15. Autobahn Police Simulator

Autobahn Police Simulator is the first simulation to realistically reflect the working life of a police officer on the German Autobahn. In numerous and diverse operations the player is responsible for enforcing law and order on Europe’s fastest roads.

In addition to the 40 missions found within the game, you can also enjoy the extensive “Free Play” mode. This mode generates random radio calls for operations which the player is free to accept. All in all, this mode includes 100 additional operations at various locations and times of day. Accidents can be more or less severe and can also include trucks. The fully equipped patrol car houses all material needed to secure and inspect the accident site. Emergency vehicles, fire trucks and rescue services complete the scene at the accident. This is undoubtedly one of the most realistic Police games on this list, however, it would have made it higher on the list if the game didn’t have sluggish gameplay along with terrible driving mechanics.

14. Battlefield Hardline

Most first-person shooter games in today’s gaming culture covers some variation of the “cops” formula; Battlefield Hardline is one of those games to capitalize on that famous “cops and robbers” motif. The single player campaign revolves around Officer Nick Mendoza and his attempts to destroy a drug ring that is destroying lives in the city of Miami. You’ll get to experience everything you’d expect from a day in the life of a police officer, like violent drug busts, massive shootouts, and even suspenseful stealth action. While it offers one of the strongest single player campaigns out of all the Battlefield games, it’s the multiplayer where this game shines; allowing you to play either a police Special Response Units or as one of the criminals. Apart from the standard cops arsenal, players have access to a plethora of military-grade vehicles and weapons to use at their leisure. Battlefield Hardline also features a variety of cop like situations such as a Heist mode which tasks police with stopping criminals from breaking into a vault and stealing money; Rescue, in which S.W.A.T. officers must rescue hostages from criminals; Crosshair, which gives the police a VIP to protect from criminals trying to kill him; and more.

13. Sam and Max Hit the Road

Sam & Max Hit the Road is a adventure game developed by LucasArts, where the player controls the actions of Sam from a third-person point of view. The player uses Sam to roam the cartoonish environments of the game and solve a series of puzzles, using simple point-and-click mechanics, accompanied by his best friend, Max. The game’s puzzles have logical solutions although a number of them are far-fetched due to the game’s cartoon setting.

In addition to the main game, Sam & Max Hit the Road includes several mini-games. Some of these, such as a carnival game based on Whack-A-Mole but involving live rats, must be completed in order to receive new items and further the game’s plot, while others, such as a car-themed version of Battleship, are entirely optional as to whether the player uses them. As with the majority of LucasArts adventure games, Sam & Max Hit the Road is designed so that the player characters cannot die or reach a complete dead-end, which can make or break gamers wanting to play this depending on how much you enjoy a lack of challenge.

12. LEGO City: Undercover

Who doesn’t love Legos? If you adore Legos or you just love the Lego based video games, Undercover is one you should look into playing. 

Lego City Undercover’s gameplay borrows heavily from Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise, however, the game is role-reversed with the player taking on the role of a police officer enforcing the law, rather than a criminal committing crime; although the player is required to commit criminal acts on some occasions in order to infiltrate criminal gangs. The game also includes references to notable Nintendo intellectual properties, and it’s GTA for kids mentality makes this a noteworthy game for all ages.

11. Crackdown

Crackdown is a Third-person shooter set in a sandbox environment, akin to Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, with some familiar gameplay found in GTA. After selecting one of the predefined Agent characters, the player is assigned to defeat the Kingpin of each gang, though there is no precise approach to do this, leaving players to select their preferred method. While the player may face the Kingpin and his bodyguards at any time, they can improve their chances of taking out the Kingpin by facing and defeating the various Generals responsible for certain aspects of the Kingpin’s offense and defense, removing them from play.

Crackdown features an online two-player cooperative play, so you and a buddy can roam Pacific City together off and on to your heart’s content thanks to the drop in, drop out feature in co-op. Both players may explore the city freely, with the other player’s position noted on the HUD map. Players can fight alongside each other, and also inflict friendly-fire damage. The state of the city, including which Generals and Kingpins remain, is determined by the host player’s progress. Both players are credited with the defeat of a General or Kingpin in the game—which will affect the state of the guest’s progress—but are required to obtain supply points and gain experience independently.

10. Pursuit Force 

An action game developed by Bigbig Studios, Pursuit Force places the player in the role of a police agent who is a member of the titular elite law enforcement agency, specializing in direct armed encounters with adversaries, whether it be on foot or on the bonnet of a speeding car.

You’re a cop specializing in high-speed chases and you’re operating in a city filled with car-loving gangs. From this simple premise, developer Bigbig Studios crafted one of the truly great PSP games – an idiotic interactive action movie, cleverly miniaturized without cutting down on the fun of shooting from a moving muscle car. It sired a sequel, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, before the team went on to deliver the Vita oddity, Little Deviants.

9. Heavy Rain

In Heavy Rain, an interactive action-adventure game, players control four characters as they attempt to solve the mystery of the Origami Killer. Your choices can move their stories forward in various, unforeseen ways. You could even end up killing some of them. Will you let Ethan go through the killer’s brutal trials, knowing his life will be on the line? How will Norman deal with the crooks who are out for his blood? Will Madison escape the men who just invaded her home? What will Shelby do with the evidence he finds?

There is no immediate “game over” in Heavy Rain; as the game will progress to a number of different endings depending on the sum of the player’s performance even if all the characters become incapacitated in some manner.Once the game is complete, the player can return to earlier scenes and replay them, possibly altering the events as they play through other chapters.

8. Police Quest: In Pursuit of Death Angel

This classic adventure game follows a determined cop from the lowly role of traffic officer through to a dramatic murder investigation. It’s a beautifully measured, highly authentic drama, which Sierra claimed had been used in training academies to teach the basics of police procedures. Several sequels and the spin-off SWAT series followed.

7. Driver

The game is played out in four cities: Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, each of which remain only partially faithful to the actual city layouts. The game was notable at the time of its original release insofar as the player was able to explore each city as an open world environment, as well as taking inspiration from 1960s and 70s car chase films.

This driving adventure is a perfect blended mixed the car chases of seventies cop flicks with the open world feel of the Grand Theft Auto series to thrilling effect. Lead character John Tanner spends most of the game undercover, driving for gang members and bank robbers, so you get to commit crimes not to mention busting perps, how much more realistic can you get? The latest installment, Driver: San Francisco, but it’s the predecessor that’s worth being owned in your library. 

6. Sherlock Holmes: Crime and Punishments

The game consists of six murder, theft, and disappearance cases. In order to solve these case, you must investigate crime scenes, speak with witnesses and potential suspects, as well as attend victim autopsies to backup any evidence you may find. And because you’re Sherlock, your intelligence and observation skills are considered in-game superpowers that give you a special “detective vision.” This highlights objects of interest in the environment.

After gathering clues, you’ll have to interpret them on a “deduction board.” Depending on how you link information together, you’ll end up with a variety of deductions. This means every case can have more than one conclusion, which in turn means some cases can end in failure, providing a difficult challenge for those daring to tackle it.

5. True Crime: Streets of LA 

One of the better games, along with another game released at its time, Grand Theft Auto III; this one put players into the criminal-stomping shoes of loose cannon cop Nick Kang, dealing out bloody justice to Triad, Latino and Russian gangs. The sequel, True Crime: New York City, wasn’t very good and a third title was canned by Activision, only to re-emerge as the soon to be released Sleeping Dogs

The game tells the story of Nicholas Kang, an uncompromising Los Angeles police officer who is recruited into the Elite Operations Division in order to investigate a series of bombings in Chinatown. As he delves further into the case, he discovers it may be connected to the disappearance of his police officer father twenty years previously. The game features a 240-square-mile, offering a re-creation of a large part of Los Angeles, with a more heavy emphasis on  Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, with most street names, landmarks and highways reproduced based off these locations.

4. SWAT 4

While this game can be compared with some similarities to Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, SWAT 4 is the better game in terms of gameplay, and content! The player’s character leads a five-man SWAT element made up of the leader and four other men that are divided into two pairs, called “teams.” The teams are assigned colors, “red” or “blue.” The player does not assume direct control over the other officers. However, orders can be issued from an order selection menu, ranging from clearing a room to covering an area and handcuffing a compliant person. Additionally, a video camera is mounted on each police officer’s helmet.

To simulate realistic police procedures, SWAT 4′ encourages the use of non-lethal force to subdue and arrest subjects rather than incapacitating or killing them. In addition, players must follow strict protocol to ensure proper use of force. Players may not fire on suspects with lethal weapons unless the suspect points their firearm at a fellow officer or a civilian. Penalties are given for unauthorized use of force, injuries to hostages, officer incapacitation, and personal injury. If a hostage is killed, the mission is automatically deemed a failure; while higher difficulty requires a higher score to seal the victory.

3. Max Payne

Max Payne is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Almost all the gameplay involves bullet time-based gun-fights and levels are generally straightforward, occasionally incorporating platforming and puzzle-solving elements. The game’s storyline is advanced by the player following Max’s internal monologues to determine what his next steps should be.

Initially, the player’s only weapon is a semi-automatic pistol. As the player progresses, access to other firearms is given, including melee and hand-thrown weapons. Some of the game’s weapons can be dual wielded. Max regains health by taking painkillers, which the player collects. The game’s AI is heavily dependent on pre-scripted commands: most of the apparently intelligent behavior exhibited by enemies (such as taking cover, retreating from the player, or throwing grenades) actually is pre-scripted.

2. Policenauts

A long time ago, Konami was the employer of one of the best video game designers to ever walk the earth, Hideo Kojima. While many would know Kojima for his work on his Metal Gear series, Kojima is no one trick pony, Policenauts is living proof of that opinion. Fans of legendary game designer Hideo Kojima have no doubt heard of his futuristic point-and-click thriller, originally released on the NEC PC-9821; although the game only saw an official release in Japan. Regardless of this, it offers an interesting tale of an astronaut cop turned murder detective while also managing to introduce several narrative and tech ideas that would later influence, and be implemented in the Metal Gear Solid titles.

1. Virtua Cop 

Players assume the role of police officers – either Michael Hardy, or his partner, James Cools. Played in a first-person perspective, players must use a light gun (Similar to the one used in Sega’s House of the Dead series) to shoot criminals and advance through the game. Taking damage or shooting a civilian will cause the player to lose a life; power-ups can be shot to grant the player a special weapon or even an extra life. However, that weapon will be lost if the player takes damage, but not if he shoots a civilian. Players can score extra points for “justice shots” (disarming an enemy without killing them, done by shooting their hand) and “bullseyes” (shooting the center of the target circle)

During the time of its initial release, Virtua Cop offered some crisp  polygonal graphics and deep gameplay mechanics, Sega’s Virtua Cop practically re-invented the hokey light gun genre in the mid-nineties. Based in a coastal city with a dockland environment nicked from every eighties action movie, the game became an arcade legend, which is also a heavy influenced to games such as Namco’s similar Time Crisis series as well as several other releases in the franchise.

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