Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel
Encyclopedia
Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel is an adventure game produced by Jim Walls
for Sierra On-Line
, and originally released in 1987 built on their AGI
.
It was remade in 1992 using 256 color VGA graphics and the SCI
engine.
It is the first game in the Police Quest
series and spawned two direct sequels, Police Quest 2 and Police Quest 3, as well as Police Quest: Open Season, Police Quest: SWAT, and Police Quest: SWAT 2
(which spun off into the SWAT series
).
Unlike many games of this genre, the style of play depends largely on a largely strict adherence to standard police rules and procedure. Failure to abide to proper procedure typically leads to the player being penalized on points, or having his character killed. For instance, neglecting to store the side arm
away in the outside gun lockers before entering the jail to book a prisoner will have him suddenly take the gun the moment his handcuffs are removed and shoot Sonny with it.
is Sonny Bonds, an officer with the Lytton Police Department.
During his regular patrol, Bonds is sent to investigate a car crash. Upon investigation of the accident, Bonds discovers that the deceased driver of the vehicle, a drug dealer named Lonny West, has been shot in the head. After Sergent Dooley arrives on the scene and takes control of the investigation, Bonds returns to his regular patrol. After a coffee break with fellow officer Steve, Bonds goes back on duty and gives a speeding ticket to a beautiful woman named Helen Hots (In the remake her name is changed to Tawnee), handles some bikers who are troubling a local eating establishment, and arrests a drunk driver. The shift finishes and Bonds visits "The Blue Room", a local hangout for off-duty police officers, where he talks with his friend Jack Cobb about Jack's daughter's drug problem.
After returning to duty, Bonds locates the stolen Cadillac and pulls it over. With the help of Officer Jack Cobb, Bonds arrests the driver, Jason Taselli, and identifies the car as the stolen vehicle with a new light blue paint job. Further investigations reveal drugs which help to link Taselli with the murder of Lonny West. Partly due to his work on the case, Bonds is promoted to Acting Detective with the Narcotics division. Further investigations reveal the name of the drug lord to be Jessie Bains, "The Death Angel", and that he is also involved in an illegal gambling operation at the Hotel Delphoria.
Going undercover, Bonds infiltrates the gambling ring at the Hotel Delphoria with the help of prostitute Marie Wilkins, and is taken to a card game with Jessie Bains. Gaining Bains trust, Bonds is taken to Bains hotel room where Bonds calls in his backup who gun Bains down.
The game is the most realistic of those developed by Sierra by the late eighties (when compared to Leisure Suit Larry, King's Quest, or Space Quest), and featured many puzzles where proper police procedure is required to succeed. It was released for the IBM PC
, Apple II
, Amiga
, Atari ST
and Apple IIGS
. A SCI
1.1 enhanced version in 256 color VGA was released in 1992.
Jim Walls
Jim Walls is a retired police officer, who in 1971 joined the California Highway Patrol. He retired after 15 years on the force after a shooting incident that left him traumatized....
for Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, and originally released in 1987 built on their AGI
Adventure Game Interpreter
The Adventure Game Interpreter is a game engine which Sierra On-Line used through most of the 1980s to create and run animated, color adventure games...
.
It was remade in 1992 using 256 color VGA graphics and the SCI
Sierra's Creative Interpreter
Sierra's Creative Interpreter is the scripting language created by Jeff Stephenson of Sierra On-Line for its adventure games after the older AGI, and the runtime environment for such adventure games....
engine.
It is the first game in the Police Quest
Police Quest
Police Quest is a series of computer games produced and published by Sierra On-Line between 1987 and 1993. The original series was composed of four adventure games, the first three of which were designed by former policeman Jim Walls, with the fourth title designed by former LAPD Chief Daryl F....
series and spawned two direct sequels, Police Quest 2 and Police Quest 3, as well as Police Quest: Open Season, Police Quest: SWAT, and Police Quest: SWAT 2
Police Quest: SWAT 2
Police Quest: SWAT 2 is the sixth game in the Police Quest series . It is an isometric view, squad-level RTT game in the mold of the classic X-Com or Jagged Alliance games. The game takes place in real-time, with the player issuing orders to individual SWAT team members from a three-quarter...
(which spun off into the SWAT series
SWAT series
The SWAT series are the follow-up of Sierra's classic adventure game series Police Quest. The adventure game decreased in popularity by the mid-nineties and Jim Walls, the former series designer, left Sierra and was replaced by real-life SWAT founder Daryl F. Gates. After Gates released Open...
).
Gameplay
Police Quest: In Pursuit of The Death Angel, is an adventure game which centers around the game's main character, Sonny Bonds, who is a driving patrol police officer in the fictional city of Lytton. Being a police officer, the genre-typical puzzles often revolve around typical police work, such as securing crime scenes and recovering stolen vehicles, plus some important duty procedures. The lack of "traditional" puzzles made the game stand out, although it also resulted in some criticism of the dry police work. The original release of the game required the player to type in the desired actions, such as opening doors, pressing buttons or firing one's gun. The remake used a point & click interface instead.Unlike many games of this genre, the style of play depends largely on a largely strict adherence to standard police rules and procedure. Failure to abide to proper procedure typically leads to the player being penalized on points, or having his character killed. For instance, neglecting to store the side arm
Side arm
A side arm is a weapon, usually a pistol but can be a dagger, as used in pre-modern times, which is worn on the body in a holster to permit immediate access and use. A side arm is typically required equipment for military personnel and sometimes carried by law enforcement personnel...
away in the outside gun lockers before entering the jail to book a prisoner will have him suddenly take the gun the moment his handcuffs are removed and shoot Sonny with it.
Setting and characters
Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel is based in the fictional town of Lytton, California. The exact date it takes place is unclear though random dates are set between 1983 and 1986; it includes references to 1983 (Sonny arrests Jason Taselli on 9/7/83), 1985 (mentioned in an FBI warrant #, and the year-make of a motorcycle), and 1986 (A gun was stolen by Jason Taselli on 12/4/86 in Chicago) In Police Quest 2 the events of the first game took place between 1983-1987. PQ2 includes conflicting dates for events of the first game (for example according to information in the game, Jessie Bains was arrest/conviction is listed as both 1983 and 1987, and the arrest/death of Jason Taselli is listed in 1983 and 1987 as well). According to Police Quest 3 (set during 1991), the events of the first game (or at least Jessie Bains arrest) occurred in 1987. Police Quest takes place in 1992 in the remake. The exact dates vary between each game. The player characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
is Sonny Bonds, an officer with the Lytton Police Department.
Plot
Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel casts the player as Sonny Bonds, a police officer assigned to traffic duty in the fictional town of Lytton, California. His supervising officer, Sergeant Dooley, reveals in the morning briefing that the local teenagers are getting out of hand and are using cocaine, as well as a report of a stolen 1983 black Cadillac which Bonds and his fellow officers are ordered to keep a lookout for.During his regular patrol, Bonds is sent to investigate a car crash. Upon investigation of the accident, Bonds discovers that the deceased driver of the vehicle, a drug dealer named Lonny West, has been shot in the head. After Sergent Dooley arrives on the scene and takes control of the investigation, Bonds returns to his regular patrol. After a coffee break with fellow officer Steve, Bonds goes back on duty and gives a speeding ticket to a beautiful woman named Helen Hots (In the remake her name is changed to Tawnee), handles some bikers who are troubling a local eating establishment, and arrests a drunk driver. The shift finishes and Bonds visits "The Blue Room", a local hangout for off-duty police officers, where he talks with his friend Jack Cobb about Jack's daughter's drug problem.
After returning to duty, Bonds locates the stolen Cadillac and pulls it over. With the help of Officer Jack Cobb, Bonds arrests the driver, Jason Taselli, and identifies the car as the stolen vehicle with a new light blue paint job. Further investigations reveal drugs which help to link Taselli with the murder of Lonny West. Partly due to his work on the case, Bonds is promoted to Acting Detective with the Narcotics division. Further investigations reveal the name of the drug lord to be Jessie Bains, "The Death Angel", and that he is also involved in an illegal gambling operation at the Hotel Delphoria.
Going undercover, Bonds infiltrates the gambling ring at the Hotel Delphoria with the help of prostitute Marie Wilkins, and is taken to a card game with Jessie Bains. Gaining Bains trust, Bonds is taken to Bains hotel room where Bonds calls in his backup who gun Bains down.
Development
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
, Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
. A SCI
Sierra's Creative Interpreter
Sierra's Creative Interpreter is the scripting language created by Jeff Stephenson of Sierra On-Line for its adventure games after the older AGI, and the runtime environment for such adventure games....
1.1 enhanced version in 256 color VGA was released in 1992.