Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

The Good
Police Quest 2 starts off with a bang. Jessie 'the Death Angel' Bains escapes from jail & goes on a murder rampage through the city. Sonny Bonds, the player character, has been promoted to detective & must hunt down the murderous Bains & put him away -or down- for good. Many improvements have been made over its predecessor. Graphics are more detailed & the music helps establish that 80s Miami Vice vibe. You even have a partner who cracks wise but essentially does nothing. You must collect all the evidence on your perp. The strict adherence to procedure that was present in the first game has been abandoned. Now you are on your own to act as a homicide detective. Doing things wrong means getting reamed out by your stereotypical police captain or worse, death!

The Bad
SPOILERS This game breaks down towards the final act. In closing in on the bad guy, the story takes a few twists that contradict the series reliance on following police rules. In an airplane sequence you must kill 2 hijackers & defuse a bomb. After that you must corner the Death Angel, who has apparently gone full supervillain, in his hidden underground lair. Once again lethal force is the only solution. This seems strange considering that up to this point the game encourages you to avoid killing by following the proper rules of engagement. The whole hijacker plot seems to be there to pad out the game time as well. These sequences are jarring compared to the rest of the game.

The Bottom Line
Police Quest 2 is a good game that makes players feel like they are in a buddy cop movie but without the real-life routine of a police officer.