''Police Quest II: The Vengeance'' (also known as ''Police Quest II'') is a 1988

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed and published by

Jim Walls James Walls is an American former police officer and video game designer. Walls joined the California Highway Patrol in 1971, retiring after 15 years on the force after a shooting incident that left him traumatized. During his recovery from the ...

and

Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, ...

. It is the second installment in the ''

Police Quest ''Police Quest'' (or ''SWAT'') is a series of police simulation video games produced and published by Sierra On-Line between 1987 and 1998. The first five were adventure simulation games, the first three of which were designed by former police ...

'' series. The game continues the story of police officer Sonny Bonds as he attempts to apprehend an escaped convict. ''Police Quest II'' was well-received by critics and sold moderately well. A sequel, '' Police Quest III: The Kindred'', was released in 1991.

Gameplay

text parser {{Refimprove, date=August 2007 In adventure games, a text parser takes typed input (a command) from the player and simplifies it to something the game can understand. Usually, words with the same meaning are turned into the same word (e.g. "take" a ...

interface is used to control the player character in ''Police Quest II''. Commands are given in a verb/noun combination (e.g. "Unlock Door" or "Take Keys"), though some keyboard shortcuts are available. The player is required to follow correct police procedures to effectively complete the game and achieve the highest score. Unlike the first game, driving sequences between destinations are automatic, accomplished through the parser interface (i.e., "drive station" or "chase car") and the player is not required to control the car directly. Sonny Bonds has access to a firearm. 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. There are no action sequences in the game as such, though some hazardous situations are time critical. So long as Sonny is properly positioned (facing his target) and his pistol is sighted, he will fire as accurately as the plot demands.

Plot

In 1988, in the city of Lytton,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Detective Sonny Bonds of the Lytton Police Department is assigned to escort Jessie Bains, a

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

he apprehended years prior, to a

retrial A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...

. In his personal life, Bonds has been reassigned to the Homicide Division, and he has begun dating Marie Wilkans, a former

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

who helped him apprehend Bains. However, while in Lytton's jail, Bains takes a

prison guard A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...

hostage with a

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and manages to escape with the guard. Bonds and his partner Keith Robinson gather evidence at the jail and locate the kidnapped guard's car. Responding to a reported sighting of Bains near the riverside, Bonds and Bains briefly exchange fire before the latter escapes. Bonds dives into the river to search for evidence and finds the guard's body. Bonds concludes that Bains has assumed the guard's identity, but still cannot determine his next move. Bonds concludes his shift and goes off-duty, and has a dinner date with Marie where they discuss the investigation. The following day, police discover the body of Woody Roberts, a former Hotel Delphoria bartender and a witness in Bains' trial. Evidence at the site leads Bonds and Robinson to a motel, where they and a

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

unit raid Bains' room; though Bains is not present, Bonds finds the

business card Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business aff ...

of former drug dealer Donald Colby, along with a tube of Marie's

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under the bed. Hurrying to Marie's house, Bonds finds Marie has been abducted by Bains, who has left a hit list naming those that Bains intends to take revenge on, including Bonds, Marie, Roberts, and Colby, who is now in

witness protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...

and has moved to the town of Steelton. Bonds and the Lytton PD deduce that Bains has traveled to Steelton to kill Colby, and that Bains is using Marie as bait to ambush Bonds. Alerting Colby and the Steelton Police Department to Bains' plans, Bonds and his partner board a flight to Steelton, managing to avert a terrorist

hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

along the way. Arriving in Steelton, Bonds learns that Bains has already shot Colby, but the Steelton PD manages to trace the source of a phone call to Colby's office to a local park, and Bonds heads there to investigate. Bonds tracks Bains into the sewer system below the park and chases him through the sewers, rescuing Marie and killing Bains in a shootout after he finds them. Bonds is placed on a mandatory three-day administrative leave while the Lytton PD Internal Affairs Shooting Review Board investigates his actions. Ultimately, the board rules that Bonds acted in self-defense, and he is decorated by the department. Bonds takes off for

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

with Marie and proposes to her on the flight.

Development

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 the puzzles in ''Police Quest II''. It was released for the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

, and later for the

NEC PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

(using redrawn sprites in an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

-esque style to appeal to the Japanese market). The scenarios present in the game are based on situations designer

or his friends were in while in the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

. The antagonist Jessie Bains is based on a real escaped convict who was on the loose at the time the game was released.

Reception

The first four ''Police Quest'' games totaled 850,000 sales by late 1995. However, Markus Krichel of ''

PC Games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...

'' noted that "interest on the part of the gamer fell slightly" with '' Police Quest: Open Season'', which led Sierra On-Line to experiment with a new direction for the series with '' Police Quest: SWAT''. According to Sierra, combined sales of the ''Police Quest'' series—including ''SWAT''—surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996. In its June 1989 issue, British magazine ''

Atari ST User ''Atari ST User'' was a British computer magazine aimed at users of the Atari ST range. It started life as a pull-out section in ''Atari User'' magazine. From March 1986 onwards it became a magazine in its own right, outliving its parent by a numb ...

'' 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. ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' 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!" 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." 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." In 2011,

Adventure Gamers ''Adventure Gamers'' is a computer game website created by Marek Bronstring in March 1998 dedicated to the genre of adventure games. It publishes reviews and previews of adventure games, as well as opinion articles and interviews with game des ...

named ''Police Quest II'' the 24th-best adventure game ever released.

Reviews

*'' Jeux & Stratégie'' #57

References

External links

* {{Sierra Adventure Games, Police Quest 1988 video games Adventure games Amiga games Atari ST games DOS games Games commercially released with DOSBox NEC PC-9801 games Police Quest and SWAT ScummVM-supported games Sierra Entertainment games Video games about police officers Video games scored by Mark Seibert Video games set in 1988 Video games set in California Video games set in Texas Video games developed in the United States