SamNMax

In the very early 90's, Sierra was still the number one contender in the adventure market, and would be for a short remainder of time. Their lineup consisted of highly anticipated titles that would continue Sierra's now legendary series', and even had some interesting, original ideas. But even then, the company still had some aces up their sleeve. With their new VGA graphics and SCI engine, they decided to remake their classic titles from the previous decade. They would re-master titles such as Space Quest I, Leisure Suit Larry 1, and Quest for Glory I using the new advancements in computer technology.

But today, I would like to talk about the Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel remake. It was the same story for this one, but I was particularly excited about this one. The thing about these remakes is that they were all modeled under the sequels that were to be released at the time. The Space Quest remake was inspired by Space Quest IV, Leisure Suit Larry under LSL 5, Quest for Glory under QFG III, and Police Quest under PQ 3. I had played all of the sequels and even the original games before the remakes, but that was not the case for Police Quest. Though, with the exception of Quest for Glory, I was a little cautious going into these remakes. Most of these games were very short with a thin story, a la Police Quest 1, and I was afraid improved graphics would be all the game had to offer. Were my fears in vain? More or less.

You play as Sonny Bonds, traffic cop for the Lytton Police Department. Back in the day, Lytton was a small town in California. But don't let the size fool you. Lytton was a part of the Cali good life where the rich and famous were known to reside. However, the town prospered into a busy city with business abound, yet still hadn't lost its small town charm. However, if history has taught us anything, it’s that the 80s and California don't mix very well. It's present day, and though Lytton is still small in size, its drug and crime rates are as serious as they are in any major city. Police Quest takes you on the wild ride that is a day in the life of a LPD police officer. A major drug kingpin, known as the Death Angel on the streets, is plaguing Lytton's youth and its up to Sonny and the boys in blue to take this evil empire down.

I always found the story rather deep for a game in that era, and it still holds up reasonably well in the remake. They have added just a little more depth in character development, though not much. There is more dialog between Sonny and others and the events, such as Sonny's interest in high school sweetheart turned whore, Maria, are pretty interesting. The thing that I had to roll my eyes at was the stupid dialog that the cops shared. Apparently, every pig on the LPD is a quirky joker except Sonny. The jokes they crack are stupid and will have you skipping some conversations (Though, to be fair, this occurred in all the games). Though the characters aren't very redeeming qualities to the story, the intensity is. Things such as drug busts, potential shootouts, and the climax are very satisfying and will have you coming back again and again. I dare you to play through this game and not be perched on the edge of your keyboard.

As I've said, the game uses VGA and the SCI system. All of the remakes look great and this is no exception. Besides a little pixel hunting, the graphics are polished with little to complain about. The character close-ups are well-done and the cutscenes are very impressive. There really isn't much to say, as every Sierra gamer has gotten used to these visuals, but I think the fact that the technology was so early, and yet they made very little change to them over the course of the early 90s, is pretty impressive. One aspect that the improvments stand out in is sound. The music is realitivly advanced for its time and is pretty catchy. It's nothing to write home about, though. I rather liked the audio a lot. The game world really does sound alive and makes you feel apart of the action.


The original Police Quest in all its EGA glory.


They just don't make them like they used to.



Once again, the interface is Sierra circa 1990-1993. Cycle through your actions with the right mouse button, with your control panel for inventory and options and the top. But, the remake is a pretty big departure from the Police Quest series. You have the same police events that occur with multiple outcomes. But the biggest change is the driving systems. It's unlike any of the other games. The view is set so that you are in the driver's seat, and in front of you is two windows. One is a birds-eye view of Lytton to display which street you are on, and one is to show your car's direction. To turn, you click on a set of arrows on your dashboard. It takes some time to get used to and can get frustrating. However, once you get the hang of it, it's not bad.

All in all, it's a great remake. Better than most turn out to be. It's a great way to relive the original Police Quest and it never loses site of its roots. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on duty.

7.9/10