DOS

Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

It is this attention to detail that makes the game such a wonderful experience. Even in a golden era of adventures, when designers were sincerely interested in cutting edge technology and creating a satisfying and complete experience, Police Quest 2 is one of the shining stars of late ‘80s PC gaming, and is still as much fun for retro-adventure fans to play twenty years later as it was way back when.

Police Quest 2: The Vengeance er en oppfinnsom blanding av dramatikken i en dødelig politijakt og alle de små detaljene i en kriminaletterforskning. Spillet er som sagt godt forbedret fra forgjengeren, ikke bare teknologisk men også hva forvikling i storyen angår. Selv om dette er en meget forenklet fremstilling av politiarbeid, får man likevel et interessant innblikk i hverdagen til en mordetterforsker.

The game has improved a lot from the original game, both in terms of graphic and sound. The only thing I don’t like in this game is the driving… or rather, lack thereof. In the first game you drove the car yourself, but in this game it is automatic. So you loose the ability to cruise around aimlessly… One thing I do like, however, is the fact that you do not need to do a full check-up of your vehicle before leaving the station. This is a big plus, since it enhances gameplay greatly. Another plus is the option to use the mouse to move around with. In other words… PQ2 is a great sequel to the first game, and a must if you liked that one!

Sonny Bonds, the hero of Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel, has performed a public service for the town of Lytton by putting the notorious “Death Angel” Jesse Bains behind bars. His service has won him a promotion from the Narcotics to the Homicide Division. When Sonny learns that Jesse has escaped from prison, he and his partner Keith are put on special assignment “Operation Target” to bring back the “Death Angel”. This is the central theme of the second installment of the Police Quest series.

PQ2 takes place one year after you've tracked down the Death Angel, and aside from the difference in job description, there's not much change from the ending of the first game to the beginning of the second. Bonds' hair is still dyed golden, he and Marie are still cultivating their relationship, and Jessie Bains is still in jail... but not for long. In what makes the second escape from Lytton jail, Bains overpowers a guard and flees, setting off the events of the second game. You will use all the tricks in your homicide kit to stay on his trail as he takes care of some unfinished business, and leaves a few warm corpses behind.

La segunda parte de las andanzas de nuestro policía favorito -después de Frank Drebin- es la más acelerada de la saga, mostrando las ambiciones de Jim Walls respecto a su visión de una historia contada por la vía del videojuego. Desgraciadamente ni el medio ni los puzzles acaban haciendo justicia a una historia arquetípica -pero interesante- convirtiendo el juego en algo más incómodo de lo que debiese.