Favorite Police Quest Game and Why?

[Datadog]

I think my favorite was PQ2, though I haven't played any of them in ages. I just remember PQ2 having a bigger and more diverse story with more unrealistic situations, but it was a lot more fun. You couldn't even get on an airplane without needing to fight terrorists and defuse a bomb.

[Tawmis]

Sonny must have wondered why he got up some mornings...

[Datadog]

Yeah, it's like watching an episode of 24.

"Look out for the bomb! Now look out for the other bomb! Now there's a cougar! Run!" :)

[Tawmis]

Yeah, it's like watching an episode of 24.

"Look out for the bomb! Now look out for the other bomb! Now there's a cougar! Run!"

Clearly another 24 fan! (Although last season was iffy - and I am bummed we never got the 24 where Tony comes back - even if he is a bad guy when he comes back, supposedly...)

I heard they're making a 2 hour movie of 24 to tie in last season with this season... not sure how true it is.

[JasefWisener]

Yeah, it's like watching an episode of 24.

"Look out for the bomb! Now look out for the other bomb! Now there's a cougar! Run!"

Clearly another 24 fan! (Although last season was iffy - and I am bummed we never got the 24 where Tony comes back - even if he is a bad guy when he comes back, supposedly...)

I heard they're making a 2 hour movie of 24 to tie in last season with this season... not sure how true it is.

Are they going to call the movie 2?

[Fender_178]

I only played PQ1EGA and PQ4 because I couldnt get any kind of handle on the rest of them Like with PQ2 with the target range thing with the gun and the driving sequences of PQ1VGA and PQ3. But I might try those games again sometime.

[AndreaDraco]

[...] Like with PQ2 with the target range thing with the gun [...]

That sequence was easily frustrating, but nothing than can't be done, perhaps with a little aid of a well-done walkthrough.

[DeadPoolX]

In terms of story and design, I'd have to say that PQ3 is my favorite. However, I have a soft spot for PQ2. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I can withdraw my gun and walk around freely.

PQ1 (the original) was very tough and unforgiving. The worst part was the driving. I could barely make out which car was mine and then any wrong movement, no matter how small, ended with my death. That could be another reason why I tend to like PQ2 -- I didn't have to spend time manually driving everywhere.

I strongly disliked PQ4. While it was definitely the most realistic, it somehow lacked the elements that somehow made the other three games far more enjoyable.

[AndreaDraco]

That could be another reason why I tend to like PQ2 -- I didn't have to spend time manually driving everywhere.

Can I agree more with you?

I strongly disliked PQ4. While it was definitely the most realistic, it somehow lacked the elements that somehow made the other three games far more enjoyable.

I didn't strongly disliked, but surely it was a lot different. And I missed Sonny.

[the_doctor]

not to mention driving in PQ1 (ega or vga) and PQ3 is suspectible to timing issues with newer machines. until i got the NewRisingSun patches for PQ3, driving at 5MPH was more like Warp 5 !!!!


and i also agree, Open Season was too drastic a change ... should not have had the PQ name on it.

[MusicallyInspired]

PQ2 is my favourite. Was quite a bit easier than PQ1 but still quite challenging at the same time. The atmosphere of the whole game seemed more like a cop movie than a realistic police simulator. Which I liked very much.

PQ3 was the worst. The story was good (written by Jane Jensen), but I don't think it worked well with the "proper police procedure" gameplay. The result was a very anti-climactic ending. Especially with the going back and forth all the time between the courthouse and the crackhourse.

[jujigatame]

Looks like I got to this discussion a bit late, but here goes anyway:

I only played the VGA version of PQ1, but it was my first adventure game and so it holds a nostalgic place for me. The only possible issue I have with it is that it's incredibly easy. The game basically leads you by the hand for the whole way. Then again, I've never been one to need some huge challenge from a computer game, so I still enjoy the game today.

PQ2 was decent. The storyline was pretty good and the puzzles were solid. It does have that "cop movie" feel that MusicallyInspired refers to. The problem is that a lot of gameplay elements were just flat out annoying. The field kit having to be constantly retrieved and replaced, the gun sighting portions, and so on. Not to mention the terrorist plane hijacking was out of place and sort of cheesy/tasteless in hindsight.

PQ3 is by far the best of the series to me. It takes a while to get going but the plot is the best of the 4 and you actually get some pretty decent character development which I'm guessing was Jane Jensen's doing.

PQ4 is hard to compare to the rest. I'm actually replaying it right now, for the first time since I bought the game 15 years ago. The first thing I noticed is that the digitized graphics look pretty awful and do not hold up like the VGA art from 1 and 3. At the time it probably seemed pretty cool but when it comes to live actors you really have to go FMV (i.e. GK2, Pandora Directive, etc) or just forget it. Nothing meshes well and the characters all look extremely robotic. As for the plot, it has a gritty and real feeling that I like, but so far I'm a few days in (the day where you start at the courthouse) and very little has developed. I have a very vague memory of the plot but so far it feels unfocused and I don't feel like I've made any actual progress on the main case despite being about halfway through the game. Not to mention the procedural busywork (taking notes, filling out 3.14 reports) isn't really any fun, and the voice acting is mostly terrible.

So I guess my order is PQ3>PQ1(VGA)>PQ2>PQ4

[Collector]

jujigatame, this thread is a little old, which I have no problem with you posting in it, but there is another thread like this on the PoliceQuestSeries.com message board that is much newer and you may get more responses there. It is one of the other boards of the Sierra Gateway community. If you are a Police Quest fan, feel free to join that board, too. You will see many of the same people from here on that board, as well.

[Maxor127]

PQ1 EGA is my favorite. I liked PQ2, but I thought PQ3 was extremely disappointing. I thought the story was cheesy and melodramatic, and I thought the graphics somehow actually looked worse than the old EGA graphics. But the worst part of PQ3 for me was the driving. It was awful. And I didn't like the icon system since it seemed to cheapen a lot of the detective work you'd have to do by typing in the text parser.

And I absolutely hated PQ1 VGA remake, which is probably obvious because it's like they took PQ3 and slapped the PQ1 story on it. Playing it was like raping my childhood memories, though. PQ4 was decent. I thought I'd hate it because it was a huge departure, but I thought it was a big improvement over PQ3.

[Tawmis]

Pretty funny, because of the PQ series, PQ3 was my favorite. It reminded me of those cheesey "Satanic" type movies that kind of crept up in the late 80's... with the whole pentagram and look, it's a pentagram on the map - that's how the killings are happening! All of that cheese factor was what made me like it. It had more... life... to it... rather than drive. Arrest someone. Pull someone over. Question someone. PQ3 seemed to have a little more URMPH to it, that kept me a lot more interested. (Ironically I disliked PQ4, because it stepped too close to being real... with Jeffrey Dommer similarities and such).