Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

The Good
Well the graphics look about the same as they did it the first Police Quest. The controls are easy to use, and it is a good adventure game it true Sierra Style. This is a classic, which doesn't get the credit that it deserves, many people have played the first one, and this one is just as good as that.

The Bad
Come On now, a second police quest, Somebody at sierra must have had a friend in the force.

The Bottom Line
If you have played the First Police Quest, play this one. It is a typical 80's Sierra adventure game that is fun and will make you keep coming back for more.

The Good
This game is a bit more non-linear than the first. In other words, there is a lot more freedom as to where and when you can go places. It is also more unforgiving -- you have to be careful, because forgetting to do something can have serious consequences (translated, this means "Use more than one save game, because you'll need to go back to earlier ones on occasion"). For a police drama, this is great; it makes you think carefully and analytically.

The Bad
To reiterate, there are times where you get yourself into an un-winable state because of things you did or forgot to do earlier in the game. While this does add to realism, it can be irritating as well.

Having to practice your shooting and adjust the sights on your gun is a cool idea, but you don't really have any indication as to WHEN you should do this apart from the first time. You need to do this about 3 times during the course of the game, but you probably won't know it until you need to use your gun and you get killed because you don't hit the person you're shooting at. Kind of a bummer (see my above tip about multiple save games).

Also, the scene with the terrorists is a bit hokey. If you've played the game, you know the one I mean.

The Bottom Line
This is a very good game overall. If you played and liked the first one, odds are that you'll enjoy this one at least as much. If you're not detail oriented, you may find you have difficulty gathering evidence, but overall this one is good for several hours of enjoyment as you work towards solving the case!

The Good
I was hanging out for PQ2 to be released, after absolutely loving the first game. And after playing it for a couple of days it was apparent that it was an even better game than the first.

The graphics were higher resolution and a step up from the first game - the EGA version used dithering to give the impression of a lot more than 16 colours. The artwork was great - each location was lovingly put together with a great diversity of styles - from the lagoon/diving section to the sewers to the police station it was excellent for its time.

The sound was a huge step up, being the first in the series to support the Adlib and Roland sound cards - some great tunes and themes. No decent sound effect support, but it still was very good for PC games of the time.

The storyline/plot and puzzles are the best part of the game. Continuing on from the first game it details the events following the escape from prison of Jessie Bains, the "Death Angel".

As before, the plot escalates in intensity, excitement and difficulty to a perfect scale with a great conclusion to the game. The different things that you have to do in the game are great - the shooting range at the PD is cool, the diving section is fun, and having to investigate crime scenes and put all the clues and evidence together (such as dusting for prints etc) to work out what to do next gives a great sense of achievement, as well as being lots of fun.

Whereas, in PQ1 you were kind of led along by the procedures manual and rather obvious clues, this game requires you to do a lot more conclusive thinking for yourself, making it difficult for non-adventure fans, but a truly classic time for those who love the genre. The story is darker and moodier than PQ1, which was kind've light hearted, but is all that much better as a result. There is still a lot of humour in there too, especially from your partner.

The length of the game - from memory it took me several months to finish (I was 12 at the time) without any hints whatsoever. The sense of satisfaction in doing so was rewarding.

The Bad
Playing it in CGA originally some sections were hard (such as the diving) as the colours were all blue and red and some obvious clues were hidden as a result. There's not much else wrong with this game, another true classic for Sierra.

The Bottom Line
A classic adventure that is the best game in the Police Quest series - the subsequent titles were actually pretty average. An engaging story with characters that you believe in and make you want to keep playing just to see how everything turns out. If you love Sierra games, then play PQ1 AGI and this through without walkthroughs, and you'll love every moment!