The player controls the Commander of a special section of the police known as the Pursuit Force, to combat the city's gangs. Gameplay is action-packed, fast-paced and "arcadey", played from a third-person perspective. The player pursues adversaries in cars, motorbikes, helicopters and boats, usually engaging in gun combat with them. The intensity of the fast sections are broken up with on-foot and rail-shooting sequences. As in the original Pursuit Force game, in many driving sections, the player can jump from their vehicle onto enemy vehicles, have a firefight with the occupants, and take over the vehicle. Missions typically last around ten minutes and are split into distinctly different gameplay segments; e.g. a mission could involve a driving protect section, followed by a helicopter turret sequence, and end with an on-foot combat area.
Enemies are from five distinctive gangs across a vast fictional state (Capital State, featuring Capital City) in North America. Other members of the Pursuit Force often join the player as allies (controlled by the computer AI). A number of boss fights appear throughout the game, typically in control of vast signature vehicles (for example a huge hovercraft for the Raiders). The game features a "Justice" meter which fills as the player damages enemies and performs other feats. The Justice meter can be used for several things depending on whether it is partially filled or completely filled. When partially full, the player can partially regain vehicle and character health. When the Justice meter is full, the player can increase the damage and use a special attack, depending on the context. The player character's statistics can also be upgraded in a limited fashion as the player progresses through the game. Other features include Ad hoc multiplayer (with driving and on-foot modes), a challenge mode, and a Pursuit Force shop, where the player can buy items such as game art, videos and cheats.