For five seasons now, viewers of the popular FX series The Shield have followed Vic Mackey and his Strike Team police unit as they walked (and crossed) the line between justice and corruption. Now, gamers get the chance to play the part of Farmington district's badass with a badge as The Shield puts in for a transfer from the TV to the jurisdiction of the PS2. Unfortunately, this game may finally do what Internal Affairs has so far never managed to by bringing the Strike Team to its knees.

The plot for the video game takes place squarely between events in Season 3 and Season 4 of the television series. After the fallout from the Money Train Heist in Season 3, tensions within the Strike Team are at an all time high. Pressure is also being put on the team to pull off one major bust or get permanently disbanded. For Vic and his crew, this means busting up a turf war brewing between the Byz-Lat and One-Niner gangs. It's up to Vic to bust the bangers, confiscate the weapons, and lay down the law. And hey, if the team can line their pockets a little along the way, then so be it.

Missions in The Shield are generally split into two main parts: stealth and shooting. As Vic, you're supposed to sneak into a target's hideout, find yourself a key position, and then draw your guns and take down the main perp. Well, that's what's supposed to happen at least. What usually happens instead is that somehow one of the bad guy's flunkies somehow manages to somehow see through that wall you're crouched behind and start the gunfight long before you're ready. Usually, this results in the mission failing before you even know why you failed. Making matters worse, the games clunky controls make Vic move around like a first year rookie barely able to pass through the academy, instead of the seasoned pro that fans of the show know him to be.

One major gameplay element in The Shield is how Vic deals with the consequences of his actions. Every time Vic "bends" the law to his favor, he generates more heat for himself and his team. This includes everything from killing crooks to stealing evidence. Vic can get some of the heat off by actually arresting some of the bad guys instead of playing executioner. Vic also has to decide what to do with the various amounts of contraband he finds in each mission. He can either turn it over to Internal Affairs to take some pressure off of the Strike Team, or he can pocket it as a part of the crew's "Retirement Fund." Going the former route lets the player get away with more illicit activities without drawing unwanted attention from IA, while going with the latter eventually gives the player access to special bonuses and unlockables.

During my time with The Shield, I had this overwhelming feeling of deja vu. The convoluted controls. The good cop/bad cop morality questions with no real consequences. The poor quality of gameplay. I just couldn't shake the feeling that I'd somehow played this game once before. Then it hit me light a bolt from the blue. Point of View, the developers behind the video game version of The Shield, had already laid the foundation for the game a couple of years ago with NARC, another sub-par game about a cop on the take. In fact, even the heat meter detailing the level of corruption you're at is virtually identical to the rep meter in NARC. It's almost like POV was working on a sequel to NARC and decided to slap The Shield onto it when they got the license.