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
This game is a bit more non-linear than the first. In other words, there is a lot more freedom as to where and when you can go places. It is also more unforgiving -- you have to be careful, because forgetting to do something can have serious consequences (translated, this means "Use more than one save game, because you'll need to go back to earlier ones on occasion"). For a police drama, this is great; it makes you think carefully and analytically.

The Bad
To reiterate, there are times where you get yourself into an un-winable state because of things you did or forgot to do earlier in the game. While this does add to realism, it can be irritating as well.

Having to practice your shooting and adjust the sights on your gun is a cool idea, but you don't really have any indication as to WHEN you should do this apart from the first time. You need to do this about 3 times during the course of the game, but you probably won't know it until you need to use your gun and you get killed because you don't hit the person you're shooting at. Kind of a bummer (see my above tip about multiple save games).

Also, the scene with the terrorists is a bit hokey. If you've played the game, you know the one I mean.

The Bottom Line
This is a very good game overall. If you played and liked the first one, odds are that you'll enjoy this one at least as much. If you're not detail oriented, you may find you have difficulty gathering evidence, but overall this one is good for several hours of enjoyment as you work towards solving the case!

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.