''Special Criminal Investigation'', also known as ''S.C.I.'' for short or as ''Chase HQ II: Special Criminal Investigation'' in some home versions, is a 1989

vehicular combat Vehicular combat games (also known as just vehicular combat or car combat) are a sub-genre of vehicle simulation video games where the primary objectives of gameplay include vehicles armed with weapons attempting to destroy vehicles controlled b ...

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

published by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

for arcades. It is the sequel to the 1988 original '' Chase H.Q.''

Gameplay

Instead of the black

Porsche 928 The Porsche 928 is a luxury grand tourer produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 until 1995. Originally intended to replace the company's iconic 911, the 928 combined the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort ...

of the first game, the player commands a red example of the just-introduced (at the time) Nissan 300ZX Z32 T-Top

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

. Unlike the first game, the player is able to fire at offending vehicles, with some cabinets containing buttons on the steering wheel, and others having a fire button on the gearshift, along with a button to activate the nitrous boost. The game brings back protagonists Tony Gibson and Det. Raymond Broady of the first game, and their second game appearance. Broady has taken over the driver's seat this time, while Gibson, as the passenger, serves as the gunman. Also, instead of Nancy, Karen is the officer delivering reports of whom the criminal is pursuing, and what they are driving.

Ports and related releases

Conversions for Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum were released in 1991 by Ocean Software, developed by Glasgow's ICE Software. A conversion for the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) was released in January 1991 exclusively in Japan by Taito. Natsume ported it to the Sega Master System. An Amstrad plus/GX4000 version was written but never released, and only a small number of cartridges are known to exist. In 1996, Taito released an emulation of the arcade original for the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

in Japan, bundled together with ''Chase H.Q.'' on one disc.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Special Criminal Investigation'' on their December 1, 1989 issue as being the second most-successful upright arcade unit of the month. It went on to become Japan's third highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990, below '' Super Monaco GP'' and '' Winning Run Suzuka GP''. The arcade game was also a major hit in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom where Taito shipped 1,500 units by January 1990.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games ICE Software games Ocean Software games Master System games TurboGrafx-16 games ZX Spectrum games Virtual Console games Taito arcade games Taito Z System games Vehicular combat games Video games about police officers Video games scored by Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Video games developed in Japan