Pursuit Force Update

Let's face it: Sony's PSP hasn't quite lived up to its considerable potential. After nearly one year on the US market, the quantity and quality of titles for the system haven't exactly set the world on fire. However, the upcoming Pursuit Force looks to be a potent reminder of what a developer can do on the powerful little portable system. The title was recently released in Europe and just announced for a US release early next year. Developed by European studio Bigbig Games, the game serves up a compelling experience that is looking like one of the must-have 06 titles for the platform.

For those who haven't been following the game since it appeared on our radar at this year's E3, we'll bring you up to speed. You'll play as a member of the Pursuit Force, a newly minted special branch of law enforcement tasked with cleaning up the streets of its fictional world. Your hands will be full as you head out to five districts currently being terrorized by five unique gangs. The Warlords are a paramilitary group that "ain't quite right." The Capelli Family is a lovable group of Italian mafiosi. The Killer 66 are murderous Japanese gangsters. The Vixens are sex kittens with a criminal streak. Lastly, the Convicts are a group of convicted criminals. You'll take on each gang in a series of six objective-based missions that will alternate between racing, boating, and on-foot shooting. You'll even find yourself in traditional boss fights that will test the skills you will have picked up in previous levels.

You'll find three main modes in the game, career, race, and time trial. Career, obviously, will follow your career path as a member of the Pursuit Force. Your path through the game will be somewhat set; you'll have only the Capelli Family and Warlord missions open at first. You'll have to unlock the other missions and gangs by going up in rank, which you'll do by clearing missions and earning points. Race is a test of your mad driving skills against those of the gangs you encounter, while time trial challenges you to get the best clear time for a level.

All of this offers a good amount of opportunity to play through various chunks of the missions you'll clear in the proper career mode, which is great, thanks to Pursuit Force's gameplay. Bigbig is creating a dynamic experience that offers the kind of fast, accessible, and satisfying fun that you'd find in a Burnout game. Most of your missions will revolve around racing, whether it's chasing people down or escorting someone--although you'll also find yourself on foot or manning a gun in a helicopter as the need arises. The best part of the experience is that, despite this variety in gameplay, Pursuit Force handles well. You should have no trouble running, driving, shooting, or leaping from a vehicle, which is good, because the leaping-between-cars mechanic isn't something you see every day. In fact, we have to call out the mechanic because it works so well and looks so cool. You'll simply have to hit the circle button when an icon pops onscreen to let you know you can make the jump. On the new car, you'll be able to shoot the driver, duck for cover, or even pull yourself up if you get shaken off.

If the game's smooth handling makes all this sound like a walk in the park, guess again. There's a good level of challenge to be found in Pursuit Force because, like most lawbreaking gangs, none of your quarry are big on you stopping their plans. As a result, there will be much hate--and bullets--directed your way. You can dodge gunfire and enemy vehicles as needed, but you'll have to rely on the game's "justice meter," a gauge that will fill based on your performance. When it's full you'll be able to fire on the occupants of the vehicle you land on as you leap, or use it to fill your health meter and that of the car you're driving. Besides the obvious cool factor, the gauge becomes invaluable in later levels, especially when facing bosses.

The visuals in the game are an outstanding reminder of just what the PSP can do in the right hands. Bigbig has crafted an engine that is easily comparable to what you'd expect from a proper console game. The visuals feature an impressive amount of detail, particularly in the textures, which isn't something you see every day on the portable system. More importantly, the frame rate screams along at the clip you'd want in a game that has you driving and shooting the blazes out of everything. There's a bit of jagginess to all of the above, but that's pretty much the worst that can be said about the otherwise outstanding presentation. We're thoroughly impressed by the detail and, most importantly, the variety of the visuals in Pursuit Force. You'll find yourself fighting crime on land, sea, and air, in impressive locales that offer a very cool sense of scale.

The audio in the game keeps pace with graphics and assaults your ears with clear voices and sharp sound effects wrapped in a dynamic score. The game features a console game's sensibility, with its generous use of voice and muscular car and weapon effects, which is extremely satisfying. The music we've heard so far is a rich score that's a near-perfect fit for all the over-the-top action. All things being equal, we'll admit to a hankering for some good, old-fashioned '70s-style action music, or even some A-Team-inspired bombast, in the tunes. To be fair, the music's contemporary, film-inspired approach works great; but, being fans of the Starsky & Hutch, T.J. Hooker, and A-Team era of action tunes, we were hoping for that extra touch of flair.

All told, Pursuit Force is looking like the PSP game to watch for in 2006 for action fans. It looks great and plays well, and should be one of those PSP games that you use to show off the system. A multiplayer mode that supports ad hoc and infrastructure would have been nice to see, but either way, Pursuit Force is looking like a smashing debut for Bigbig on the PSP and a great candidate for a new franchise. Look for more on the game in the coming months before its Q2 2006 US release.