NO WAY. I’ve literally never seen any UA-camr talking about this game, to the point I wondered if the game me and my brother lost hundreds of hours in as kids was just a figment of our imagination. Thanks so much for giving this game the attention it deserves, Josh!
Me too, I was thinking about it recently and then Josh uploads a video about it... I feel like my mind has been read. But good to know I didn't just make it up haha
The split screen multiplayer coop and versus modes were awesome. Also one of the firdt games if not the first to add more or less open world missions with friendly NPCs that aided you
@@AbuHajarAlBugatti Sorry people but I can't get pass the moron who said 200k sales for a game is low, especially in the 90/early 2000. People are full of shit at a new level on youtube nowadays.
Don't forget the hidden mode in precinct assault. Where the turrets become flowers, the tanks become caterpillars that move like slinkees and the copters become butterflies. And the music that plays.. is hilarious
Until this video, i was never able to find it I knew i had that god damn fucing game where you piloted a mech, and blasted enemies (and civilians, tbh) non-stop on really heavy bouncy electro It even looks better than what i remember, and hell i was young i have no idea what happened to the disc tho
@@crysosisback7115 Mines on my shelf. design wise I agree. but some of the footage from the video is 100% from an emulator. Biggest tell is lack of ailising. I dont blame him it would be way easier to emulate than setting up to capture footage from a PS1.
if you loved precinct assault there is a new game called airmech strike that is the same thing and more. it's been amazing after all the hours I logged in future cop
You have no idea what you have just done. I have tried searching for this game for over 15 years. I had completely forgotten the name and googling my memories never panned out. THANK YOU SO FREAKING MUCH.
Literally google "police mech game" and this is the entire page that comes up. Either you forgot so much of the game you didn't even know what you played, in which case why would you remember it and search for it everywhere, or you just made some generic shit up about playing a game as a kid, in which case, also why??
@@TheTGOAC No way he made it up, perhaps he didn't think to Google it. Either way i've discovered loads of old games i'd forgotten from days past. All thanks to UA-cam!
@ehe Yeah a few games on PS1 did that. It was so you could play even if you didn't have a memory card. Kind of an inconvenience though, since you almost certainly did have a memory card lol.
@@yewtewbstew547That would’ve been awesome because I did not have a memory card. I remember leaving my PS1 running for WEEKS because of this, poor thing.
This game was an absolute cherished favourite of myself, my friends, and some of my family (not my old man, he once threatened to throw the disk out the window the next time he had to hear 'I live again'). Growing up in rural Australia my access to games was highly limited based on what the electronic/department stores I had access to, so many classic hallmarks of other ps1 libraries like FFVII and SOTN had to wait until adulthood when I would dig up old copies of them for examination because I simply couldn't find them. Future Cop was something I first played on a demo disc, playing it endlessly. During a family trip into the big city I got to visit whatever the biggest game store was back then and was allowed one game to choose. I saw Future Cop behind the glass, I chose it, I took it home, I played endlessly. If I visited friends' houses for weekend sleepovers it was always the main pick to bring because everyone else I knew loved the game and wanted to play either co-op or precinct assault. My friends and I made up stories in 5th grade based on the setting (not sure how, sparse setting as it was), we acted as the vehicles during lunch, and later on in highschool one kid I started hanging with less showed me a 40k miniature (sentinel) he'd painted up to resemble X1Alpha. I distinctly recall filtered for a while by the starting area of venice beach. I think it was a switch puzzle to escape the first room, but I was too much of a dumb kid to figure it out. I was so stumped I actually managed somehow to glitch out of the level boundaries and spent an hour just slowly hovering around the outside of the rest of the non-active level, staring in with envy at a level that seemed impossibly out of reach. I resorted to level skip codes to get past that, though eventually I figured it out. Finally, I recall the final boss routinely kicking my arse because I would always run out of ammo, and it wasn't until my teens that I beat him without cheats. I lived and breathed this game as a kid. I miss it. Would love for one of these indie remake project things to get off the ground.
Nowadays, 200,000 copies sold seems like a tragically small number, but back then it was a pretty normal. In the same year, the first Thief was a hit and sold 500,000 units in 2 years. Fallout 2 sold 123,000 units in its first two years. Baldurs Gate started with 50,000 units and BioWare's worldwide sales goal was 200,000 units!
It's actually really good sales for that time. Oh sure it's never going to break multi millions like Mario or Tetris but it's an EA third party AA game, something there were hundreds of back then in the late 90s and early 2000s filling the shelves.
This was where the mine came into it's own. Sky Captain would chase after you and if you kept in the hover mode and dropped the mines behind you he'd die to you quickly- especially with the upgraded mines which were insanely powerful!
THE MEMORIES! This game was awesome. I recall every single radio message and cutscene, yet until today i had completely forgotten this game existed. Brilliant. Even the credits were great at the time. And the assault mode! Christ it was so engrossing and addictive!
This video basically brought a tear to my eye, relived an amazing childhood memory of staying at a friends house for a week during school holidays and we spent almost the entire week playing this game, we laughed so much at the cinematics and end credits, so much of the Sky Captain's dialogue is so clear in my brain that I smiled when I heard it here. I love this video series so much, it's like reliving my childhood in so much detail, consider me a Patreon.
This is one of the most underrated gems in the PlayStations history. It's loaded with content, it's dripping with personality and the multiplayer modes were so so good. I sank so many hours of my life into this as a kid and I don't think I've ever heard another human being talk about it until now. Bonus points for the Warhammer 40,000 reference as well. I lost my mind at that bit.
Agreed. This exactly. I played this with my brother for tons of hours and likewise I've never heard anyone else so much as mention it. I'm happy to see it given spotlight.
I love old games because they have challenging PVE games. Nowadays, everything is competition. Almost every PVE game is bad and almost every PVP game is toxic.
Holy crap, NO WAY. I was thinking that game was my fever nightmare, that I made it up. I've sunk so much time and got so much fun in it playing with friends on a couch back in my childhood and it seems like nobody else even know it exists!
I just completely forgot it existed! And now all the memories are flooding back! Like the CPU-vs-Mode, fighting against a giant, taunting tank or flying fortress... the cheesy story missions... man, it was a great game!
My older brother and I played the hell out of the demo multiplayer mode. It was awful nice of the devs to release a Mac version, which was always starved for game options compared to PCs.
I didn't have a lot of games as a kid, but I was lucky enough to have had this gem and a sibling to play it with. I have some of the fondest memories of this game. Thank you so much for spotlighting this.
Absolutely planet scale grin on my face watching this one. This game is probably the thing I have the MOST nostalgia for as a kid. So many hours spent on Precinct Assault mode, the humour and character of the campaign. The intro cinematic, the hilarious credits animations. This is one of those gems where you felt the people making it must have enjoyed it so much.
I often wonder if the creators of these games ever see reviews like this. I would love to hear feedback from them on design choices or problems they experienced during development.
Yet again Josh comes swooping in with one of my favourite games as a kid. I must have played the demo of this about 100 times and played it non stop when I got to hire the full game. I recently emulated it to play it again and couldn't believe how well it held up! Keep on with the nostalgic gems mate!
This game has lived in my head as a hazy, half-remembered thing from my childhood - an experience fought for by the boys in computer class. I was never able to find it for some reason...and had come to wonder if I imagined the whole thing.
@@TheDerpp Crazy, but somehow endearing. It's nice to know that no matter where we're from or who we've become since we all first played this; we're all tied by this thin and very circumstantial thread of experience. Fair winds and following seas.
One of the big titles of my youth, thank you so much for covering this! Always amazed me how Future cops 'skirmish' mode had moba'esque elements way before the term was properly established and it baffles me that in a time where in that genre everyone looks for innovation, some of the concepts displayed here aren't used at all. A different kind of map control in a tug of war fashion, letting you decide where to attack from and how... it was great. Even had a different skins for your units on the mostly water/hover based map and plenty easter eggs.
@@MiG-21bisFishbedL It's definitely inspired by it, the devs even mention that themselves. Still, it's worth checking out for the sheer effort into both the sprite work and the actual gameplay. It's also the only game I know of where you get paid to commit war crimes.
The moba mode really stood out for me in this game. Going against sky captain was so iconic. And yes, I have been telling everyone that THIS was the first moba.
Fun fact about the Hell's Gate prison. The old model walker units also appeared in the STRIKE series of helicopter shooters. Nuclear Strike featured several cutscenes of the team member Hack designing a walker prototype hinting for a sequel that eventually became Future Cop.
Massive respect to you Josh for playing this one. This game belongs in a couch co-op hall of fame. My cousin and I couldn't wait to get home from school to play this together. Also, I'm glad there are others that realize Precinct Assault was the OG moba mode. Sky Captain was a badass that I loved spawn killing.
Same for us. We would rent it every sleep over. I had the n64 and goldeneye/turok. My buddy David had the PlayStation. So he would bring it over and we’d rent this for the weekend. All night playing this and nightmare creatures!
God, as a kid I couldn't get off this, What an under rated game. I always felt like I was the only person who knew about it. Classic and deserves all the flowers it gets.
Oh man, this brings me back. I had that demo disc and played this so much and fondly remember the music for the stage you could play. I was always bummed when the demo would end. In hindsight, it was probably for the better because I would've tried faking sick in an attempt to stay home and play all day lol.
I vividly remember playing the demo too. I never paid attention to the name on the disk, but the atmosphere and visuals were unforgettable. I've often thought about it since and wondered what the rest of the game was like.
This game is permanently stuck in my memory from childhood times. Even if I am Italian and did not understand a word about the game until recent years, I will always remember the fun memories I had playing multiplayer with my dad. Thank you so much for covering this gem.
I LOVED the strike series(desert strike, jungle strike, urban strike, nuclear strike) and to see this is basically robostrike makes me sad i missed this as a kid. So much of the game is similar
I always confused this game with G-Police from Psygnosis. Mostly because of the cover art. G-Police also has a cool animated intro done by Peter Chung the guy who made Aeon Flux on MTV. Love his animation style.
Josh this series has been wonderful! A couple of weeks ago the “Eternal Ring” video popped up in my recommended, I watched it through, and have been going back and watching them since. It’s been great to get an analytical breakdown of game mechanics, game worlds, development, and more all from a thoughtful perspective. The series has found its way into my favorite UA-cam series alongside Game Dungeon, MandaloreGaming and Civvie. One thing I’ve noticed is that there are some moments where you’ll mention a sound or visual design choice without demonstrating them to the viewer. For example, the 3 different engine sounds at the 26:30 mark or the giant spiders that are not as scary as they look at the 36:50 mark. I would be interested in hearing what the three different movements sound like right after you mention it (just a quick pause in commentary and demonstrate them) and a shot of the spiders would be great for viewers to have an experienced with the things you’re referencing in the script. I can’t imagine how much time already goes into these videos with playing, gathering footage, writing, editing, etc so I could easily understand saving time in some places by not having visuals/sounds for EVERY little thing mentioned, but if you chose to do it it would make the viewer experience even better! Keep up the great videos Josh - thanks for the effort you put into them.
1998 was a great year. The whole transition into 3D gaming really came into its own then, and quite frankly I don't think videogames have had an equally monumental leap since then. All we have is better graphics and an online connection. But that leap from mainly 2d to 3d was huge. I doubt we'll ever see something that enormous in gaming again. Everything since has merely been polish.
there are few lines that still gives me chills and sky captin's "where are youuuuu?" and "come out come out wherever you are" still does that to this day when i think about it
"Was It Good" is such a genius concept. Literally cannot stop getting clickbaited into re-living games I know were undeniable classics. Surprised you didn't make more mention of the incredibly unsettling shift in tone during the final level. Especially the techno skull crusher choons being replaced with that haunting mechanical din and taunting omnipotent AI voice. Scary stuff to a young mind!
This game was absolutely incredible for it's time in 1998. Simple ideas of platforming, movement action combat and merging 2D top down gameplay with 3D environments blended together to make really interesting gameplay. All the weapons and effects are punchy and enjoyable. Precinct assault playable with bots or split screen really helped sell the proof of concept of the MOBA idea, combining RTS unit building with real time gameplay of your "hero" unit. Played it against a friend split screen for hours and hours back in those pre internet days. A tragedy it never got a sequel.
This is one of the games I had a vague memory of playing as a child but could not remember the name of it for literal decades!! It’s all coming back now
Dude holy shit i played the demo over and over when I was a kid. I tracked it down on ps1 25 years later along with syphon filter. Both were excellent for their time.
That symphony filter demo was mind blowing at the time! Played the hell out of it and eventually bought the game, noticing every tiny change made in the full game from the demo lol I love how this video points out how well made this game was, it’s hard to notice these things as a kid, but there was a reason we came back over and over to play a freaking demo!
I'm so glad I'm not the only human alive that played this back in the day. First tried it on a Mac Addict demo disk. Pure love for this game and I now have it for PS1. I've never played anything like it, including the precinct assault mode. I TRULY wish it were in more games today. I love it and yet am sad it'll probably just stay in history.
I unlocked the secret bug level, and played the absolute heck out of this game on ps1. Can still recite the tutorial narration for Precinct Assault mode where you fought Sky Captain!
It brings me so much joy seeing this game all these years later; I played it as a kid, and didn't understand one bit about english, but still had a lot of fun in all the time I spent playing. It was a challenge to understand mechanics and what to do, but it always felt rewarding; and for me the best reward was always those funny cutscenes at the end of each level. Thanks so much for covering this game, that I felt was a complete underground and forgottem gem from my childhood.
I've been working on a remake of the arena mode Precinct Assault. I post progress videos from time to time. And we have a small community as well if people want to join in on the chat.
Im so glad you made this video! one of my favorite game for me and my sister when we were young! My dad would always repeat the one line from the game that stuck with him "I LIVE AGAINNN!!"
As a kid, I was never able to actually get a copy of this Masterpiece. So I got no other option to 24/7 the Demo, wich I fortunately received from a friend ❤😂 Thanks Daniel ❤
Great to see this game getting some coverage. I used to love it so much. Funny you pick on the credits music - as a pianist myself, I enjoyed it to the point that I actually transcribed it and have sheet music for it!
I was trying to explain this game to my wife like 4 weeks ago. I could not remember the name of it. Playing this game with my dad when I was 5 is one of the few memories I have of him before he went to prison. Thank you!!!
I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER THE NAME OF THIS GAME FOREVER!!!! Thank YOU! I just searched "PS1 tower defense LAPD" and you were the first result. Great video! Precinct assault was a game on its own.
It's such a weird feeling to hear josh talking about this game and how it might have been the first 'moba' considering I always personally felt this way myself and was just thinking about it a few weeks back
Also get the plus of being informed on what some of those games were. This game was a total loss for me trying to find it a few years ago. Here I just thought my memory amalgamated a couple games into one, but nope. Here it is.
The demo disk was how I found this game. I then convinced my parents to purchase if for PC, and this game is a HUGE part of my early gaming. My friends and I quote this game constantly, it is so memorable and there just was and still is nothing quite like it. I hope the "reimagining" both has the rights to do that and does it justice, they have some big nostalgia filled boots to fill. Thank you so much for covering this gem of a game!
I remember playing this game when I was with my dad before my parents divorced. We never got to finish this game. Thank you Josh for giving me the opportunity to relive the joy.
Absolutely loved that game as a kid. I never got far into the campaign but I played the vs mode with a friend ALOT. One of the games we got really competitive with, so much fun.
I still remember the teaser trailer for this game (at that time they called it 'Future Strike') that was after the end credits to Nuclear Strike. The STRIKE series has always had a special place in my memory, especially N.S. Those FMVs still hold up today lol.
Now this is a blast from my past! I used to play this with my neighbours and my cousins when I was in primary school. It's nice to revisit this, and I'm a little surprised about the proto-MOBA angle. Whodathunk.
Holy crap dude hit me in the feels man. It was a best friend of mine who had this game and we loved it. The transforming aspect was the killer but it was so fun. Hell it's so obscure I even thought it was made up at one point If you ever decide to do a video on smugglers run, I'd freak.
This game was my childhood! Omg I just saw this and GOT SO EXCITED! omg I still remember when I discovered the “K9 Cyber dog Missile technology” or whatever she says. Thanks for covering this. Me and my cousins would play the multiplayer for HOURS!!! It really made my day.
I so much loved that game as a kid, had a tremendous amount of fun. Some of the soundtrack stuck in my head to this day (especially the stylized siren sound from Hell's gate level).
I played this game as a kid, remember it very fondly. Been popping back up in my head every couple months/years but never could recall the name of it, fun to see someone actually putting a review out.
I use to play this game with my childhood friend SOOO much! I had completly forgotten the name of it over the years though! Fantastic! Thank you for allowing me to remmeber! You're the best!
I had this itching feeling that this game looked familiar, and it wasn't until showing the gameplay with the tanks rolling out in the Precinct Assault mode that those memories from 1999 being 9 years old and playing this at a friend's house on his computer all came back to me. I had only ever played it the once, never remembered the name, and had always wondered about it since because that mode was quite a bit of fun even if it was just for a single afternoon after school one day.
As the lead technical artist on this game, I humbly say thank you. Nice to see it's still has a life. And to all who enjoyed it, cheers!
You guys did some amazing work. Thanks for the good memories.
I've still got my original copy from launch. Infact, I'm going to play it now.
Did you just jack shaggy 2 dopes fuck off album artwork for some of the graffiti lol 37:08
A masterpiece, growing up playing the demo of this over and over with friends was priceless
I love you for blessing us with this masterpiece! I played this for hours upon end with my friends, creating some of my fondest childhood memories ❤
NO WAY. I’ve literally never seen any UA-camr talking about this game, to the point I wondered if the game me and my brother lost hundreds of hours in as kids was just a figment of our imagination. Thanks so much for giving this game the attention it deserves, Josh!
With only 200k copies sold I’m now understanding why haha
@@Evanz111 200k is really not bad even according to today standard...I would say 200k for a game like that back then it must have been a hit.
Me too, I was thinking about it recently and then Josh uploads a video about it... I feel like my mind has been read. But good to know I didn't just make it up haha
The split screen multiplayer coop and versus modes were awesome. Also one of the firdt games if not the first to add more or less open world missions with friendly NPCs that aided you
@@AbuHajarAlBugatti Sorry people but I can't get pass the moron who said 200k sales for a game is low, especially in the 90/early 2000. People are full of shit at a new level on youtube nowadays.
It may have only sold 200000 copies, but all of those copies were crowded around by a group of friends in absolute awe at the multiplayer mode
Oh yeah. Game was great . Played so Much. Precinct assault was so cool and so good for replaying.
I still try to get people to play this 2 player to this day
Don't forget the hidden mode in precinct assault. Where the turrets become flowers, the tanks become caterpillars that move like slinkees and the copters become butterflies. And the music that plays.. is hilarious
Oh ye that was fun.
fuck i had forgotten that till you said it but that mode was hilarious
I think the song was called "Flight of the bumblebees", which is equally fitting and hilarious for the bug mode :D
This was my favorite. This game was awesome.
W w w w what?
'Dreadnaught activated' - even 25 years later this still strikes terror into my heart.
You didn't need that turret did you?
Yes, I can also hear it... XD
"Come out, come out, wherever you are"
@@maurobarni5244
Spine tingling
Or having the Flying Fortress to beef up your defences
This is nostalgia on another level... Hello all who played this game way back.
We have a unique and rare bond.
Hello from northern territory Australia 🦘 my dad had this on a demo that I played with my cousins for hours. So much nostalgia. Peace ✌️
Right their with you.
Watch your back for Sky Captain.
Until this video, i was never able to find it
I knew i had that god damn fucing game where you piloted a mech, and blasted enemies (and civilians, tbh) non-stop on really heavy bouncy electro
It even looks better than what i remember, and hell i was young
i have no idea what happened to the disc tho
@@crysosisback7115 Mines on my shelf. design wise I agree. but some of the footage from the video is 100% from an emulator. Biggest tell is lack of ailising.
I dont blame him it would be way easier to emulate than setting up to capture footage from a PS1.
I thought i was like the only person who remembered this game,let alone fondly remembered.
Loved this as a kid and my mind kinda melted when Josh started talking about multiplayer as a fore bearer of the MOBA. What a trip
I played so, so much of that.
So now I know why I play MOBAs... I never made the connection but he's right... Future Cop multi-player was a prototype MOBA in a way.
Precinct Assault is actually based on Herzog Zwei, an old game that some consider a proto-RTS.
your nickname sounds similar to my friend, so i wish you nice day
@@Girder3 is it a spaceship game? There's a weird 90s trend of naming spaceships after german royalty or weapons
This game was a gem, I loved it. Sky captain saying "I LIVE AGAIN" is something that has stuck with me all these years
"Death from above" was mine. 😊
I quote a lot of these quotes up to this day.
Your making this too ea.....Arrrgggghhhh!!
if you loved precinct assault there is a new game called airmech strike that is the same thing and more. it's been amazing after all the hours I logged in future cop
@@babwej.7906 pc game?
You have no idea what you have just done.
I have tried searching for this game for over 15 years.
I had completely forgotten the name and googling my memories never panned out.
THANK YOU SO FREAKING MUCH.
we all got one of those, mine is a song, going for more than 20 years now without finding it. Glad you found yours.
Literally google "police mech game" and this is the entire page that comes up. Either you forgot so much of the game you didn't even know what you played, in which case why would you remember it and search for it everywhere, or you just made some generic shit up about playing a game as a kid, in which case, also why??
@@TheTGOAC bro. lmao. people say the weirdest shit to sound relevant.
SAME!
@@TheTGOAC
No way he made it up, perhaps he didn't think to Google it.
Either way i've discovered loads of old games i'd forgotten from days past.
All thanks to UA-cam!
Now this game definitely deserves to be called an underrated gem.
many hours played with my bro.
True that
@ehe Yeah a few games on PS1 did that. It was so you could play even if you didn't have a memory card. Kind of an inconvenience though, since you almost certainly did have a memory card lol.
@@yewtewbstew547That would’ve been awesome because I did not have a memory card. I remember leaving my PS1 running for WEEKS because of this, poor thing.
Sky Captain screaming "I LIVE AGAINNNN" has existed in my head rent-free for the past 18 years.
Same lol. Played it so much. Reminds me of some outrageous m bison from street fighter movie.
major blood vibes
I remember that voice very clearly
Given the tone and dialog of Sky Captain I suspect he is an homage to, or at least inspired by, Sinistar (from the -83 arcade game of the same name).
OMG YES SO GLAD IM NOT ALONE
This game was an absolute cherished favourite of myself, my friends, and some of my family (not my old man, he once threatened to throw the disk out the window the next time he had to hear 'I live again'). Growing up in rural Australia my access to games was highly limited based on what the electronic/department stores I had access to, so many classic hallmarks of other ps1 libraries like FFVII and SOTN had to wait until adulthood when I would dig up old copies of them for examination because I simply couldn't find them. Future Cop was something I first played on a demo disc, playing it endlessly. During a family trip into the big city I got to visit whatever the biggest game store was back then and was allowed one game to choose. I saw Future Cop behind the glass, I chose it, I took it home, I played endlessly.
If I visited friends' houses for weekend sleepovers it was always the main pick to bring because everyone else I knew loved the game and wanted to play either co-op or precinct assault. My friends and I made up stories in 5th grade based on the setting (not sure how, sparse setting as it was), we acted as the vehicles during lunch, and later on in highschool one kid I started hanging with less showed me a 40k miniature (sentinel) he'd painted up to resemble X1Alpha. I distinctly recall filtered for a while by the starting area of venice beach. I think it was a switch puzzle to escape the first room, but I was too much of a dumb kid to figure it out. I was so stumped I actually managed somehow to glitch out of the level boundaries and spent an hour just slowly hovering around the outside of the rest of the non-active level, staring in with envy at a level that seemed impossibly out of reach. I resorted to level skip codes to get past that, though eventually I figured it out. Finally, I recall the final boss routinely kicking my arse because I would always run out of ammo, and it wasn't until my teens that I beat him without cheats.
I lived and breathed this game as a kid.
I miss it.
Would love for one of these indie remake project things to get off the ground.
I played this so much as a kid the Sky Captains quotes are still burned into my brain 20+ year later.
I. Live. AGAIN!
To this day I say I LIVE AGAIN most times I get out of the shower. Nobody ever gets all the nonsense i quote lol.
you DID play bug mode, right? r
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ow fuck I did to I LOVED Precinct Assault.
Nobody is talking about his best line: "wheeere aaare yoooou?"
Nowadays, 200,000 copies sold seems like a tragically small number, but back then it was a pretty normal. In the same year, the first Thief was a hit and sold 500,000 units in 2 years. Fallout 2 sold 123,000 units in its first two years. Baldurs Gate started with 50,000 units and BioWare's worldwide sales goal was 200,000 units!
It's actually really good sales for that time. Oh sure it's never going to break multi millions like Mario or Tetris but it's an EA third party AA game, something there were hundreds of back then in the late 90s and early 2000s filling the shelves.
My dad was a cop and played to relax and decompress, and I remember him playing this. It was a pain in the ass game for me😊
These were the global sales figures. In North America for example the print run for this game was only 80,000
less people had home game systems back then.
@@rkje112your dad who was a cop relaxed by killing criminals virtually. Nice cop
I love that you bring attention to VAs. They do not get enough exposure in game reviews. Keep it up.
the "I live, again!" line is etched into my memories. and boy, he did get tough eventually, couldn't beat him after ten or so rebirths.
Sounds a LOT like Sinistar honestly, and that is very much not a bad thing.
Game has good voice acting all around
And then his rage screaming when he gets beat. That's satisfying.
beating level ten sky captain on hard difficulty is still a hell of a rush
This was where the mine came into it's own. Sky Captain would chase after you and if you kept in the hover mode and dropped the mines behind you he'd die to you quickly- especially with the upgraded mines which were insanely powerful!
I was obsessed with this game as a kid. Highly highly underated IMO.
THE MEMORIES!
This game was awesome. I recall every single radio message and cutscene, yet until today i had completely forgotten this game existed. Brilliant.
Even the credits were great at the time. And the assault mode! Christ it was so engrossing and addictive!
This video basically brought a tear to my eye, relived an amazing childhood memory of staying at a friends house for a week during school holidays and we spent almost the entire week playing this game, we laughed so much at the cinematics and end credits, so much of the Sky Captain's dialogue is so clear in my brain that I smiled when I heard it here.
I love this video series so much, it's like reliving my childhood in so much detail, consider me a Patreon.
This is one of the most underrated gems in the PlayStations history. It's loaded with content, it's dripping with personality and the multiplayer modes were so so good. I sank so many hours of my life into this as a kid and I don't think I've ever heard another human being talk about it until now.
Bonus points for the Warhammer 40,000 reference as well. I lost my mind at that bit.
i played this game when i was a kid insanely long time ago and was boring as hell for me tbh , not gonna lie
Agreed. This exactly. I played this with my brother for tons of hours and likewise I've never heard anyone else so much as mention it. I'm happy to see it given spotlight.
My brother and I always talked about how they should make a sequel and it be the NYPD that time around. Would have been awesome!
Colony Wars, Future COP, and G-Police 1 and 2, were my jams for such a long long time. So many hours spent on these. Love 'em to bits.
Brotherrrrr 😍 4 of my fave PS1 GEMS
I love old games because they have challenging PVE games. Nowadays, everything is competition. Almost every PVE game is bad and almost every PVP game is toxic.
COLONY WARS
Man, this whole video is just a huge nostalgia trip for me. Thank you so much for making this
Holy crap, NO WAY. I was thinking that game was my fever nightmare, that I made it up. I've sunk so much time and got so much fun in it playing with friends on a couch back in my childhood and it seems like nobody else even know it exists!
I just completely forgot it existed! And now all the memories are flooding back! Like the CPU-vs-Mode, fighting against a giant, taunting tank or flying fortress... the cheesy story missions... man, it was a great game!
Dude, same. My mind pinged me when I saw the title and I was literally staring at the thumbnail for 5 minutes trying remember WHY I remember that game
My older brother and I played the hell out of the demo multiplayer mode. It was awful nice of the devs to release a Mac version, which was always starved for game options compared to PCs.
Oh, Future Cop was a staple of my youth. Excellent game on PC, and a good friend had it on the PSX
same. i remember having it on a demo disc back in the day, but could never find it!
This game was my childhood, still play it to this day "sound simple? I DONT THINK SO"
I didn't have a lot of games as a kid, but I was lucky enough to have had this gem and a sibling to play it with. I have some of the fondest memories of this game. Thank you so much for spotlighting this.
Same here, having your sibling play this with you hit different
I had a lot of games, but I didn't even hear this. I actually thought it was an old Sega megadrive cd game from the intro.
I need to break this out with my brother at Christmas…
Was such a good time playing this and Bushido Blade with each other.
Absolutely planet scale grin on my face watching this one. This game is probably the thing I have the MOST nostalgia for as a kid. So many hours spent on Precinct Assault mode, the humour and character of the campaign. The intro cinematic, the hilarious credits animations. This is one of those gems where you felt the people making it must have enjoyed it so much.
♥♥
I often wonder if the creators of these games ever see reviews like this. I would love to hear feedback from them on design choices or problems they experienced during development.
There are a few devs in the future cop discord that talk about it sometimes
@@lemoncitrine7023there's a future cop discord?
Yet again Josh comes swooping in with one of my favourite games as a kid.
I must have played the demo of this about 100 times and played it non stop when I got to hire the full game.
I recently emulated it to play it again and couldn't believe how well it held up!
Keep on with the nostalgic gems mate!
Nostalgia just hit me like a hammer.
This was my first game
Same here I remember being hyped to play this .
yeah! This was the first video game I ever played.
My dad and I sunk hours and hours into this game when I was a kid. What beautiful memories this has brought back.
This game has lived in my head as a hazy, half-remembered thing from my childhood - an experience fought for by the boys in computer class. I was never able to find it for some reason...and had come to wonder if I imagined the whole thing.
yep this is the useual expreince it seems
It's crazy how common of a sentiment this is. It's the same way for me. It's absolutely wild seeing footage of gameplay
@@TheDerpp Crazy, but somehow endearing. It's nice to know that no matter where we're from or who we've become since we all first played this; we're all tied by this thin and very circumstantial thread of experience.
Fair winds and following seas.
Sweet Jesus, punch my ticket for the nostalgia train. I cannot believe I am seeing this again after so many years, and from such obscurity.
One of the big titles of my youth, thank you so much for covering this!
Always amazed me how Future cops 'skirmish' mode had moba'esque elements way before the term was properly established and it baffles me that in a time where in that genre everyone looks for innovation, some of the concepts displayed here aren't used at all.
A different kind of map control in a tug of war fashion, letting you decide where to attack from and how... it was great. Even had a different skins for your units on the mostly water/hover based map and plenty easter eggs.
Brigador is like a spiritual successor. You play a mercenary who has their own mech, but the game is all isometric and open maps.
Thanks for the the recommendation
@@skycloud4802 It's way different. I'm not sure I'd call it a spiritual successor to Future Cop. That said, it's super good and you should get it.
@@MiG-21bisFishbedL It's definitely inspired by it, the devs even mention that themselves. Still, it's worth checking out for the sheer effort into both the sprite work and the actual gameplay.
It's also the only game I know of where you get paid to commit war crimes.
I've had that game for a few years and still haven't got around to playing it.
Brigador is excellent and more people should definitely play it
I had this game! Oh man I loved it. Seriously an absolute hidden gem for the PS1.
The moba mode really stood out for me in this game. Going against sky captain was so iconic. And yes, I have been telling everyone that THIS was the first moba.
Fun fact about the Hell's Gate prison. The old model walker units also appeared in the STRIKE series of helicopter shooters. Nuclear Strike featured several cutscenes of the team member Hack designing a walker prototype hinting for a sequel that eventually became Future Cop.
Originally, Future Cop was gonna be Future Strike, but we all know how some things go sideways
Came here to mention this little factoid, but looks like I'm not the only one who also played Nuclear Strike and got that cutscene. Nice to know.
I honestly love how this dude is one of the only truly honest guys of the internet’s you can’t buy his praise, make a good game and you get it
I've had a demo of this game on a CD, and played through it countless times. It was always a weird subtle memory. Thank you for this trip back!
Its multiplayer was amazing beyond belief and the game had that Paul Veerhoven robocoo universe vibe to it. Just a great PC game.
Massive respect to you Josh for playing this one. This game belongs in a couch co-op hall of fame. My cousin and I couldn't wait to get home from school to play this together.
Also, I'm glad there are others that realize Precinct Assault was the OG moba mode. Sky Captain was a badass that I loved spawn killing.
Thank you for showcasing one of my all-time favorites! Wish this got a remaster.
No way, I loved this one as a kid. Spent hours and hours playing against my brother, this brought back so many memories!
Exactly like Me lol
This game was so damn hard for me as a kid, serious nostalgia
I definitely never beat it and I feel like that’s because there was no save feature (or maybe I just didn’t know how to)
Yep for sure. I was about 9-10 years old playing this and I had no idea what I was doing
Death was punishing and messing up the platforming lost a ton of health, if you played on regular PS1 dpad controller it was painful.
Me neither, still got my PS2 and my copy of this game. Forsure gonna replay it in the future
Same for us. We would rent it every sleep over. I had the n64 and goldeneye/turok. My buddy David had the PlayStation. So he would bring it over and we’d rent this for the weekend. All night playing this and nightmare creatures!
"Converted the telescope into a plasma cannon"
Dont arrest this man, give him funding.
Someone needs to take the concept for the Precinct Assault Multiplayer mode and make it a standalone game!
someone is actually doing that, just look for the user name "Vlad Mihailescu"
Just search it. You can find it on UA-cam
It's why I wish Brigador had a multiplayer component. I understand why it doesn't, but god damn wouldn't it be fun.
YES YES YES YES YES! I want it it was so fun.
Airmech Area. its not quite the same but its close enough. sadly its a dead game. i really wish it would come back. it use to be really fun.
God, as a kid I couldn't get off this, What an under rated game. I always felt like I was the only person who knew about it. Classic and deserves all the flowers it gets.
Oh man, this brings me back. I had that demo disc and played this so much and fondly remember the music for the stage you could play. I was always bummed when the demo would end. In hindsight, it was probably for the better because I would've tried faking sick in an attempt to stay home and play all day lol.
I vividly remember playing the demo too. I never paid attention to the name on the disk, but the atmosphere and visuals were unforgettable. I've often thought about it since and wondered what the rest of the game was like.
This game is permanently stuck in my memory from childhood times. Even if I am Italian and did not understand a word about the game until recent years, I will always remember the fun memories I had playing multiplayer with my dad. Thank you so much for covering this gem.
Same here. I'm brazilian and didn't understand much at the time. Glory days of childhood with PS1!
I LOVED the strike series(desert strike, jungle strike, urban strike, nuclear strike) and to see this is basically robostrike makes me sad i missed this as a kid. So much of the game is similar
I always confused this game with G-Police from Psygnosis. Mostly because of the cover art. G-Police also has a cool animated intro done by Peter Chung the guy who made Aeon Flux on MTV. Love his animation style.
Man i loved g police.
G police! That's the game that's similar to this that I really loved!
Fing loved that game.
Thank you for reminding me this exists.
Now i just need to find that other game that looked similar to G-Police but was on the ground...
And g police 2 was even better. Such good games…
I loved those games the second one should be in the "was it any good" series
Josh this series has been wonderful! A couple of weeks ago the “Eternal Ring” video popped up in my recommended, I watched it through, and have been going back and watching them since. It’s been great to get an analytical breakdown of game mechanics, game worlds, development, and more all from a thoughtful perspective. The series has found its way into my favorite UA-cam series alongside Game Dungeon, MandaloreGaming and Civvie.
One thing I’ve noticed is that there are some moments where you’ll mention a sound or visual design choice without demonstrating them to the viewer. For example, the 3 different engine sounds at the 26:30 mark or the giant spiders that are not as scary as they look at the 36:50 mark. I would be interested in hearing what the three different movements sound like right after you mention it (just a quick pause in commentary and demonstrate them) and a shot of the spiders would be great for viewers to have an experienced with the things you’re referencing in the script.
I can’t imagine how much time already goes into these videos with playing, gathering footage, writing, editing, etc so I could easily understand saving time in some places by not having visuals/sounds for EVERY little thing mentioned, but if you chose to do it it would make the viewer experience even better!
Keep up the great videos Josh - thanks for the effort you put into them.
I am one of the 200000... to my brothers and sisters... I salute you. We know there were more because we brought our friends to play with us!
Thank you Josh for bringing back all those great memories. It's hard to believe how much time has passed since those glorious days 😮
Man, you are really taking on some amazing classics. Love your videos
1998 was a great year. The whole transition into 3D gaming really came into its own then, and quite frankly I don't think videogames have had an equally monumental leap since then. All we have is better graphics and an online connection. But that leap from mainly 2d to 3d was huge. I doubt we'll ever see something that enormous in gaming again. Everything since has merely been polish.
there are few lines that still gives me chills and sky captin's "where are youuuuu?" and "come out come out wherever you are" still does that to this day when i think about it
As well as "Mine! All mine!!" - Been quoting Sky Captain ever since I was a kid! xD
"I LIVE AGAIN"
The the "NGHAAAAAA" when you kill it.
"Was It Good" is such a genius concept. Literally cannot stop getting clickbaited into re-living games I know were undeniable classics. Surprised you didn't make more mention of the incredibly unsettling shift in tone during the final level. Especially the techno skull crusher choons being replaced with that haunting mechanical din and taunting omnipotent AI voice. Scary stuff to a young mind!
Watching this again, I swear the ending credits were just the animators showing off what they could do with the tech, its all so smooth.
This game was absolutely incredible for it's time in 1998. Simple ideas of platforming, movement action combat and merging 2D top down gameplay with 3D environments blended together to make really interesting gameplay. All the weapons and effects are punchy and enjoyable. Precinct assault playable with bots or split screen really helped sell the proof of concept of the MOBA idea, combining RTS unit building with real time gameplay of your "hero" unit. Played it against a friend split screen for hours and hours back in those pre internet days. A tragedy it never got a sequel.
This is one of the games I had a vague memory of playing as a child but could not remember the name of it for literal decades!! It’s all coming back now
100%
Dude same but Imma download it today
Loved the multiplayer of this game when I was a kid.
Blast from the past!
Great video, Josh!
its about time this got a retrospective. What a gem of a game. I played it a ton back in the day
Dude holy shit i played the demo over and over when I was a kid. I tracked it down on ps1 25 years later along with syphon filter. Both were excellent for their time.
That symphony filter demo was mind blowing at the time! Played the hell out of it and eventually bought the game, noticing every tiny change made in the full game from the demo lol
I love how this video points out how well made this game was, it’s hard to notice these things as a kid, but there was a reason we came back over and over to play a freaking demo!
Are you me? The nostalgia and memories that this video unlocked!
I'm so glad I'm not the only human alive that played this back in the day. First tried it on a Mac Addict demo disk. Pure love for this game and I now have it for PS1. I've never played anything like it, including the precinct assault mode. I TRULY wish it were in more games today. I love it and yet am sad it'll probably just stay in history.
I absolutely played this on that demo disc mentioned here. What a trip.
Thanks for bringing this back into light. This game holds a special place in my childhood, and sky captain holds a special place in my nightmares!
I unlocked the secret bug level, and played the absolute heck out of this game on ps1. Can still recite the tutorial narration for Precinct Assault mode where you fought Sky Captain!
It brings me so much joy seeing this game all these years later; I played it as a kid, and didn't understand one bit about english, but still had a lot of fun in all the time I spent playing. It was a challenge to understand mechanics and what to do, but it always felt rewarding; and for me the best reward was always those funny cutscenes at the end of each level.
Thanks so much for covering this game, that I felt was a complete underground and forgottem gem from my childhood.
I've been working on a remake of the arena mode Precinct Assault. I post progress videos from time to time. And we have a small community as well if people want to join in on the chat.
Mod Link: watch?v=m4aZDmy-Eg4
Thanks for this series Josh. Nostalgia with an honest critical twist is the best kind.
Im so glad you made this video! one of my favorite game for me and my sister when we were young! My dad would always repeat the one line from the game that stuck with him "I LIVE AGAINNN!!"
"An insane underground clown cult..."
That instantly makes this a good game.
As a kid, I was never able to actually get a copy of this Masterpiece. So I got no other option to 24/7 the Demo, wich I fortunately received from a friend ❤😂
Thanks Daniel ❤
Great to see this game getting some coverage. I used to love it so much. Funny you pick on the credits music - as a pianist myself, I enjoyed it to the point that I actually transcribed it and have sheet music for it!
I've never forgotten this game. Absolutely LOVED it
I was trying to explain this game to my wife like 4 weeks ago. I could not remember the name of it. Playing this game with my dad when I was 5 is one of the few memories I have of him before he went to prison. Thank you!!!
I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER THE NAME OF THIS GAME FOREVER!!!! Thank YOU! I just searched "PS1 tower defense LAPD" and you were the first result. Great video! Precinct assault was a game on its own.
It's such a weird feeling to hear josh talking about this game and how it might have been the first 'moba' considering I always personally felt this way myself and was just thinking about it a few weeks back
Damn it's like we had the same childhood, you're reviewing the exact games I used to waste away on during my time as a kid.
It's probably an age thing, same feeling
Same. So many good games in this series I played. And future cop and syphon filter some of my favorites. This series is great
Also get the plus of being informed on what some of those games were. This game was a total loss for me trying to find it a few years ago. Here I just thought my memory amalgamated a couple games into one, but nope. Here it is.
The demo disk was how I found this game. I then convinced my parents to purchase if for PC, and this game is a HUGE part of my early gaming. My friends and I quote this game constantly, it is so memorable and there just was and still is nothing quite like it. I hope the "reimagining" both has the rights to do that and does it justice, they have some big nostalgia filled boots to fill. Thank you so much for covering this gem of a game!
I remember playing this game when I was with my dad before my parents divorced. We never got to finish this game. Thank you Josh for giving me the opportunity to relive the joy.
This was a great nostalgia trip. I loved this game when I was a kid.
Absolutely loved that game as a kid. I never got far into the campaign but I played the vs mode with a friend ALOT. One of the games we got really competitive with, so much fun.
I still remember the teaser trailer for this game (at that time they called it 'Future Strike') that was after the end credits to Nuclear Strike. The STRIKE series has always had a special place in my memory, especially N.S. Those FMVs still hold up today lol.
Strike series was great. Nuclear strike was so cool at the time with those real video clips.
Now this is a blast from my past! I used to play this with my neighbours and my cousins when I was in primary school. It's nice to revisit this, and I'm a little surprised about the proto-MOBA angle. Whodathunk.
You legend! "Go forth my minions"
Played it back in the day on PC due to the split screen mode. Loved it.
You know you are old when your heart melts after hearing and seeing this game
Holy crap dude hit me in the feels man. It was a best friend of mine who had this game and we loved it. The transforming aspect was the killer but it was so fun. Hell it's so obscure I even thought it was made up at one point
If you ever decide to do a video on smugglers run, I'd freak.
This game was my childhood! Omg I just saw this and GOT SO EXCITED! omg I still remember when I discovered the “K9 Cyber dog Missile technology” or whatever she says. Thanks for covering this. Me and my cousins would play the multiplayer for HOURS!!! It really made my day.
I so much loved that game as a kid, had a tremendous amount of fun. Some of the soundtrack stuck in my head to this day (especially the stylized siren sound from Hell's gate level).
I played this game as a kid, remember it very fondly.
Been popping back up in my head every couple months/years but never could recall the name of it, fun to see someone actually putting a review out.
The late 1990s really were something special. I will always have fond memories of those games.
Was thinking about Future Cop LAPD all week and how much I wanted a sequel
I bet that if this game was made now it would get DLC missions and maps for years to come, perhaps even weapons.
I was going crazy thinking I had misremembered this had ever existed, really glad to see it covered!
Im loving this series, feels like some good ol days youtube. Hope you make more!
This was it good series is the best. So much good childhood games
I remember playing this with my cousin at my grandmothers house waaaay back. Good times.
Damn, such nostalgia, I had completely forgotten about this! I loved it as a kid.
I use to play this game with my childhood friend SOOO much! I had completly forgotten the name of it over the years though! Fantastic! Thank you for allowing me to remmeber! You're the best!
I had this itching feeling that this game looked familiar, and it wasn't until showing the gameplay with the tanks rolling out in the Precinct Assault mode that those memories from 1999 being 9 years old and playing this at a friend's house on his computer all came back to me. I had only ever played it the once, never remembered the name, and had always wondered about it since because that mode was quite a bit of fun even if it was just for a single afternoon after school one day.
I loved this game so much as a kid and i'm honestly glad it holds up.