Decided to play Police Quest on a whim. Never played it before and I'm sure the game isn't going to give me any indication of what to do. :P
I'd like avoid a walkthrough, but I would love some tips akin to the hints given for TSL.
God help the city of Lyton.
Yeah I haven't played that one in a really long time, but I can say that it's one where you really want to do the save early save often thing. There might be some kind of copy protection you'll need a manual from someplace for, or something like that. Can't remember totally for sure.
There isn't really any copy protection, per se, assuming you know the police procedure and traffic laws etc from the 80s off by heart. That's about the only thing. You need to know proper procedure and the different dispatch codes etc. All that is in the manual. You don't NEED it, but you kind of do...
There was a locker combination mentioned in the manual I think? Although that might be in the sequels.
yeah, you'll need the manual for almost every game in the series. Definitely the first two. You should be able to easily find a copy of the manual (if you don't yet have one) from replacementdocs.com
There's no copy protection in the AGI version. The remake, however, does. The lock combination in PQ2 is inside the game, not in the manual. PQ3's is copy protection. But as Lamb said, you need all the games to even know what to do and what proper police procedure is.
As for general hints regarding the game, save constantly and learn to love procedure. Have you ever seen Hot Fuzz? Remember that scene at the end when the shootout ends and everyone sits around and does paperwork? That's what Police Quest was for me. Screw excitement! You'd best stay focused on every little detail and know exactly when to call in backup at the precise moment. It is unforgiving about proper procedure. If you so much as forget to shine your shoes, the game will kill you. You can really tell that the guy behind the game was an actual cop, hell-bent on bringing you the real police experience.
Personally, I found it repetitive, dull, preachy, and painfully derivative. But I guess that's a post for an actual review thread. Really, the best advice I can give is to not get into an adventure game frame of mind, but rather a procedural drama frame of mind.
To its credit, I picture PQ2 as being the most forgiving to general adventure players and least procedural of the series. It's still heavy with procedure, but it feels a lot more like a "fantasy" game than a real-world detective simulator. PQ4 would be the worst.
Quote from: Damar on September 02, 2011, 07:33:12 PM
As for general hints regarding the game, save constantly and learn to love procedure. Have you ever seen Hot Fuzz? Remember that scene at the end when the shootout ends and everyone sits around and does paperwork? That's what Police Quest was for me. Screw excitement! You'd best stay focused on every little detail and know exactly when to call in backup at the precise moment. It is unforgiving about proper procedure. If you so much as forget to shine your shoes, the game will kill you. You can really tell that the guy behind the game was an actual cop, hell-bent on bringing you the real police experience.
Personally, I found it repetitive, dull, preachy, and painfully derivative. But I guess that's a post for an actual review thread. Really, the best advice I can give is to not get into an adventure game frame of mind, but rather a procedural drama frame of mind.
Save often and use multiple saves. The PQ series is a lot worse when it comes to dead-end situations (such as missing evidence while investigating a crime scene or not adjusting the sights on your gun, just to name two of the situations I ran across during one of my series playthroughs) than other Sierra adventure games and if you use a single save file, your going to end up very frustrated very fast.
Wow. Police quest. I was really into 1 and 2, briefly played 3. One of my friends is a cop, and I thought of recommending pq to him. It is really procedural, but after all it is a police game. And a good one. There's a lot I want to say about it, but I don't want to give away the story.
Best advice? Think like a cop.
Well so far I'm enjoying myself. Although I think I know who the real villain is supposed to be. :-*
Lots of trial and error. And I'm glad I looked at the manual since I had no idea you the function keys had actual functions.
When it comes to PQ1. I actually prefer the original to the remake. The remake is nice looking but it changes alot of continuity, and doesn't fit in with the later games very well. Several characters changed for example, one important character that appears in PQ1 and PQ2 is replaced with another character in the remake (even a sex change).
whatever you do, do *not* take your clothes off. that's a legitimate option you can do on virtually every screen in the game. besides that, you're golden.
Tips for Police Quest?
Yeah. Don't die!
Good luck!
Bt