Just buy it. Yes for $25. Yes it has bugs but the bugs themselves
can be fun in a true sandbox way.

I don't think I've had this much fucking fun in a single player game
(at least in the first few hours) in 25 years. They've truly captured something with this game that gets lost with so many, and that is the
concept of enjoyment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXxciMv1fWU

Caveat: if you played American Fugitive and hated it for the game
mechanics, this might not be your jam. I liked that game a lot but
this is next level.

Disclaimer, I have been playing with a cheap wired xbox controller and
haven't tried strict PC controls yet.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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I don't think I've had this much fucking fun in a single player game
(at least in the first few hours) in 25 years.

Glad you like it! I just watched a bit of a streamer playing it, interesting but not for me. I do sort of want to try a top-down shooter
like Hong Kong Massacre

rms

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On Tue, 13 May 2025 20:09:20 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:

I don't think I've had this much fucking fun in a single player game
(at least in the first few hours) in 25 years.

Glad you like it! I just watched a bit of a streamer playing it,
interesting but not for me. I do sort of want to try a top-down shooter
like Hong Kong Massacre

rms

Driving is a big part of the appeal of The Precinct, as well as the
very open / sandbox design / do anything that makes the world feel so
alive.

Hong Kong Massacre looks like fun in the video I watched.. It seems
to be more about clearing levels of enemies (which is fun too of
course, just in a different way).

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wed, 14 May 2025 05:13:42 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

On 5/13/2025 6:04 PM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:

Just buy it. Yes for $25. Yes it has bugs but the bugs themselves
can be fun in a true sandbox way.

I don't think I've had this much fucking fun in a single player game
(at least in the first few hours) in 25 years. They've truly captured
something with this game that gets lost with so many, and that is the
concept of enjoyment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXxciMv1fWU

Caveat: if you played American Fugitive and hated it for the game
mechanics, this might not be your jam. I liked that game a lot but
this is next level.

Disclaimer, I have been playing with a cheap wired xbox controller and
haven't tried strict PC controls yet.

That looks pretty cool. Added to my wishlist. I always liked the cop &
fire truck missions in the GTA III games, and the cop missions in the
crew dlc. A whole game like that looks good!

If you like the fun of driving pursuits in GTA games, you'll love
this. There are some unique aspects to it beyond those games (which
I'm sure are probably in other cop games that I haven't played) like
the ability to be a good or bad cop, follow training procedure for a
given situation or not, etc. What I think they got right here though
was the interface for making those choices quickly and in a way that's
fun and doesn't feel like a chore.

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As I've played this game more, I've been able to better pinpoint why
it's so good.

They focused on keeping the mechanics around the procedurally
generated random side missions fun, then layered a story and recurring characters on top of that.

This turns out to be a far better formula for game creation than
trying to storyboard the main plot, then figuring out gameplay around
that.

Of course at the $25 price point on release day, there are going to be compromises... The "cutscenes" are basically "cutout animation"
(static portraits of the characters that the camera zooms in on when
they speak). But it works so well in this game, and it makes you so
glad they don't waste your time (or their own production money)
worrying about what 3D models are doing during cutscenes. It's
actually part of the charm of the game that seems low budget at first,
but you start to really appreciate many hours in. Especially since it
becomes clear that the development investment was made in the
distinction between games and movies, where the whole point is to
interact with the environment, not watch actors.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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