Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Helldivers 2
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 players are suspicious of their Citizen Surveillance Center as divers start getting marked as dissidents after a recent Major Order
GTA 4
Grand Theft Auto Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says GTA games are "not as good as" Charles Dickens books, "but they are similar" in their world-building
Z-Team gather around Invisigal in Dispatch to celebrate her win
Adventure Games Dispatch leads say the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 team's shout-out at the Golden Joysticks "means so much," and "I've never had a game make me cry so quickly before"
Stranger Things season 5
Sci-Fi Shows "Unforgivable" Stranger Things season 5 NES blooper has retro game fans fuming, albeit mostly jokingly
The 50 Most Iconic Video Game Characters
Games The 50 most iconic video game characters of all time
Final Fantasy 7 Remake screenshot showing Aerith staring ahead, a concerned expression on the young woman's face
Final Fantasy Aerith does not want to see your fanfic – Final Fantasy 7 Remake actor reminds fans "the meaning of the word inappropriate," asks them to stop tagging her in "smut"
Tacos packed with Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift fly around the screen in Hong Kong 2097 as Vince McMahon looks on from side
Third Person Shooters The sequel to the one of the worst games of all time failed its Steam review and hasn't gotten a response from Valve, so it's been delayed: "Come on Steam, you guys are busting my balls here"
Arc Raiders raider in a pilot helmet looks at the camera in a sunlit forest
Third Person Shooters Police confirm Arc Raiders fan got a visit from officers in real life after a concerned motel guest heard him plead for a revive: "I got shot, please get me up!"
GTA San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto The US government "nearly shut us down," former GTA lead says: "They decided we were the only people on the internet peddling pornography, apparently"
Postal Bullet paradise screenshot showing enemies swarming
Roguelike Games Publisher kills a game over gen AI accusations, leading its developer to shut down while insisting it was "mistakenly accused": "Everything we built over the past 6 years, was canceled in just a few days"
Shadow (Keanu Reeves) in Sonic 3
Movies Every upcoming video game movie you need to know about
How to enter GTA 5 cheats
Grand Theft Auto Rockstar topples $100,000 GTA 5 server "for no reason" according to creator who also denies any copyright infringement: "We have NOTHING TO DO with Harry Potter"
Robert rides the elevator to work in Dispatch with his dog Beef, looking out of place surrounded by superheroes
Adventure Games How Dispatch helped me to see my father's death in a new light
Grand Theft Auto 5
Grand Theft Auto GTA 5's Trevor actor feels "nothing inside" for GTA 6 and tells gamers to go "read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment," while Franklin's actor says "f*** that book"
GTA 6
Grand Theft Auto GTA 6 fans grab their spare pitchforks and torches as AI "leak" gets out of hand, turning 8 million views into an angry mob: "I wouldn't have thought it would go this far"
Trending
  • Best Games of 2025
  • The Future of Total War
  • Fallout Season 2
  • Gift Guides
  • New Games for 2025
  1. Games

What if... the police were called on game characters?

Features
By Justin Towell published 25 July 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

It's the rozzers! Scarper!

It's the rozzers! Scarper!

Video game characters do an awful lot of illegal stuff when you think about it. It's common practice to try smashing anything and everything you see in a game, just to see if it breaks. If it does break, it's probably got something useful inside. It's very rare that anyone in the game actually complains, let alone calls the police.

But what if they did? What if game characters were forced to come quietly? Well, that's what we're about to find out. Please place your hands on the mouse button and click through the galley. Slowly, wise guy. Keep your hands where I can see 'em...

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Link from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Link from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
B.D. Joe from Crazy Taxi

B.D. Joe from Crazy Taxi

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Pac-Man

Pac-Man

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Aiden Pierce from Watch Dogs

Aiden Pierce from Watch Dogs

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Mario from Super Mario Bros.

Mario from Super Mario Bros.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Dovahkiin from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dovahkiin from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Thief

Thief

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Kirby

Kirby

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
What seems to be the problem, officer?

What seems to be the problem, officer?

Did you enjoy that? Glad it wasn't real? Pac-Man is. Ah, Pac-Man. How many more times will the same joke sustain a whole slide in a GamesRadar gallery? Look out for it appearing in 'Game Characters who spoil their five-a-day with non-prescription drugs' and 'What's the deal with those pills in Pac-Man, anyway?' on a website near you very soon.

And if you're looking for more, check out the genuinely, really, honestly, totally different Video game characters' criminal records and Video game characters' complaints at the doctor's surgery.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Social Links Navigation

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.

Read more
Arc Raiders raider in a pilot helmet looks at the camera in a sunlit forest
Police confirm Arc Raiders fan got a visit from officers in real life after a concerned motel guest heard him plead for a revive: "I got shot, please get me up!"
 
 
Mario Kart World screenshot showing Toad elated after hitting a boost pad on a bike
Wow, Mario Kart World really is Nintendo's take on Grand Theft Auto, as NPCs can break into each other's cars: "He's breaking into Green Shy Guy's car! And now he's stealing it!"
 
 
Criminals in GTA Online talking over a desk covered in money
Streamer's GTA 5 mod takes you to court when you hit a pedestrian, and the paperwork asks some suspicious questions
 
 
The Duck Hunt dog is laughing at you
Nintendo's iconic NES Zapper could have been called something else if "a third" of a housewife focus group hadn't walked out of a Duck Hunt preview: "No guns are coming in my house"
 
 
If you play a pirated Super Smash Bros exactly 69 times on N64, Nintendo's "sneaky" anti-piracy measure will "lull the illegitimate user into a false sense of security" and trap you as Mario forever
 
 
The 50 Most Iconic Video Game Characters
The 50 most iconic video game characters of all time
 
 
Latest in Games
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem's GameStop listing seemingly leaks a second playable character and, no, it sadly isn't Leon Kennedy
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows backlash won't stop Ubisoft from going down the dual-protagonist route in the future "if we have a good reason to do it"
 
 
Cortana
Halo's Cortana actor says the direction Bungie gave her for the FPS was to sound like "the girl next door" that you "wanted to hang out with, but you're not in love with"
 
 
Assassin's Creed Shadows review gameplay showing Yasuke overlooking the sea and lush green scenery
Assassin's Creed Shadows lead teases "things that are set up" in the open-world RPG "should keep happening in other projects and evolve" thanks to the Animus Hub
 
 
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Gustave winces
Fallout and The Elder Scrolls boss Todd Howard's GOTY pick just so happens to be the current game of the year frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
 
 
FC 26
FC 26 Joga Bonito promo and Lucas Paqueta SBC guide
 
 
Latest in Features
Grounded 2 screenshot showing kids facing a scorpion with a GamesRadar+ Best of 2025 badge in upper right
From Skate to 2XKO, why wait when you can already play the best early access games of 2025
 
 
Big Preview Total War hub image featuring Warhammer 3 characters
Explore the future of Total War in the GamesRadar+ Big Preview
 
 
Crucial DDR5 Pro facing the camera on a stand, showing the small Crucial branding
Crucial could have been the brand to help consumers with RAM and storage costs, not make them worse
 
 
Dust Bunny
Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny is a weird and wonderful tale with one important lesson: "Believe children"
 
 
Pokemon Phantasmal Flames Charizard X Ex Ultra Premium Collection box laid out at an angle
Pokemon TCG Phantasmal Flames introduces a couple of tournament-winning cards you need in your deck
 
 
Hand using the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con controller in its mouse setting
Here's how to use mouse controls on Metroid Prime 4, and how to make them even better
 
 
  1. Art from Octopath Traveler 0 showing the hero being haunted by the images of those who burned his hometown, with ghostly images of the three surrounding an image of a town on fire behind him as he walks forward
    1
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  2. 2
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  3. 3
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
  4. 4
    Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
  5. 5
    Marvel Cosmic Invasion review: "Excellent '90s-tinged superhero brawling across a punchy campaign falls just short of arcade bliss"
  1. Freddy Fazbear in Five Nights at Freddy's 2
    1
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  2. 2
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  3. 3
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  4. 4
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  5. 5
    Predator: Badlands review: "Die-hard fans may be disappointed, but as a blockbuster action-adventure, Badlands kills it"
  1. Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in Stranger Things season 5
    1
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  2. 2
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  3. 3
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  4. 4
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
  5. 5
    Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...