| Police Quest II: The Vengeance | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Designer(s) | Jim Walls |
| Series | Police Quest |
| Engine | SCI |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, NEC PC-9801 |
| Release date(s) | November 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Police Quest Collection) (1995) |
| Media/distribution | 3.5" Floppy Disk, 5.25" Floppy Disk |
| System requirements | |
Police Quest II: The Vengeance is an adventure game produced by Jim Walls for Sierra On-Line, and released in 1988. It is the sequel to Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel and is part of the Police Quest series.
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A typed command driver interface is used to control the player character in Police Quest II. Commands are given in a verb/noun combination (e.g. "Unlock Door" at the beginning of the game.) The player is required to follow correct police procedures to effectively complete the game.
The player also uses typed commands to drive to locations throughout the game, which the game - unlike its prequel and sequel - will automatically drive them to.
Sonny Bonds has access to a firearm for use in his work as a detective. The player is required to use the gun at times throughout the game and will need to make sure the gun is sighted properly, as well as loaded with ammunition. However, there are no action-sequences in the game, unless one counts the few time-critical sequences and puzzles in the game as such.
Police Quest II: The Vengeance is based in the fictional town of Lytton, California in 1988, as well as in the town of Steelton, Texas. Players can visit various locations in the city of Lytton including the Detective Division of the police department (where Sonny Bonds is stationed), the Jail and Cotton Cove, a picnic area running along the Clear Water River.
The player character is Sonny Bonds, a detective with the Lytton Police Department. The other main characters are Bonds' partner Keith, Bonds' girlfriend Marie Wilkans, and Jessie Bains, an escaped convict who Bonds arrested in Police Quest I: In Pursuit of the Death Angel.
After arresting Jessie Bains in Police Quest 1, Bonds is permanently promoted to the homicide division. He begins dating Marie Wilkans, who helped him in his undercover work in exchange for the dismissal of prostitution charges against her. Pretty soon, a dark shadow is cast over his happy life once more: When Bains is returned to Lytton for retrial, he manages to escape from prison, taking one of the guards as hostage using a makeshift knife.
Bonds and his partner Keith Robinson gather evidence at the jailhouse and locate the kidnapped jailer's car, when they are called to the riverside where Bains has apparently been spotted. Following a shootout with Bains, after which he escapes, Sonny finds evidence which leads him to believe the hostage has been murdered and dumped in the lake. Bonds dives in the river alongside a professional police diver to discover the jailer's body. Locating Bains' getaway vehicle near the Airport, Sonny investigates and finds out that Bains has since assumed the dead jailer's identity but still cannot determine Bains' next move. After going off-duty that evening, Bonds dates with Marie and they discuss the unfolding menace.
The following day, the body of Woody Roberts, a witness in Bains' trial (formerly the bartender at Hotel Delphoria in Police Quest 1) is discovered near the city's warehouse district. Evidence at the site directs Bonds and his partner to a motel in town, where the two storm Bains' room assisted by the local S.W.A.T. unit. While Bains himself is not present, Bonds finds several items which indicate that Bains intends to take revenge on all who testified against him, including Bonds, Marie Wilkans, the already murdered Woody Roberts, and Don Colby, a former small time drug dealer now under the witness protection program. Hurrying to Marie's house, Bonds finds signs of struggle and clear indication that Marie has been abducted by Bains.
Bonds' detective work and the accumulated evidence lead him to believe that Bains has flown to Steelton where he intends to hit Don Colby. Alerting both Colby and the local police, Bonds and his partner take a flight there as well. On the way, they avert an attempted terrorist bombing of their plane. Arriving at Steelton, Bonds learns that Bains has already murdered Colby before the local police could react. A phonecall to Colby's office is traced to a local park, and Bonds heads there to investigate, quickly tracking Bains into the sewer system below the park. After navigating the dangerous sewers, Bonds finally confronts Bains in a shootout, during which Bains is shot dead, and Marie subsequently saved.
Depending on who shot first, the player can get two different endings. If Bonds shot first, then the jury will rule that he acted recklessly, and thus violated the law, giving the player the bad ending. If Bains shot first, then the jury will rule that he acted on self-defense, giving the player the good ending.
The 1988 sequel, developed with Sierra's new SCI engine, focused more on detective and forensics work than the traffic-cop beginning of the original, while keeping the same realistic setting. The proper procedures for collecting and handling evidence are the main focus of many of PQ2's puzzles. It was released for the IBM PC, Amiga, Atari ST and later for the NEC PC-9801 (using redrawn sprites in Anime style). The scenarios present in the game are based on situations designer Jim Walls or his friends were in while in the police force, and the real Jessie Bains (whose name was changed) did escape and was on the loose at the time the game was released.[1]
In its June 1989 issue, British magazine Atari ST User called the ST version "excellent in every respect — the graphics, plot, detail, humour and story telling are of first rate quality", awarding it 9 out of 10.[2] Computer Gaming World also gave the game a glowing review, saying, "The advanced graphics, intriguing story, and flowing animation make this story come alive. The whole package leads us toward a new apex in interactive game fiction!."[1] Retro-gaming websites Hardcore Gaming 101 and Adventure Gaming both praised the title, calling it the highlight of the series, with Hardcore Gaming 101 stating that "if there's any one title (of the Police Quest series) that deserves attention, it's this one. It's well-paced, fairly exciting, and more interesting than any of the others, and something of an overlooked classic."[3] Adventure Gamers concluded similarly that "(t)he Vengeance is an entertaining and intense retro adventure that is not only the best of its series, but one of the very best of Sierra’s Golden Age."[4]
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