A British police force has been mocked for launching a new iPhone driving game that “bares an uncanny resemblance” to the hugely popular video game Grand Theft Auto, according to the Daily Mail. The free title from Northamptonshire Police made its App Store debut last Thursday, and allows players to complete a number of (lawful) driving challenges.
Some users feel it offers the same kind of experience that Rockstar’s title does, but you won’t be tasked with transporting drugs, taxiing prostitutes around, or killing gang leaders.
In fact, there’s very little resemblance to Grand Theft Auto whatsoever — apart from the driving, which isn’t even close. The Daily Mail believes, however, that the two games are “startling similar” because First Response has “graphics and even camera angles [that] mirror those of the earlier versions of the GTA series.” It also notes that you can drive a police car in both titles.
“‘There’s not many games where you drive around in a police car and that was immediately what I thought when I first saw it,” one user said. “‘I’m not sure if that was the effect the force were going for baring in mind GTA is one of the most violent video games ever made.”
To anyone who’s ever played Grand Theft Auto, First Response is nowhere near the same. It’s a driving game in which you use a police car, and that’s as far as it goes. You can’t get out of the car to beat up random pedestrians with baseball bats, there are no missions, and you cannot collect hidden packages.
Northamptonshire Police say First Response is simply an attempt at engaging with the public in “new and innovative ways.”
“The iPhone app is a bit of fun, but also allows people to get in touch with us through our other very popular online channels,” assistant chief constable Martin Jelley said. ‘The app has been developed internally by a member of the Corporate Communications team who has been working on this for some time, in his own time; it’s great to see such innovation within the force.”
Please don’t download First Response expecting a Grand Theft Auto experience, then, because that’s not what you’ll get — despite what the Daily Mail says. It’s free if you do want to check it out, but you’ll be getting a tame 3D driving game in which you’ll mostly be abiding by the law.
Source: Daily Mail
