Completed the main story, all the races, time trials, jumps and fully leveled up. The only thing remaining is the theatrical killer side quest and artifacts. Don't know if I will do those.
Here are my final thoughts on the game
1. Driving feels great and cars have a weight feel to them that especially suits the era they are supposed to be from. It is arcadey but in the best way possible. Not to mention how different terrains and weather affects the handling and traction. Kudos to the team for really nailing that. The vehicle deformation system is cherry on top.
2. I grew to like the gunplay. It is average but you quickly get used to it. I like how the enemies aren't bullet sponges and due quickly, and so do you. If a prep suddenly starts shooting at close range, odds are you are going to die a quick death. It never felt unfair, just unexpected. Even fully leveled up, I still died a few times.
3. the graphics are really good and generally does a great job of setting the atmosphere of the game. I like the dynamic time and weather system on display here. The game also performs well, and I had very few frame rate drops or stutters. It was almost butter smooth. Also helps that the bug were minimal.
4. The story was average but it served it's purpose as an excuse for you to play the game. I like that it didn't outlive it's welcome. The main missions themselves are pretty short but they are fun to do. It feels like a 80s cop movie and I think that was what the devs were aiming for. Overall would give the main story a B, if I was a highschool teacher.
5. The crime patrol gameplay is great. I like how a small littering stop could somehow turn into a car chase with helicopters, roadblocks and the works. Spending millions of dollars trying to arrest a guy who dropped some trash, never really got old. Heck today I stopped a random guy for nonreason, he started running and so I arrested him for resisting arrest( that was literally his only crime, all other checks were clean).
6. It is easy to cheese the crime system, you could suddenly run in front of the car and suddenly the driver becomes a criminal who has done hit and run, for example. Finding different ways to be a bad cop was great imo.
7. I like how the only currency that exists is xp. It allows you to fully engage with every resource for every crime.
8. I like how you can commandeer vehicles and how each vehicle feels unique. It is not something I expected from an indie game but seriously great work with vehicles in general.
9. I like how even from the start the crimes can go haywire and crime difficulty doesn't really change, only the frequency of hard crimes. At the start there were a lot of instances wherein a culprit would escape( especially if there were more than one criminal). But as you progress and unlock more equipment, you also start becoming better at the game, and crimes that seemed difficulty become pretty easy.
10. They did a great job in restraining the scope. The map is small which keeps it more tight and memorable. They have also kept the road realistic. It is narrow and filled with traffic with sharp turns and small alleyways, all of which greatly adds to the sense of realism and speed. It also gives the car chases more life. It also helps that a lot of the environment is destructible.
Cons:
1. The game does become repetitive towards the end.
2. It is a bit sad that there is no reward for things like, completing every race or time trials. Even completing the main story doesn't really reward you with anything.
3. Helicopter patrols are pretty boring and too easy compared to other patrol types. Doesn't help that you could crash into a building at full speed and you just bounce away. Adding damage and a way to shoot at suspects would have spiced things up.
4. Kelly needs more dialogues for basic actions. For example, if you delegate writing up offences to him, he has only two lines that he keeps on repeating again and again and again. I honestly started writing up perps myself just o avoid hearing kelly speak.
Conclusion: a pretty decent game. It's fun and nails everything that matters. Doesn't oulive itself. It feels like an old school ps2 game in the best way possible. Also a pretty great feeling to play the cop once in a while. The 30 dollar price tag is more than justifiable. The game serves as a great foundation and I really hope they expand it further in future sequels.