The Shield – PS2 – Review

The mean streets
of Los Angeles can swallow a cop whole if said cop doesn’t watch his or her
back, and worst yet the crime rate never seems to go down in this town … it’s
enough to make a cop think that it’s almost not worth risking life for a measly
paycheck. Then again, Detective Vic Mackey has gotten over it by keeping all the
cash and contraband found in a crime scenes for his, well, retirement. Based on
the hit show on the FX channel, The Shield: The Game is joining the ranks
of Alias, The X-Files and 24: The Game on the PS2.
Unfortunately, even with the show’s controversial subject matter and powerful
characters, this game just isn’t entertaining at all.

You assume the
role of Vic Mackey, a Detective and leader of the Strike Team police unit that
cleans the streets their own way while collecting any money or other contraband
that makes up their “retirement fund.” Taking place after the events seen in the
third season (and before the beginning of the fourth), the Strike Team finds
itself one man short and now Shane is threatening to leave. It’s also no
surprise that Captain Aceveda is threatening to disband the Strike Force if
nothing is done about the growing threat of two rival gangs, the Byz-Lat and the
One-Niner gangs. So it’s up to Vic and his team to put an end to the gangs while
making some money on the side.

This, of course,
means that Vic and his team will do anything to get the job done and, for a team
that’s never heard of the words “police brutality,” this means you’ll apply any
force necessary to complete each segment. You’ll participating in planting drugs
in a gangbanger’s house, interrogate another gangster by smacking him in the
face with a phone book and then putting a bullet into a scum bag who was about
to give them up in court. Ah, it’s just another day in the life of Mackey only
the story isn’t deep or involving or filled with interesting twists.  In fact,
the weak story is but the start of the train wreck that is the game.

Part of the
show’s focus is on the way Mackey and his team pick up contraband and here it is
done in a search mini-game that’s uninventive and complex. A badge icon will
appear and you’ll move the left analog stick until the L disappears. Yeah, it’s
not my idea of a fun mini-game and the bad part is that this is the only way to
find hidden goodies around the areas you’ll visit. Then the game adds some
stealth moments that doesn’t really work. There are a few times I stumbled my
way past a meat plant while bad guys were mere inches away and another time I
was spotted while behind a wall.

There are also
moments where you’ll need your gun and by the time you get into your first
gunfight you’ll start wishing you went back to the awful stealth moments or the
jerky fistfights (more on that in a second). You’ll have a limited amount of
ammo in this game and that’s fine seeing that this is realistic but does it have
to take a complete clip to bring a bad guy down. At one point I had to waste one
clip, reload, and then pump three extra rounds to bring a dangerous gangster
down. Sure you can bring them down faster with a headshot but the shooting
controls are so clumsy that you’ll have to be really up close to put a bullet
into some bad guy’s cranium. Worst yet are the fistfight controls that will have
Vic punching a suspect for several minutes before the takedown option comes up.
It’s even hard to put cuffs on a guy since it turns into a lame mini-game where
you have to rotate the right analog stick various times before the suspect turns
and slaps you in the face.

Lastly, there’s
very little that has you feeling like you’re actually participating in an
episode of the show. 24: The Game at least had breaks in the action and
the familiar clock that’s counting down. Instead, the game places no emphasis on
character development and no surprising twists. You go from scene to scene while
stopping at The Barn to drop off contraband for the “retirement fund” while
getting a tongue-lashing from the Captain. Sure you can push the police
brutality envelope as far as you can but even this feels very limited thanks to
the annoying Heat meter. 

On the graphics
front, The Shield manages to render the character models exactly like the
real actors on the show so expect Vic to look exactly like Michael Chiklis
during the cut scenes as well as during the game’s action. What doesn’t work,
however, are the environments that – while filled with plenty of detail – look
washed out for a PlayStation 2 game. And while the game uses the show’s intro in
the beginning of the game, it loses the overall presentation that would have
been great for fans of the show.

The sound is
something of a disappointment especially when it comes to the voice acting.
There are times when the acting is handled well during certain cutscenes but
then again there are times when the delivery is wooden.  Very little effort has
also been placed on the sound effects. There are no barking dogs in these empty
neighborhoods and The Barn sounds just as lifeless as it looks on the game so
you won’t hear ringing telephones or catch other officers in conversation. Even
the bullets sound lifeless in this game. At least the soundtrack is true to the
show and gets dramatic at all the right moments.

As a game,
The Shield for the PS2 lacks the intensity and the gritty drama that the
show throws at its viewers since it was introduced to us. It also lacks any fun
or a story that is able to captivate gamers and throw them into the role of a
protagonist that is so bad he’s so good to watch. As a loyal viewer of the show,
I cannot recommend this game to anyone. If you must, please rent this game but
anyone looking for a fun game where you play a cool rogue cop will only find
great disappointment.

Gameplay: 3.2
Clunky
controls make Vic Mackey a very clumsy dirty cop who easily gets a beating if it
comes to fistfights, gets blown away during gunfights or gets caught while
attempting to sneak into places. Forget the aiming reticule because he won’t hit
his target unless the suspect is up close and grilling bad guys is a major
chore. Add all these things together and we get a game that isn’t fun at all.

Graphics: 4.5

Dull
backgrounds with washed out textures will greet you throughout the game but at
least the character models slightly resemble the show’s actors during cutscenes
and during the game’s action. The game attempts to bring the same flashy
presentation seen on TV but it just doesn’t work out the way it should have from
start to finish.

Sound: 4.0
The voice
acting occasionally goes from pretty good to pretty wooden throughout the game
and the sound effects are very limited. The show’s music is present and it does
a great job of setting the mood just right.

Difficulty:
Medium/Hard
The game isn’t
hard to figure out so the real challenge comes in the gun battles and the
stealth elements. What makes this game hard isn’t the AI or challenging stealth
moments but rather the awful controls and the poor aiming. Also, why does it
take a whole clip to bring down a bad guy?

Concept: 3.5

Vic Mackey is
as tough as it gets and the game does manage to portray him in the same light as
the show. The story and situations, on the other hand, just aren’t as
interesting as the show. Sure you get to kick down doors and push a suspect’s
head in a toilet but that’s as far as it goes. The search mini-game is also
seriously lame.

Overall: 3.0
Sadly, The
Shield: The Game plays like a bad episode of the show and there is hardly
anything here that will entertain fans of the show or gamers who are looking for
a gritty action game. How can a game that stars a dirty cop who is willing to do
anything it takes be this boring? Sorry but this is one game everyone should
just skip.