Beef. It’s one of the greatest meats, without a doubt, but it’s more challenging to consume than chicken, for example. The first Pursuit Force was red, barely cooked beef: impossible to chew, but so very rewarding when you survived without death. Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice takes the edge off Pursuit Force’s established complexity, making the sequel a lot easier to excise (or chew) than its vicious predecessor. Extreme Justice is still a very challenging, lengthy game, but the quality here is assured by the fact that it’s accessibly playable.

Certainly, the first one was so difficult that it felt like you were having your brain excavated with a spoon at all times, but that seemed to be the point. After less-than-amazing sales, however, Bigbig has downsized the difficulty for the common man. As ever, it has the same Chase HQ mechanics and frantic pace of the original, while a new, OTT cop-revenge story spurs on the madness with comic conviction.

The lack of a numerical sequel suggests that Bigbig saw this as a reinvention of the idea; not so. We’ve noticed that some of the set pieces outstrip the previous game by quite a considerable distance – one level has you holding onto an aeroplane wing, while trying to shoot some bad guys who have stolen a nuclear payload; does stupidity sum it up? Anyway, as good as these trashy scenarios are, they barely improve the game or heighten the stakes, but the extra effort made with the design is a veritable plus point.

Unfortunately, an erratic difficulty emerges later on, and the slight repetition of the chase action seems more prevalent than it did before. The horrid third-person-shooting sections attempt to add variety, but they merely isolate the main game as a more entertaining option.

Actually, though, the appeal of Extreme Justice lies in the insane chases through the countryside, or the slow motion leaps onto enemy vehicles. In particular, when you’ve levelled up enough to have a ten-second bout of bullet time as you jump between vehicles, there’s nothing more satisfying than shooting a group of enemies in midair, before landing in the driver’s seat to steal their ride. With moments like this being as priceless and entertaining as they ever were, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice is still a worthy PSP title; granted, we’re not a million miles away from the first game, but who are we to complain? We can actually play it this time.

Samuel Roberts