Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel

"You're the police, you have a quest. This is.......POLICE QUEST!"

STORY TIME
Years and years ago there was this quaint little group of people who were making games (some people say there still is), they gave themselves the outrageous moniker of Sierra. Now this lot absolutely loved making games, and they churned out a whole lot of them, each one more delectable, enjoyable (and any other adjective you care to throw at it) than the last. The thing they loved making most were adventure games, where you took control of a character and got him/her to do amazing things. One of these lovely characters you were given the chance to control was police officer Sonny Bonds, the star of the acclaimed Police Quest series. The epitome of realistic gameplay for its time, Police Quest set you on the trail of an insidious drug lord, will you catch this sinister individual and save the day? Probably not, because the game is too old but it would be nice if you did!

GRAPHICS
When describing the graphics of a game like Police Quest, people have been known to throw around the words “outdated” and “blargh” or even the groups of words “what the heck is that meant to be”, “I thought you were dead” and “don’t make me get a restraining order”! From reading those one should be able to tell that the graphics are as old as the 1988 stamp which adorns the title screen, but call me old-fashioned, I happen to like the style of graphics that Police Quest throws up into your lap (bad analogy)!

Of course, the first thing you’ll notice are the characters, and you might just happen to see how rough and pixellated they can be. They’re all well proportioned and stuff like that, but they don’t have an edge on their body that isn’t jagged in some way. There is a reasonable amount of detail, you can often make out a whole range of different facial expressions and the wardrobes that the characters wear are also very thorough, and of course everybody loves detail. When put into motion the animations are pretty silly, particularly the walking movements. Sierra tried hard to get it right, but there are limbs flying in every direction imaginable (and even some which defy imagination). The general appearance of the characters is an awkward one, but the game wouldn’t be the same without it!

The scenes which are portrayed in Police Quest are all theoretically based on real-life locations, and even though I’ve never been inside a police station (and neither should any of you!) I can imagine that it might just look like the way that this game makes it look. There is a good amount of in-game objects to spice things up, graffiti and posters all over the walls, all sorts of funny filing cabinets leaning against walls. Exotic items such as electric telephones even make an appearance, I was lucky enough to see one of them multiple times on my way through the game! The use of colours here was good, the game wasn’t too flashy and certainly wasn’t drab at all, there’s a nice blend of the base colours and even some other colours as well! The surroundings compliment the characters nicely and look pretty good themselves.

One thing I have to mention quickly, is the scene in which your in your car and are travelling around town (you have to do this a fair bit). This section is decidedly primitive, all of the cars are just little coloured lines and they travel between coloured boxes which represent houses and buildings. It’s an ugly scene and one that should be taken lightly, so as not to spoil the rest of the game. Once you get past this section, the graphics are nice (especially for 1988 goshdarnit!) and shouldn’t trouble your retinas at all.

SOUND
The sound is where Police Quest is at its nastiest, I’m afraid it’s impossible to say more than three nice words about the sound. When you perform actions, you’ll be lucky to get an ugly little “BLEEP” or “BLOOP”, some people actually consider themselves lucky if they don’t hear these sounds! You get a siren on your car that is bearable for approximately 6.28 seconds and at one stage background music picks up which sounds like a drunk gym teacher randomly slamming down notes. If you thought the sound in Spice World was bad, then just wait until you get a game over and hear the blaring game over noise! Thankfully, the sound can be turned off, and doing so won’t detract from your enjoyment of the game at all.

GAMEPLAY
The developers obviously wanted a game that follows proper police procedures closely, and they certainly succeeded in their quest to do it. It is this realism that gives the game the drawing power that it has. Taking the role of a copper has never been as enjoyable as in this game, it blends routine and action nicely to come up with a well rounded game. Police Quest gives you the chance to write speeding tickets, book drunk drivers, stake out a drug deal and many other wondrous things! Whatever the routine is for indoctrinating now officers into the police force is nowadays, they should scrap it and just give the badge to anyone who can properly finish this game!

The game takes on a semi-linear path, it often appears you have a little bit of freedom but for most of the game you’ll be guided around, told where to go and what to do. Things start off small, you first have to do a bit of patrolling in your car which can be a bit of a pain! Everything on the map is small and finicky and often the slightest tap of a button will send your car crashing into a wall, it’ll be some time before you become skilled in travelling around town without dying every thirty seconds. You get three buttons which control your speed and are super handy for those chases around town. Driving around town is an annoying little gap between each action scene, but the game wouldn’t be the same without it!

Back on track again! The main thing you have to remember is to follow the police procedure which is outlined in the handbook of the game, not following said procedures can get you slaughtered over and over again (as I found out from first-hand experience). Things like radioing for backup and knowing the exact things to yell at an advancing crook are all a big part of the game. What might appear to be a simple situation can quickly get out of hand unless you follow the damn procedure from that stupid booklet. It just shows that the game is a bit more deep and complicated than some of the other adventures, of course this might not appeal to everybody......

One thing that Sierra perhaps did wrong was go overboard with the GAME OVER, of course it’s meant to be lifelike, but ending a persons game for accidentally going through a red light or for not walking around your car before you drive it? You’ll get the game over scene countless times before you’re through with the game, and you will not like it one bit. All that one can do to soften these blows, is to save your game and save it often, it’s a harsh world out there for a police officer, and you have to do all you can to survive.

Overall, the gameplay of Police Quest is as close as most people will ever get to being part of the long arm of the law. It might not sound so appealing on the outside, but once you get into the game you’ll almost want to become a police officer yourself. Taking on the evil men from all over the city can be a dangerous job, but Sierra have almost magically turned it into a game that is friendly to play and (reasonably) simple to get the hang of. The old adventure games of days gone by are almost as playable today as they were all those years ago, it just outlines how important the gameplay can be.

LIFESPAN
Police Quest, unfortunately, has a limited lifespan. It is a game that can take some time to finish without assistance, it has a pretty good length. The big problem is that when you finish it, it’s not the kind of game that you’ll want to jump straight back into immediately. You will come crawling back to Police Quest eventually, but for some the wait may be too long. This is probably why it’s a good idea to get the Police Quest pack, you can get the majority of the series in one box and just jump from one to the next. Police Quest is even better when played in conjunction with its sequels!

FUN FACTOR
The focus of Police Quest was more on realistic gameplay than all out enjoyment. Thankfully they’ve found a way to still offer up a nice amount of fun at the same time. The game can appear a bit mundane at times, but those sections are quickly brushed aside. Some of the scenes can leave you hanging off the edge of your seat, so it’s safe to say that there is a good bit of fun for all that play it. Not enough to make you go giddy and hyperventilate, just a solid amount of the stuff.

CHALLENGE
I would rate the challenge in the mid to high region, most people who are working their way through will come across some troubles, but all it takes is some logic and sometimes a bit of quick thinking to get you out of any predicament. Sometimes it may appear that all hope may be lost, but just keep on plugging away and somebody should give you directions on what to do next. It’s tough to get stuck for long periods of time in the one spot, and that my friends, is a good thing in anyone’s book. Not the type of game you’d give to your little children to play, it’s more of a challenge for those older gamers out there!

OVERALL
Police Quest is a superb game, of course you’d be crazy to think it measures up in terms of audio and visuals to today’s games, it’s the gameplay of Police Quest that still keeps me entertained after all this time. After playing this game, one can almost sympathise with all the stuff that the police have to put up with. An old game, but certainly a classic, Police Quest is worth numerous looks (one just wouldn’t be enough) despite being old enough to use the GameFAQs message boards! If you’re feeling nostalgic, adventurous or hungry then you should put Police Quest high on the list of games to reminisce with!
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GOOD POINTS
- This review is longer but less tedious than a “DaLadiesMan” review
- The gameplay is astonishing, realism oozing out of every orifice on the games body!
- You get to be involved in (semi) high-speed chases! AND EVERYONE LOVES THOSE!
- A nice little challenge for the gamers who think much of themselves
- It starts off the highly esteemed series perfectly

NOT SO GOOD POINTS
- The sound! Aaaaaarrrrrghhhhh!!!!
- Lifespan is a little bit too short for my liking
- The driving is just so irritating
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GRAPHICS – 6/10
SOUND – 1/10
GAMEPLAY – 10/10
LIFESPAN – 5/10
FUN FACTOR – 7/10
CHALLENGE – 8/10
OVERALL – 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/00, Updated 11/10/00