Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1991
Platform: DOS, Amiga

Score: 6

Another game, another promotion, another hair dye, another bad day for your significant other. Your wife Marie has been stabbed in a parking lot while leaving work. Well, she will be stabbed after you’ve played for a few hours, but once again Sierra spoiled this turn of events on the box cover, so whee! And now she’s in a coma. Though you are now a sergeant supervising the street cops, Captain Hall has authorized you to work as a homicide detective, acknowledging that you are particularly motivated to solve Marie’s stabbing and some recent murders that might also be related.

The production values are a mixed bag. The music and sound effects feel a bit understated compared to the energetic soundtrack of Police Quest 2. Even the chime for scoring a point feels embarrassed to be intruding. But the graphics once again take a leap forward thanks to the transition to VGA. Beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds help immerse you in the game world. Real actors are used for digitized character graphics, though sadly the conversations are not supplemented with any voice acting. Slick animations abound, from using your nightstick in close combat to pulling your firearm.

Speaking of which, firing your weapon remains intuitive while also coming with a targeting reticle. Driving is also back, though it is less intuitive and less useful than in Police Quest 1. While you do chase some perps, driving becomes tedious fairly soon and damn near impossible on fast computers without a slowdown program.

The plot, which entails investigating connected murders around Lytton, unfolds over a six-day period, though it’s not as tightly wound as the previous two games. You’ll be deep into uncovering the plot to murder Marie, and then have to take a break to go to court to defend a speeding ticket you gave out earlier in the week. While realistic, it feels tacked on and stalls the tension that had been building. Despite this, Sonny meets many interesting characters, such as a cheeky homeless lady who witnessed a murder and the office tech guy who’s perpetually annoyed that you need anything. You will visit some beautiful and some dreary locations, including Aspen Falls and the Old Nugget Saloon, and must once again use logical thinking and correct police procedure to track down the killer.

Though it saddens me to admit it, designer Jim Walls makes two significant mistakes here. First, you are assigned a partner that has zero personality outside of being super obviously slimy. She has no sense of humor, which might otherwise deflect from her shady dealings. She obviously does not belong on the police force, especially in a department requiring the professionalism of homicide. From the very start, she is up to no good, and the player can figure out the hows and whys fairly quickly. What’s irritating is that Sonny won’t even realize anything is suspicious until very late in the game. Meanwhile, the player has to watch the contrived charades for the duration.

case in point

Possibly even worse is that Sonny has lost all of his personality. Granted, he is in a serious position, and his wife is in the hospital, but he may as well have been a cipher with how flat and straightforward he’s portrayed. Thus, while it should be easy to sympathize with his plight, I wasn’t really feeling the feels.

The programmers also made a significant “We had to hurry to get this game out by Christmas” mistake. Day 6 is chock-full of some serious police work and intense situations. However, there is a bug that makes the entire day repeat if you return to the station unexpectedly; the opening scene is triggered, and you’re left doing everything over from the beginning.

Thankfully, there are some delightful new features worth pointing out. There are several potential endings, which would give the game even more replay value than the forerunners if it weren’t for the subpar plot. Also, when you die (which will be quite often, mostly in entertaining ways), Jim Walls will appear on the screen, mocking you.  He provides what little humor is left in the series.

Definitely play this game if you liked the previous two, as it nicely wraps up the Bonds saga (assuming you get the good ending!). However, the game isn’t strong enough on its own to warrant a playthrough without the history attached to the characters.  I fully admit my love for this game is mostly nostalgia.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. All the repetitive driving is annoying, plus it’s tied in to your computer’s processing speed, so getting it to work properly today is a chore.

Cruelty Rating:  Polite. There is one walking-dead situation, but it’s only for about two minutes, so as long as your only save file isn’t at a ridiculous spot, you’ll be fine. Considering you can die frequently, you’ll be saving plenty anyway.