Police Quest Collection

Nice collection, but I would like to have the old Police Quest 1, too.

Obviously some of the best retro experiences out there this game was instrumental in my childhood. You play as Sonny Bonds, a good-hearted small town detective doing his best to keep the crime at bay. On the surface it might seem like a hokey prospect, but its actually a really deep experience with some really fun and surprising plot developments and mechanics. I love this game so much, I did a complete end to end walkthrough of the game available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F69KQh3J2B8&list=PLjWXnEUfc63PTKxzViN1ErBXCXoPClumo&pp=iAQB Check it out and play along! You'll have a lot of fun I promise, Sierra Rocks!

"Police Quest" is a series of adventure games much like Sierra's other "Quest" games of the late 80's and early 90's. In this series, you play as a police officer and you solve puzzles based on police procedures earned in the manual. These games teach you what real life as a cop is like. Some police training programs actually use these games as training materials for new cops so they can learn the ropes the safe way and be prepared for real life as a cop. I like the series. I feel like I learn much about police work from these games. That said, it is the least popular of Sierra's most well known series of adventure games (King's Quest, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Quest For Glory) and it is my least favorite of these series. The other 4 series have at least one near-perfect game. There is not a single near-perfect game in the "Police Quest" series. Thankfully this game has the remake of "Police Quest 1" which is much better than the original (better graphics, better sound, better music, better driving system, no text parser, and you can skip the gambling). However, the driving gets old, and skipping the gambling forfeits points which is a shame because adventure games shouldn't be based on luck. "Police Quest 2" has great backgrounds for its time and I LOVE the music. "Police Quest 2" still has one of the best soundtracks ever created, quite a feat considering how old this game is. However, some of the puzzles in this game are impossibly hard without a hint book, partly because of the text parser. For example, how's anybody supposed to know what to do at the shooting range? Who would think to type "adjust gun?" And even knowing that it's a pain to try to figure out, and if you don't figure it out you get stuck later. Twice. "Police Quest 3" is a good game, but some parts of it are quite mean. The driving system is bad. Worse yet, this game has the most asinine way to make a game unwinnable I have ever seen. "Police Quest 4" is just terrible.

Further proof that Sierra was always looking for new directions to push the adventure genre, Police Quest ends up as a shining example of the best the company had to offer. The series was originally designed by Jim Walls, a retired California highway patrol officer. The stories and situations (based on Mr. Walls real life) come off as very realistic as a direct result and, with the exception of a few 80s cop drama moments, will serve to make you emotionally invested in the character of Sonny Bonds. Throughout the game you will have to adhere to strict police procedure in order to get the highest possible score in the game. In some cases it will be required to get through the scene. Compared to other Sierra games it's very easy to complete these titles without help from a walkthrough, you just have to use common sense. Sierra's flair for photo-realistic graphics is also on full display (in PQ4's case, quite literally) showing that the company was always ahead of the curb despite technical limitations. If anything keeps this series from getting five stars it's that the quality started to wane in PQ3 and Jim Walls departure before PQ4 made that title almost unrecognizable when compared to the others. Both the third and fourth installment are a little heavy handed when asking the player to strictly follow procedure and it can come at the expense of fun. However, all four titles deserve to be played and their stories will keep you gripped to the edge of your seat. This is a must buy.

The Police Quest games are extremely fun! Just be sure to have the manual ready, because when you make arrests and such - you will need to follow the book or people can get off on a technicality - or you might end up dead. Depending on the situation. Police Quest 3 is probably my favorite of the series; as it has more graphics, and more story that makes it feel like "First Power" (that old 80s movie) in regard to the elements and how things play out. Police Quest 4: Open Season takes place in Los Angeles, and breaks away completely from having anything to do with Police Quest I-III. It's disappointing in that regard, but still, as it's own game (which is probably why they call it Police Quest: Open Season rather than Police Quest 4, but I call it PQ4 so people know the order of the games).