Aspyr and developer Point of View's The Shield will probably be nothing more than a blip on people's gaming radars. Just another action adventure game based on a popular (or used to be popular) television series. However, for those that purchase it (an affordable $29.99), they will definitely cherish the six to ten hours it takes to blaze through this tired, yet hilarious video game. One that invites its players to abuse criminals, steal their loot and watch soft core porn.

Gamers step into the shoes of Vic Mackey, a bald, pissed off cop that rules the mean streets of Los Angeles with his own brand of twisted justice. To him, interrogating someone means slapping them around, ramming their heads into concrete floors, sticking them in feces-stained toilets and burning their flesh on a hot stove; brutal methods that violence starved people will no doubt gush over. Furthermore, after someone's been "shook" (or shot in the face), gamers go through their pockets to steal drugs, money and weapons. They can even plant evidence on people/corpses, thus taking some of the heat off Mackey. Keeping an eye on his heat (visible within the shield at the top left corner of the screen) means success, the ever raising and lowering red bar an indication of how much trouble he's caused.

Rummaging through people's things also plays a huge role in this game. Innocent looking apartments yield all kinds of goodies, including drugs, ammunition and wads of cash. Mackey may also cause some destruction. While beating people up normally results in them coughing up valuable information, using a baseball bat to smash their HDTVs, knock over their speakers and bust up their coffee pots gets them talking too.

Keeping in the spirit of the popular FX television series, Aspyr made sure to get the show's actors to provide the voice work, including Vic Mackey himself, Michael Chiklis. With that being said, expect to see plenty of familiar characters such as Detective Shane Vendrell and David Aceveda.

The Shield also sports an engaging story, full of twists and some interesting cut scenes. Unfortunately for all those involved, the narrative may be interesting for all the wrong reasons. Uncomfortable racial stereotypes, a porn shop and plenty of potentially offensive dialogue await those brave enough to endure a potential laugh riot, though for some, that may be a nervous, little laugh. Point of View doesn't win an award for crafting one of the best stories in years, but rather, a popcorn adventure that manages to briefly conceal the game's deficiencies, at least for a little while.

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