32. Chase H.Q.

(Arcade/Various Home, Taito, 1988)
What's your dream job?
There's an abundance of vocations I'd like to have, but more than anything else, I wish I had the balls to make a difference. Last night, I was awoken at 3a.m by a loud commotion. Looking out the window, I see some Police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance. In the middle of the road, a man lies handcuffed surrounded by about five officers, two of which are packing heat. Two more officers then smash the crap out of the front door of the house opposite mine before pulling out a second guy. After all the shouting, banging, sirens and alarms are done, the street is silent again. I've missed out on an hour's sleep, but another prick is behind bars, for now anyway. There is still forensics van parked outside.

Real life crimestopping is incredibly hard. With so much red-tape, i's to dot and t's to cross, keeping the streets safe is a demanding and dangerous role that appears to get more bureaucratic by the day. I don't know how they do it.

But if real-life was like videogames, without a shadow of doubt my CV would be winging it's way to the fine people at Chase Headquarters.
Chase H.Q. has the player assume the roles of Lethal Weapon wannabes Tony Gibson and Raymond Brody as the speed down America's highways in their sexy black Porsche 928. Their job is tracking down fleeing criminals, who are attempting to cross the border and get away scot-free from their nefarious deeds, ranging from murder and drug-dealing to kidnapping and espionage. The player is given sixty seconds to catch up to the perpetrator at which point our heroes hit the siren, the theme music kicks in and the player has sixty more seconds to ram the offending vehicle off the road. The Porsche is equipped with three "Turbos" for a sudden burst of ridiculous speed and guidance on time and direction is available from the overhead helicopter and the gorgeous Nancy, who is operating from the offices.

Chase H.Q. is an absolute blast. The cabinet is super stylised with cool controls and great retro-chic art. The game itself is superbly late 80's, with it's Reagan-esque approach to crime, action movie music and Miami Vice style cops, all pastel coloured jackets, wisecracks and high hairstyles. The graphics are crisp and the roads speed by at an alarming rate, requiring quick reflexes and a steady hand on the wheel. More so than anything, Chase H.Q. is simply hugely satisfying to play. The seconds tick by and the adrenaline keeps flowing, then once the siren starts blaring, it's time to take things up a gear. Literally.

Chase H.Q. is another game that is crying out for a new release. With frame-rates and audio/visuals the way they are today, A modern day home version, done correctly, would be mana from heaven for me.
I'm not a big fan of driving games, they're just not really my thing. The ones I do like usually have some kind of kick to them, rather than just being racers.
Chase H.Q. is a driving game where piece of shit scumbags get busted.
That's all the kick I'll ever need.

Let's Go Mr. Driver...