Not as bad a GS said, but not too great either. ONLY buy it if your a fan of the show. Okay for fans, bad for gamers.
Gameplay: The Shield, just as the show, follows the exploits of Detective Vic Mackey and his crooked strike team. You'll do typical police work such as raiding crack dens, investigating crime scenes, questioning suspects and civilians, and of coarse, chasing bad guys. Some of these gameplay mechanics work well, and others don't. Mini games like searching for evidence and cuffing suspects work well. The chase scenes are no doubt the best part of the game. the same thing cannot be said for the shooting stages. Suspects take about six bullets to kill and Vic takes about four to five. The guns pack absolutly no punch and sometimes you'll find yourself outta ammo from having to shoot gangbangers over eight times. The worst part of the game is the stealth. You have no mini map and enemies can sometimes spot you through walls. Be prepared for some seriously mind numbing trial and error.
Graphics: Lets keep this one short. The graphics are dated and really bad.
Sound: Luckily Michal and the other cast members lended their voices. The music isn't too bad but loops non stop and can get annoying.
Overall The Shield isn't a horrible game, it just should have been actually finished before it was released. In the end, it wasn't a total failure.