The best video games get better the more you play them. You start with a rough understanding of how everything works, and gradually you find yourself triumphing against mounting odds, until finally, you’re a finely-tuned weapon capable of cutting through any mess to save the day. The experience such games offer is exhilarating, rewarding, and fair–and everything LA Cops is not.

After a brief tutorial, LA Cops begins with a cutscene that shows a cop finding a wedding ring and a note on a counter. You can piece together what that means, and may feel sorry for the officer, who was so married to his job that his wife decided to find a new husband. Then it’s time to pick two officers from a squad of six before you tackle an isometric shooting stage. Your job is to neutralize some gang members who have taken the owner of a donut shop hostage. Collateral damage is okay.

The game picks inopportune times to worry about realism.

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