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If the original Pursuit Force (our review here) were a blockbuster Hollywood action movie, then Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice would be it's slightly less interesting, not as well received sequel. The first game was somewhat love or hate, with non-stop action filled driving and shooting sequences and a rather high difficulty curve. Extreme Justice attempts to one up the original with more vehicles, more gangs to take down and a bit more variety in gameplay types. In the end, it just doesn't feel quite as exciting or fresh unfortunately. Comparing Pursuit Force to a Hollywood action movie makes sense, since that's exactly the intentions of the developer: to create a game centered around over-the-top, Michael Bay-esque chase sequences. You play the game as an elite member of the Pursuit Force, a small group of Capital City law enforcers assigned to take on the most demanding cases and crimes around the city. A high-speed SWAT team of sorts that races into action in their supercharged vehicles and heavy weaponry, and does whatever it takes to dish out justice.
The first Pursuit Force was an enjoyable ride, but frustratingly hard at times. Extreme Justice is a little easier and features more checkpoints and better-paced missions, although most of the time it feels a little too much like more of the same. The new variety of vehicles to control and commandeer are certainly nice as are the additional weapons. The more frequent on-foot segments are even more annoying and still feel out of place in the game. These 3rd person shooter portions were bad in the original and they are even worse here. Besides the ability to control and take control of cars, trucks, boats and motorcycles of all sorts, you also occasionally need to man a helicopter or armored vehicle turret to provide support as in the first Pursuit Force. The game is still no pushover in terms of difficulty, especially some of those boss-type fights, but those damn on-foot bits really drag down the pace. Extreme Justice looks very similar to original, and as such, it also zips along at a blistering pace regardless of the amount of action going on. There are some better effects and lighting here and there and some more detail in the environments, though generally it looks the same. The backgrounds and roadway exhibit some shimmery unfiltered textures that can be distracting at first glance. The game's real visual draw is the amount of action going on at once along with the (usually) non-stop fast pace. Like the game in general, the orchestrated soundtrack sounds like it was ripped from any big budget action flick. The voice work is purposely cheesy and over-the-top and since it fits in with the game's theme it's perfectly OK. The Story Mode is the place you'll spend most of your time. Besides featuring more missions and chapters (roughly 15+ hours worth), BigBig also tossed in a simple new upgrade system that allows you to boost your stats with medals earned from beating each mission. It's a nice addition over the first game and provides a little more strategy. There is also a Challenge Mode with various additional missions to take on. They've worked in some ad-hoc multiplayer as well as the potential for downloadable content, so there's no lack of things to keep you busy. Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice is a fun and action-packed PSP title but it has some issues, much like the original. Those who had a blast with Pursuit Force will likely also very much enjoy the sequel, as it's more of the same. If you haven't played the first game however I'd almost recommend going for that version before going "Extreme".
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