Are there any Police games that are good?

[Menegrothx]

Besides LA Noire, Police Quest and SWAT series are the only game series that I can think of. I know it's not what you're looking for, but The Getaway is a a fairly realistic GTA type of game, the police will come after you if you disobey the traffic rules, carry a gun in public etc.

Can't think of any cop game without shooting and driving. I mean, that's sort of what cops do you know

It's about how it's handled. In PQ and SWAT you have to follow the same kind of rules and protocol as real cops do. Most police officers will never even kill a single person during their career (the more dangerous country/area, the more likely it is). In countries like UK and Japan most police officers have probably never even fired a gun outside a firing range. By contrast in most "police" related games you've killed 20+ people after the first two minutes of the gameplay. Sure there's no need why a police game shouldn't be more exciting than real life, but still there's a big difference between semi-realistic simulation and mindless shoot em up. Police quest does it right

Police Quest: In Pursuit of The Death Angel, is an adventure game whose gameplay is centered around interacting with the environment to resolve a series of scenarios. These largely revolve around typical police work, such as securing crime scenes and recovering stolen vehicles, plus some important duty procedures. The original release of the game required the player to type in the desired actions, such as opening doors, pressing buttons or firing one's gun, while the remake allows the player to use the mouse to select actions from a menu and objects in the environment.

The lack of "traditional" puzzles made the game stand out at the time of release, although it also resulted in some criticism of the dry police work. Unlike many games of this genre, the style of play depends largely on a strict adherence to standard police rules and procedure. Failure to abide to proper procedure typically leads to the player being penalized on points, or having his character killed. For instance, if Sonny neglects to store his side arm in a gun lockers before entering the jail to book a prisoner, the prisoner will take the gun from him the moment his handcuffs are removed and him with it, ending the game.

[Ivo]

The Police Quest games and SWAT (Corner Mirror, FLASHBANG!) were already mentioned and are probably the best you can get given what you are seeking.

The Kojima games were also already mentioned. If you are willing to allow sci-fi / cyberpunk settings, I think that Deus Ex should also be a worthwhile consideration here, and perhaps the Blade Runner (PC, adventure game) fits.

Half-joking, if you want a detective game there is Carmen Sandiego

You may really enjoy the game "Hostages" (Amiga). You shoot many terrorists but it takes a semi-realistic approach. You play the game in sections, first you position snipers sneaking through spotlights that the terrorists setup in the embassy. Then the helicopter drops some men on the roof and you can alternate between controlling the snipers that can remove any terrorists near the windows (but don't confuse them with the hostages) and the others, which can rappel down and go inside the building by crashing through a window into a (hopefully cleared) room. Then you can navigate inside the embassy with automatic weapons and gun down the remaining terrorists. At the end you get "rated" with a newspaper article whose heading loosely matches that attempt, describing whether you lost any men or any hostages were killed. Very cool.

Some people suggested Streets of Rage and Robocop. While I think they were joking, Robocop 3 for the Amiga is not an arcade game. You may not want it as it has driving sections (where you ram down a target vehicle while being shot at) and still shoot plenty of people in the shooting sections, but you must do your best to avoid killing any hostages. There are also jetpack sections near the end and some one on one fights with the android from the movie (Otomo?).

For the time both these Amiga games were quite interesting games with varied gameplay. Worth checking out (Hostages possibly holds out to play today better than Robocop 3). Look them up on youtube or something.

Ivo.

[joehero]

Parasite Eve. Its a great game with a great story line.

As someone else has said, Indigo Prophecy.It is Awesome!

[samsonlonghair]

[fastbilly1]

The Police Quest games and SWAT (Corner Mirror, FLASHBANG!) were already mentioned and are probably the best you can get given what you are seeking.

The Kojima games were also already mentioned. If you are willing to allow sci-fi / cyberpunk settings, I think that Deus Ex should also be a worthwhile consideration here, and perhaps the Blade Runner (PC, adventure game) fits.

Fifthed on Police Quest and SWAT games, also Police Quest SWAT is a good series. Police Quest may be old, but its good enough that it has been used as a training tool at some police academies.

[SNKnicotine]

Try Wreckless for the Gamecube

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just kidding but in all seriousness you might want to try True Crimes streets of LA and NYC( in NYC you can play as Snoop Doggy Dogg aka Snoop Lion)

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[fastbilly1]

Actually Lego City might be up your alley when it comes out.

[SamuraiMegas]

Actually Lego City might be up your alley when it comes out.

One of the many reasons i bought my Wii U. can't wait for it.

[Hatta]

If you do play Police Quest and like it, there's another Jim Walls (creator of PQ) adventure game called Blue Force. It's not quite up to Sierra standards, but it's really close. Highly recommended.

Another adventure series you might like are the Tex Murphy games. He's not a police officer, but a private eye. The games still involve solving crimes with investigation, and not so much combat.

The SWAT series is worth talking about too. It was a spin off of PQ which has gone in several directions. The original SWAT is a FMV game, and it's one of the better ones. There are only a few scenarios, but they've captured enough footage to make each playthrough unpredictable if not unique. There's also lots of interesting reading about SWAT equipment and tactics if you're that kind of nerd too.

SWAT 2 was a squad combat game in the vein of Xcom or Jagged Alliance, but more realistic. There's not a lot to say about this one, except it's fun but not outstanding.

SWAT 3 and 4 are tactical FPSs like Rainbow Six. That's not exactly what you're looking for, but they do retain the focus on tactics and procedure. You're encouraged to arrest rather than kill, and there's fun to be had in figuring out how to kill as few people as possible in each mission. It's very different from your typical FPS, and worth checking out even if you generally dislike FPS.

Now that I think about it, you might also like Covert Action by Sid Meier. Again, you're not exactly a cop, but you're a spy trying to apprehend other spies. Most of the game is collecting evidence by playing a number of mini games, which simulate code cracking, phone tapping, etc. Once you have enough evidence you can apprehend the villian. If you like Pirates! you'll probably like Covert Action, though it's a less cohesive experience over all.

[BurningDoom]

The Streets of Rage games on Sega Genesis, of course. Some of the cream of the crop as far as 2D beat-em ups go.

Future Cop L.A.P.D. is another really fun one on the PS1. Open areas to explore and blow the hell out of everything in site in what is basically a police hovercraft Transformer. And some of the best multiplayer modes on the PS1.

Can't believe I forgot the Virtua Cop series. Great light-gun games available on Saturn and on the Sega Smash Pack on Dreamcast.