Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

The Good
It was a great game from Sierra, I really enjoyed the Police Quest series of adventure games and this was one of the better stories. Not too hard but kept u interested the whole time. Classic game here people.

The Bad
For its time it did everything well and achieved what you were trying to do in an adventure game. They scrapped the driving from the other games but i actually liked it.

The Bottom Line
Classic piece of adventure gaming history. This game makes you wonder where the good ol games have gone.

The Good
THE STORYLINE. What a riveting story line. Even as a 9 near old back in 1992, I could understand and become excited by the storyline.

An all-time classic. This game was nearly responsible for me becoming a police officer. Nostalgia galore, I put this up there with the Tupac albums that could have been, the Bruce Lee Flicks we should have seen. It actually makes me depressed that no-one has made a police "quest" game in years. I take personal pride in the fact that (especially since I'm a computer science undergraduate myself) such a dated and "unpretty" game.....is still one of the greatest ever written by humanity. In terms of story, playability and entertainment....it has only been matched by Monkey Island 2 or perhaps GTA3 Vice City.

The fact that by the age of 11, I could type at a rate of 32wpm at least and had a reading age of 17-- SOLELY DUE TO THIS GAME!!! It is fair to say that modern day computer game are abusive to concentration span and perhaps intellectual development, but this game proved that it doesn't have to be like that.

The Bad
The fact that it took me one full year when I was a kid to leave the police station!, because I didn't know you had to press F3 to get into the car and make your partner keith enter the car also!!!!! LMAO This was the biggest puzzle in the game. I still never have seen it written in the manual. (just like in police quest 1 the VGA version, I was stuck in the final scene for 6 months because I didn't know the number for the taxi - and still don't know where I was supposed to get it) Well of course, they're are many features which may be unbearable to users nowadays. The graphics are extremley dated. The input system means you must use exactly the correct "keyword" or "phrase" at times, even when you know the correct course of action.

The Bottom Line
If I were to be honest, I would have to admit that only a very patient person or a diehard fan could sit down and play this game today. Its simply too dated(and possibly too complex) for modern users. Modern computer players don't like to think, they just hit the fire button.

However, if I've just managed to convince you, yes YOU, well you can download the game absolutley free at any abandonware site, and it would nearly fit on your mobile phone these days.

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!