Crime Patrol (video game)
Live-action police shooter with ranks from Rookie to Delta Force.
Crime Patrol is a live-action laserdisc video game from American Laser Games, released in 1993. The same company put out a sequel, Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars, later that year.
The player takes on the role of a police officer who climbs the ranks from Rookie to Delta Force by systematically taking down threats in different settings. As a Rookie, the character works with a loud policewoman to stop burglars, armed robbers, and gang members. After promotion to Undercover, the player gets a heavier male partner and deals with drug smugglers and crime lords at a nightclub, a chop shop, and an airfield. In the SWAT level, the enemies are bank robbers, meth cooks, and outlaw bikers. Finally, as Delta Force, the player faces serious national security threats, including a hijacked shipment of nuclear material, hijacked planes, and assassination attempts. Each of the four levels contains three scenarios, with a final mission about a plutonium theft that uses night vision footage.
Gameplay on the CD-i, 3DO, Sega CD, and PC versions uses a mouse or light gun to aim and shoot villains. Reloading requires moving the light gun off-screen and pressing the trigger, or, with a mouse, moving the cursor to the bottom-right corner and right-clicking. The player can reload infinitely at any time and has three lives. There are four levels, plus a shooting range for practice. After completing a scene, its icon on the selection screen is marked "CASE CLOSED," but if the player waits too long to choose another scene, a finished case may restart automatically.
A port for the Atari Jaguar CD was reportedly in development but never released. Ports for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn were planned for Christmas 1996 but were canceled at the last minute.
Play Meter ranked Crime Patrol as the ninth most popular arcade game in July 1993. GamePro panned the Sega CD version, criticizing poor acting, corny dialogue, very grainy graphics, inaccurate controls with a standard gamepad, and generic light gun gameplay.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Crime Patrol
- Platforms
- Arcade, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer DVD, Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, Philips CD-i, Sega CD
- Genre
- Interactive movie, light gun shooter
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Arcade System
- Amiga-based hardware
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The player character starts as a Rookie, teaming with a boisterous policewoman to fight burglars, armed robbers, and gang members. After promotion to Undercover, the player gets a slightly overweight male partner and confronts drug smugglers and crime lords at a nightclub, a chop shop, and an airfield. In SWAT, the enemies become bank robbers, meth cooks, and outlaw bikers. Finally, as Delta Force, the player faces threats to national security, including a hijacked shipment of nuclear material, hijacked planes, and assassination attempts. Each part consists of three scenarios, with a final mission involving a plutonium theft filmed partly in night vision.
Reader's Guide
Crime Patrol is significant as a representative of the live-action laserdisc game trend of the early 1990s, produced by American Laser Games. Its gameplay relies on a mouse or light gun to shoot villains, with reloading done by moving the cursor off-screen or to the bottom-right corner. The game offers four levels plus a shooting range, and completed scenes are marked 'CASE CLOSED'. Reception was mixed: Play Meter listed it as the ninth most popular arcade game of July 1993. GamePro panned the Sega CD version for poor acting, corny dialogue, grainy graphics, and inaccurate controls, but noted the 3DO version had 'clean, sharp, digitized images'. Next Generation gave the 3DO version two out of five stars, criticizing poor acting and similarity to previous American Laser Games titles. Maximum praised the PC version as 'one of the best arcade conversions, ever' but derided the shallow nature, giving it three out of five stars. A port for the Atari Jaguar CD was reportedly in development but never released; ports for PlayStation and Sega Saturn were slated for Christmas 1996 but cancelled.
Did You Know?
- Crime Patrol was the ninth most popular arcade game of July 1993 according to Play Meter.
- The final mission involves a plutonium theft filmed partly in night vision.
- The player can reload at any time and an infinite number of times.
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