When Police Simulator: Patrol Officers first arrived on Xbox consoles a couple of years ago, we knew it'd be popular enough to attract a decent fanbase, but we never quite anticipated just how successful it'd prove. Over the past two years, the game has regularly appeared in the "Top Paid" list on the Microsoft Store in various regions, and because it's done so well, it's even now being treated to a major "Highway Patrol" expansion.
In this new bit of Police Simulator DLC, you're finally able to leave the city of Brighton and take to the highways that surround it, opening up new gameplay scenarios along the way. Of course, some of the tasks are still the same - assist people who have crashed, look for people who are speeding, etc - but others are unique to the Highway Patrol expansion, such as Weigh Stations where you have to question truckers about the goods they're carrying, and scenarios such as high-speed car chases and laying down spike strips. For us, there's nothing more exciting than rushing around the highways (and the streets of Brighton) as we attempt to ram fleeing drivers off the road!
There's no doubt that patrolling the highways offers a breath of fresh (or perhaps not so fresh) air compared to the standard gameplay loop that Police Simulator employs in the city, but at the same time you shouldn't expect anything drastically different. If you've been enjoying the game over the past couple of years, this feels like more of the same with some unique tasks thrown in - all taking place within a larger area.
It is a pretty large area as well. The highways look good, and you've got the ability to take a few slightly different routes instead of just constantly circling Brighton in a loop - as mentioned, you can go into the city and back out again which is a great touch. However, in terms of downsides, the driver AI can be erratic to say the least (we've had a few road rage moments), and strangely there's no kind of barrier to prevent you from going off the map, so you have to keep an eye on your radar. If you go too far, your shift simply comes to an end, and that can be really irritating when you're not quite paying attention enough.
For those who have played Police Simulator before though, you probably expect weird quirks like this. Just like we said two years ago, it's still a buggy, clunky mess at times, but that's also kind of its charm, and as long as you don't take the game too seriously, there's plenty of fun to be had. All of that can be applied to the Highway Patrol expansion as well, which is now available for £16.99 / $19.99 on the Xbox Store and as part of the Police Simulator: Patrol Officers - Gold Edition for £34.99 / $39.99.