SHP Forums

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:05 pm Personally, I wasn't thrilled with Blue Force. The whole point of a PQ game was that you had to follow police procedures. There were a bunch of times in Blue Force where I was wondering "Don't I need a search warrant?" The plot was fine, but when taking this into consideration, it should have concluded with "Case dismissed because of illegally obtained evidence!"
There were a few plot points that seemed confusing to me, like Jake's father's partner. Some of the dialog made it sound like he was a P.I., but sometimes it made it sound like he was a cop too.
One thing that was missing was all of the little bits of information when you click on something for a description. In Blue Force, you might read "A desk" but most Sierra games would same something like "You wonder how Sgt. Smith manages to find anything on his desk." It's a small thing, but it adds character to the world.
I have the two Ringworld games from Tsunami as well, and I think Blue Force is probably the bast of the three that I've played.
My personal favorite was PQ1.

I am trying to remember the issue with Jake's father's partner. I mean, he could have been a cop who turned PI (or vice versa)?
And yes, Blue Force didn't have a "reaction" to everything, like most Sierra games. But this didn't bug me too much.

DeadPoolX wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 2:12 am Each Police Quest game excelled at something different.
PQ1: Best game at following police procedure and attempting to portray a real cop in a computer game. The one drawback was this game was extremely unforgiving when it came to procedure and driving from place-to-place in the original AGI version could be unbelievably aggravating at times.

The driving is horrendous in PQ1. By far the WORSE part of the game.

DeadPoolX wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 2:12 am PQ2: The most fun and lighthearted entry in the series, PQ2 felt a lot more like a Hollywood movie. You still had to follow some procedures, but there was definitely less emphasis on being "by-the-book" and more on the "rule of cool."

Agreed. I definitely feel like PQ2 venture more into being an adventure game than being a cop simulator.

DeadPoolX wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 2:12 am PQ3: Best story and characterization of any the three original games. The downside was that it went a bit heavy on the melodrama.

It did have melodrama, yes; but I feel like in a computer game it's almost needed to make it come across.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 2:17 am Then again, like Tawm, I also liked PQ1-3 much better than PQ4. (My favourite was a toss-up between PQ1 and PQ2, but only because I didn't like the PQ3 ending. The whole 'satanism' angle has been overplayed to the point of cliché).

Ironically the satanism is why I liked it. Back then I was into movies like "First Power" and such (which is what PQ3 reminds me of - without the supernatural aspect).

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:57 am

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Thu Aug 05, 2021 8:05 pm Personally, I wasn't thrilled with Blue Force. The whole point of a PQ game was that you had to follow police procedures. There were a bunch of times in Blue Force where I was wondering "Don't I need a search warrant?" The plot was fine, but when taking this into consideration, it should have concluded with "Case dismissed because of illegally obtained evidence!"
There were a few plot points that seemed confusing to me, like Jake's father's partner. Some of the dialog made it sound like he was a P.I., but sometimes it made it sound like he was a cop too.
One thing that was missing was all of the little bits of information when you click on something for a description. In Blue Force, you might read "A desk" but most Sierra games would same something like "You wonder how Sgt. Smith manages to find anything on his desk." It's a small thing, but it adds character to the world.
I have the two Ringworld games from Tsunami as well, and I think Blue Force is probably the bast of the three that I've played.
My personal favorite was PQ1.

I am trying to remember the issue with Jake's father's partner. I mean, he could have been a cop who turned PI (or vice versa)?
And yes, Blue Force didn't have a "reaction" to everything, like most Sierra games. But this didn't bug me too much.

This was a while ago, so I may be a bit fuzzy on the details. First of all, Jake's father and his partner are shown to be cops in the intro. When we see the partner later, it seems like he left the force some time after the father's death. He has his own office and offers Jake a job even though it's not really up to him if Jake is part of a police force. So it seems like he's a PI but it's not really explicitly stated and he seems to work with the police still. The partner also tells Jake that "you father's name is on my door too." How can that be unless Jake's father was a PI too? You can explain this away with some leaps in logic and hand waving (the partner put the father's name on the door in his honor or something) but we shouldn't have to do this.

PQ1:
I actually didn't mind the driving. In the VGA remake and PQ3, what I found more annoying was that when you missed you destination, you had to circle the block. In PQ1 you could drive "illegally" and go backwards or make a u-turn.
As for the game, I enjoyed the gradual progression from writing a ticket to your first arrest. All before you start the main plot. I just though it gave a nice sense of accomplishment.

PQ2:
The investigation is handled well. Since you know who the suspect is, the evidence collecting is more to make a solid case versus trying to solve a mystery as opposed to...

PQ3:
At one point you find a victim and just collect some evidence. No interviewing witnesses, family members, etc. I know this is a limitation of what can be put in a game, but I think PQ2 found a clever way around that.
I'm with DPX in finding the plot melodramatic.

PQ4:
I thought the first few days were really well done. The realistic depiction of a homicide investigation. Witnesses interviewed. Learning about lividity from the ME. But that all goes out the window later on. It maybe wouldn't have been so jarring if the dark and realistic tone hadn't been established in the beginning. An Uncanny Valley of sorts. Then there are a bunch of unresolved questions about the murders and murderer.
And Rath is right about the dialog. The other thing is that Det. Carey comes across as someone who has never actually spoken to someone in the city. Asking about common slang. That sort of thing.