It’s pretty amazing that the DS can still surprise me this long after it’s been released. There are still developers out there that are really pushing the hardware to new places.

Developer VD Dev has done just that by creating C.O.P. The Recruit. It’s basically Grand Theft Auto, but for kids. Hit the break for the full lowdown.

C.O.P. The Recruit (DS)
Developer: VD Dev
Publisher: Ubisoft
To be released: Fall 2009

In C.O.P. The Recruit, you’ll be playing as an ex-underground racer who was sent to jail but offered a new lease on life. Now, you’re a law enforcement agent and you’ll be racing against the clock to prevent a terrorist attack against New York.

You’re in a completely open world and you have six square miles of New York that you can explore at any time. The game is also running at 60 frames per second and it was very impressive to see how the game is able to keep up as you’re driving around the city. A lot of textures were popping in, though, so the draw distance isn’t that far. There’s no major loading, either, except when you enter a car or building.

The average player will probably take about 20 hours to complete C.O.P. There will be over 60 missions and that’s not even including the four hours worth of side missions.

You’re a cop, so you have to abide by the law. You can’t shoot or run over the random pedestrians on the street. You can still take any car or boat that you want, though. You’ll also have certain advantages as a cop -- you can call in for backup, road blockades, organize SWAT attacks and more.

When you’re walking or driving, you’ll be using the D-pad to control your movements. When you pull out the gun, the camera moves in closer, like in Resident Evil 4, and you’ll still be using the D-pad to walk, the touch screen to aim and the L button to shoot. You’ll have a mix of weapons from assault rifles, shotguns, pistols and more. Some of the guns even have recoil effects to them and you’ll have to fight the gun to keep a steady aim.

Your health is regenerative, so if you’ve taken too many hits, just hide in a corner and you’ll heal after a few seconds. The enemy AI seemed rather dumb, but they had really good aim so I was getting hit a lot as I played through one of the missions.

It’s really impressive everything that’s being crammed into C.O.P. You’ll have day and night missions, there will be some weather effects that affects your driving physics, you can set up nav points on your map to tons of other little features. There’s even a cool little “previously on C.O.P.” recap that comes on every time you turn the game back on too. The only thing that’s really missing from C.O.P. is the lack of music when you’re driving.

Overall, I was really impressed to see C.O.P. The Recruit on the DS. If you can ignore the ugly graphics and enjoy open-world games, then this looks like it will be worth getting.