I looked at the videos on the Steam store page which kind of got me an idea about the game, but I've put in an hour so far and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it. Basically the game is played at two levels. You are the police chief of a town, being forced to resign in 180 days. There are various factions and people out there that want to manipulate you. Your self-assigned goal is to accumulate a half-million dollars before you leave office. That's the basic premise. There's a lot more to it, but those are spoilers.
The game is played out a day at a time. Each day (so far in the first five days I've played) there is a cutscene that consists of several cartoon/graphic novel panels with narration; think Max Payne but with less psychotic behavior. You, as the narrator, reveal the story bit by bit each day, but also things start happening that concern you. By the fifth day, I was forced to make what seems like a pretty massive decision that will affect the rest of the game (this could be what gives it some replayability, going down the other path on the next replay). There is a damn good story being developed that involves some excellent plot work. One hour in and I'm already deeply immersed in my character.
The other level is the day to day operation of the police department. You have two shifts of officers that work on alternating days. You assign them to different crimes, and sometimes to other "tasks" that come your way. You also have detectives you have to assign to investigate some crimes. But all these officers have their own strengths and weaknesses, some of which are obvious, some are not. You want to stop crime and solve mysteries, but you want to kept your officers alive... except when you don't want to
.I'll keep playing and posting and try to have some more definitive impressions before the sale runs out. Stay tuned. And be safe out there.
. Was she killed by fellow officers? By some crony of the mayor? Was it random? In another situation the major told me to violently suppress a demonstration "by blacks" next to city hall. I know that the city will investigate the illegal police action and while I could shift the blame to the mayor, I want him on my side. I have two other options. I can blame a gangster character, but for reasons I won't spoil, that's not an option right now. So I instead frame one of my officers by putting white supremacist literature in her locker. She was a good officer, but better her head on the block than mine. And there are quite a number more of these situations.
. I now I really want to get past Day 71 on the next playthrough.
