The premise casts the player as a police officer returning to duty after an absence, tasked with apprehending a ruthless gang of car thieves operating on the German Autobahn. Patrolling the highway with a partner, the objective is to identify and intercept criminals.
Thirty-five years ago, Sierra released the original Police Quest, a title I thoroughly enjoyed on my Atari 1040STe. Despite the rudimentary graphics, the story and attention to detail conveyed a sense of authenticity, creating the impression of actual police work. Consequently, the arrival of Autobahn Police Simulator 3 for review raised the expectation of a competent, modern police simulation. However, this anticipation proved to be significantly misplaced.
Initial concerns arose immediately upon accessing the game’s settings. While the option to invert the vertical look controls—a personal preference—was present, it proved impossible to select. The cursor consistently skipped over the option, a perplexing issue. Proceeding to avatar customization, the choices were limited to gender and skin color. Upon starting the game, the reality became starkly apparent.
The graphics are remarkably poor, appearing dated by at least 15-20 years, even on the Xbox Series S. The camera movement is erratic, and the character animations are unconvincing. The avatar’s movement appears unnatural and stiff. Furthermore, the player’s partner shares an almost identical appearance, differentiated only by a minor variation in hair color. While an attempt seems to have been made to render realistic skin tones, the result is characters with an unnaturally luminous and semi-transparent appearance.
The voice acting struggles with awkward and unnatural dialogue. The attempts to react to in-game events result in cringeworthy moments. The character portrayals lack realism. The decision to use British English for a game ostensibly set in Germany is also perplexing. A language selection option was not readily apparent, potentially another non-functional element.
After navigating the clunky game mechanics, accessing the police vehicle becomes possible. The driving controls are conventional and unremarkable. The gameplay involves pursuing suspects on the Autobahn, an experience that quickly becomes repetitive due to its simplicity. Multiple options for stopping vehicles are presented, including blocking and arrest attempts. However, their execution feels inconsistent and unreliable.
The combination of poor graphics, unwieldy controls, and malfunctioning features renders Autobahn Police Simulator 3 largely unplayable.
In conclusion, Autobahn Police Simulator 3 is a significantly flawed title. The fact that this is the third iteration in the series, purportedly the most advanced, raises serious concerns about the quality of previous installments. This game cannot be recommended due to its substantial shortcomings.
Z-Software provided a review copy for this assessment. Content providers do not influence our editorial evaluations.
