Police Quest II: The Vengeance

Police Quest II: The Vengeance
Developer(s)	Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)	Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)	Jim Walls
Series	Police Quest Series
Engine	SCI
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST
Release	1988
Genre(s)	Adventure game
Mode(s)	Single player

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 I: In Pursuit of the Death Angel and is part of the Police Quest series.

Gameplay

A typed command driver interface is used to control the player character in Police Quest II. Commands are given in a verb/noun combination (eg. "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 will automatically drive you 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.

Synopsis

Setting and characters

Police Quest II: The Vengeance is based in the fictional town of Lytton California in 1988, as well as in the town of Steelton. 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 Wilkins, and Jessie Bains, an escaped convict who Bonds arrested in Police Quest I: In Pursuit of the Death Angel.

Plot

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 but 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 SWAT 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 murdered Woody Roberts, and Don Colby, a small time drug dealer now under the witness protection program. Hurrying to Marie's house, Bonds finds signs of struggle and clear a 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 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.

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 PQ2's puzzles. It was released for the IBM PC, Amiga and Atari ST.

Reception

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.