G-Police

About G-Police

G-Police is a 1997 combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Psygnosis for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows.

G-Police has a science fiction setting inspired by Blade Runner. The game is set in 2097, on the colonised moon of Jupiter, Callisto. The player character, Slater, joins the titular G-Police in an effort to uncover the truth behind the death of his sister. Slater and the G-Police work to combat organised crime before eventually becoming embroiled in an unfolding conspiracy that brings Slater and the G-Police into open conflict with the private armies of powerful corporations. The gameplay involves piloting VTOL aircraft resembling helicopters, engaging in combat with enemies and protecting allies.

The game made use of cutting-edge technology such as force-feedback joysticks and controllers, 3D sound and Direct3D Hardware Acceleration. Critics noted that the game's graphics were some of the most technically impressive of the time, and that this resulted in poor draw distance; the PlayStation version in particular struggled in this respect. The gameplay was more favourably reviewed, with critics praising the solid pacing and variety of mission objectives, though there were complaints regarding poor controls and unfairly high difficulty.

G-Police is set during the year 2097 in a dystopian science fiction future. The depletion of Earth's resources in 2057 results in increased efforts towards space exploration. By 2077 the various nations of Earth had begun to lay claim to resources throughout the solar system. Disputes over these ever-declining resources escalated into a catastrophic war that ended with the governments of Earth being stripped of all military power in 2087. Powerful corporations stepped into the resulting power vacuum and began to exert their control over Earth and the burgeoning space colonies. The Government Police (G-Police) were formed by Earth's remaining coalition government to maintain order in these colonies.

The main protagonist is Slater, a war veteran who has joined the G-Police to conduct his own investigation into his sister Elaine's apparent suicide, suspecting that she was instead murdered. Slater describes the G-Police as lacking in authority and accuses them of turning a blind eye to corporate crime even while attempting to maintain order. He describes the Havoc gunships as outdated and the pilots as a mixture of desperate war veterans and naïve idealists.

After joining the G-Police, Slater is tasked with combating gang warfare. The G-Police suspect the Krakov corporation is supplying the gangs with weaponry. This is thrown into doubt, however, when Krakov's president is subject to an assassination attempt by the gangs. During this attempt, Hiroshi Tachikawa—a pilot whom Slater describes as flying his gunship "like he was born in it"—dies when his gunship crashes after mysteriously malfunctioning. In the interests of morale, the nature of his death is covered up; Slater notes this incident is reminiscent of Elaine's death.