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.

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
Jim Walls' main skill as a game writer, besides making you feel like you ARE a police officer (through his experience), is giving the gamer great characters and a great setting with which to base his game upon. While elements of the game's theme may lack originality, it holds up well under the memorable people that you meet and interact with, and the environment of Lytton.

PQII is more forgiving than PQI. You don't lose the game on the spot when you accidentally leave a print un-dusted.

The soundtrack, composed and performed by Mark Siebert, is very nice. The music is appropriate and atmospheric, and some of the tunes will stay in your mind for a long time. There isn't enough of it, however! A good deal of the game is played in silence.

PQII is quite exciting. There is a little more action than in PQI, and parts will quite honestly have you on the edge of your seat.

I enjoyed the game's graphics. Sierra did some great stuff with 16 colors, and PQ2 is no exception. The colors are bright and defined, and the close-ups and in-game graphics are as nice to look at in 1999 as they were in 1988.

The Bad
Lacks the gritty realism of PQI. For its time, PQI was a very 'mature' game, not to be played by young children. PQII is a little more appropriate for kids - and while still quite exciting, as I mentioned, some of the original 'feel' is lost.

PQII is more forgiving than PQI. You can draw your gun anywhere you please, and even take a pot shot or two in the park.

The skyjacking scene. It simply doesn't belong.

The Bottom Line
Police Quest II is definitely worth your time, and I bet that Sonny Bonds will be one of your favorite game heroes by the time you're through playing.