Police Quest Collection

I grew up on Sierra On-Line adventure games and I love them to this day. They were the definitive adventure games of their time. The Police Quest series was a lot more serious and didn't have the humor of some of Sierra's other series (Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, etc...) but there was a big focus on realism and following procedure. While the games are quite old and have not aged well graphically that doesn't stop them from being enjoyable. The attention to detail of these titles shines through regardless of how chunky the graphics look.

I first played played Police Quest when I was about 9 and it blew me away. It showed me what games could be, real adventures. Fun, witty, adult and dangerous it was a real gem. The other three are excellent titles in their own right and push the series forward in numerous ways (story, graphics, even gameplay) but for me, the first PQ will always have a place in my gaming heart.

I recently replayed the first 3 of these games, and I happily found that they still held up quite well. They are somewhat different from many of the other Sierra adventures (or adventure games in general) in that they feature very few actual puzzles, and the gameplay is much more about following the police procedures correctly. The storylines around which the games are designed are quite enjoyable, with a likable lead character and a good villian who appears in some form or another throughout the first 3 games (okay, it's a relative of the bad guy in the 3rd one). The typical overuse of sudden death applies here as in almost everything Sierra released, and yes it's annoying but it is forgivable since all thieir games are so charming. Just save a lot. The 2nd game will be the odd one out here, since it is the only one that still used the text parser for input. It can take some getting used to at first, and it does make the game feel a bit overwhelming at times. Fortunately, the plot of the 2nd game is probably the best of the series, but it's not an easy game to complete. Reading the manuals for all these is essential, as you need to follow exact procedures at points. I have to admit that I never got to play the 4th one, and I am looking forward to it. It is of a different style to the first 3, featuring a different player character and setting (since Jim Walls was not involved - he went on to make another police adventure called Blue Force).

Great - but would love to have the original Police Quest 1 - not the updated version 2 copy that seems to be included in this download. Police Quest 2 is a close second fav.