forms to the scum of L.A. Who, might I add, are packing some serious heat. This translates into you choosing your weapons load outs, watching the mission briefs and going to town on whichever organisation has been ignorant enough to warrant your attentions. The level design is fairly linear but enjoys a solid size and variance in styles, from battling your way across Venice Beach to purging the mutant infested hell hole that is La Brea Tar Pits. I'll never forget my first sight of those giant worms, and then vaping them for so offending my senses. It gave me quite the kick.

Let's frak these freaks up!

Putting aside the single player for a moment, Future Cop's multiplayer is deserving of a paragraph all to itself. Precinct Assault is the name of the game and the mission, take over the map by claiming gun turrets and subsidiary bases. Supporting you in this endeavour are helicopter gun ships, hover tanks, flying fortresses and the super heavy dreadnought tanks. The air units primarily defend your base while those on the ground  throw themselves headlong at the enemy defences. It's pretty sweet watching your swarm of helis cut an enemy tank push down to size and even better when it's your opponent in person. Of course, being a lonely child I had to satisfy myself with facing off against the computer's diabolical alter ego, Sky Captain! He was my nemesis, and worst of all had the ability to ply the sky while I trudged across the urban wastelands. To this day I still hear his cries of frustration and crows of victory. Damn him.

Fly my pretties, fly.

Moving onto lighter things, one of my favourite aspects of the game was always the cutscenes. I mean sure they were sometimes kind of childish, but given how seriously mainstream gaming seems to take itself these days a little levity is no bad thing. The voice acting was top notch as was the music, fitting in nicely with the aesthetic of the game. It has been criticised from time to time for it's cheesy dialogue, but I've always thought that part of the charm, much like the early Command and Conquer full motion videos. Hell, X1 even does a pretty sexy dance during the closing credits which I think is hard to beat.  Sadly I couldn't find a video of this online, so you'll have to settle for one badass pistol duel.

Don't mess with this warden.

Looking over Future Cop as a piece of gaming history it wasn't a trailblazer.  It didn't set the bar for mech games, primarily due to it's easy, pick up and play arcade feel. But what it was without doubt, was fun. Watching little sprite people explode in pixilated splatter and formidable war machines go up in smoke after your ministrations is extremely satisfying. It was just exceptionally well executed, from it's near flawless camera control to it's eclectic array of weaponry. There was nothing like dropping a plasma flare on somebody's head and watching it ruin their day. If only Windows 7 would run my beloved, I could do it all again.