Kombo’s Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don’t waste your time. This is why we’ve split our reviews into four sections: What the Game’s About, What’s Hot, What’s Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game’s About
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice is the direct sequel to the PSP title Pursuit Force, picks up where the last game left off. Only this time there are some new recruits to help fill out the agency. The game features high-speed chases, ludicrous leaps on the top of vehicles and cops ‘n’ robbers gameplay. Take to the streets and clean the up the scum of the Earth while dealing your unique kind of vehicular justice.
What’s Hot
For as much over-the-top action as Extreme Justice delivers, it is good the story matches the gameplay. The retro 70’s cop movie, complete with period stereotypes, gives the game a campy yet mindlessly satisfying plot only this is set in modern times. You start out at a wedding that gets crashed by escaped convicts and you go from there unraveling how the different crime organizations are operating. The rival Pursuit Force faction, the Viper Squad adds another layer of depth onto the story by bringing in competing law enforcement agencies.
As you race through the streets of Capital City, you will have a large grin on your face. The gameplay concept is something that hasn’t been rehashed to death. Most of the missions involve you chasing down the bad guys, jumping on their car, rinse and repeat. The sense of speed on the PSP is something to be seen. Depending on the vehicle you are in, you can hop into any other vehicle that is operational, overtake the passengers and driver and commandeer it for police purposes.
The quick missions coupled with the arcade style set-up makes for an enjoyable experience. Controls are relatively simple and different boss stages provide constantly changing action. Driving missions make Extreme Justice by far the most action packed title on the PSP. The graphics are cartoony and lend itself to the arcade action. The character models look good as well as the diverse selection of vehicles you serve justice with.
What’s Not
The amount of development with the characters and the story never translated into an interesting Capital City. You drive through rather generic city streets and rivers. That is not to say the graphics are poor, just lacking the pizazz that makes the environments dazzling. It’s a minor gripe because you’re normally going through those streets faster than a White Castle burger goes through a digestive track. Pursuit Force, as a whole, is starting to show some age in the technical visual department.
What’s not groovy about Extreme Justice is the lack of polish of the on foot missions. Once you get on foot, the controls get sloppy, precise aiming is not possible and the action doesn’t produce the same euphoric feeling the chase scenes do. Most of these on foot missions don’t last long but they are frequent enough to make them more of a chore. The upside is you appreciate the driving action more. Even thought it maybe a smaller part of the game, you actually dread having to complete another one. It hurts the fun of the title overall.
As for extra modes, Ad Hoc is fun but the challenges don’t hold the same weight. Basically, you try and collect stars for completing challenges in missions you have already beat. Winning stars to unlock some viewing gallery and cheats makes you realize that the gameplay can’t stay fresh for extended periods of time, you have to set the game down once and comeback.
Final Word
The developers at bigBig Studios have shown that the best kind of justice is the extreme kind. Extreme Justice is a definite improvement over the first title and kudos for trying to expand the Pursuit Force universe. However the on foot missions weren’t a complete success, the driving is still the best. The punchy, simple, fun gameplay and expansion of the Pursuit Force universe plus some Ad Hoc modes give Extreme Justice some longevity as you go cruising to dish some Extreme Justice.
