In COPS 2170, you take the role of rookie cop, Katrin, as she patrols the mean streets of a futuristic, cyberpunk metropolis. Katrin is a beautiful young, police academy graduate who is an excellent student and exceptional athlete. Unbeknownst to Katrin, her recent assignment concerning a series of terror attacks is about to propel her into the path of an evil genius. The game combines tactical strategy with RPG elements across 200 quests and 14 large maps.

The player starts as a character named "Hacker" who is just as the name implies. The player starts with a pistol and the ability to hack certain objects (ATM's, Trade Robots, etc.) as well as a journal which gives maps of the area and tells them missions both current and completed. As certain missions are completed, the character's level will increase and skills can have points added to them increasing areas like strength, aim, hacking skill, health points and so forth.