In 2012, I wrote a series of blog entries on the subject of Sierra On-Line memories. It was entitled The Treasure of the Sierra On-Line. It covered Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and King's Quest. The three Sierra On-Line franchises which I had the most experiences with at the time.
With the sudden passing of friend and fellow Sierra On-Line fan, Roberta Vaughan, I decided that now might be the best time to revisit The Treasure of the Sierra On-Line. I am in the process of further exploring various memories of Sierra On-Line. Everything from Space Quest to You Don't Know Jack. From Police Quest to 3-D Ultra Pinball. From King's Quest to Quest for Glory. Today, we will be exploring more Police Quest. The series began with Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel designed by former police officer Jim Walls. A point and click adventure game in the vein of King's Quest. Jim Walls went on to develop two sequels. Police Quest II: The Vengeance and Police Quest III: The Kindred. The series followed police procedure so closely that it was even used for real life police training at one point.
The New Treasure of the Sierra On-Line (Police Quest 33⅓)
In a city teeming with drugs, one man rises to uphold the law. His name is Sonny Bonds.
A few years had passed since my first experiences with the Police Quest series. Police Quest: SWAT seemed like a distant memory. My campy adventures with the LAPD SWAT division had certainly left a lasting impression, however. I was slowly rediscovering the early Sierra On-Line games while working as a community moderator for Chris Cromer's AGI Web Site. I had become fairly acquainted with a fellow moderator there. Someone with an even more intimate knowledge of Sierra On-Line than myself. Mark was quite the character. He had a warped sense of humor at times. A very adult oriented sense of of humor! It would never fly in the police force! With his help, I began to archive much of the Sierra On-Line game catalog digitally. It would come to include virtually every point and click adventure game ever produced by the company.
Naturally, that archive would include Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel and its sequels, Police Quest II: The Vengeance and Police Quest III: The Kindred. When it came time to include Police Quest IV: Open Season, however, we could not seem to find the files we needed. Thankfully, there was an eBay auction for the original Police Quest IV: Open Season CD-ROM currently in progress. It was a rather barebones offering. No box and no manual. Just the CD-ROM itself. But it appeared to be our only option at that point. I quickly placed a bid for the CD-ROM. After the auction had closed, Mark somehow managed to find the files online after all. He was always a hoot. My Police Quest IV: Open Season CD-ROM arrived in the mail a few days later. Mark reassured me following the game's arrival. At least I now possessed a physical copy of the game. From what I have come to understand, it is the most controversial entry in the series too. I was somewhat eager to give it a try, but it felt only natural to begin with Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel. The very first game in the series. The game that I had never actually finished years prior. It was time to report for duty. It was time to get back on the beat.
Monday, April 13, 2026
Friday, April 10, 2026
The New Treasure of the Sierra On-Line (Police Quest)
In 2012, I wrote a series of blog entries on the subject of Sierra On-Line memories. It was entitled The Treasure of the Sierra On-Line. It covered Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and King's Quest. The three Sierra On-Line franchises which I had the most experiences with at the time.
With the sudden passing of friend and fellow Sierra On-Line fan, Roberta Vaughan, I decided that now might be the best time to revisit The Treasure of the Sierra On-Line. I am in the process of further exploring various memories of Sierra On-Line. Everything from Space Quest to You Don't Know Jack. From Police Quest to 3-D Ultra Pinball. From King's Quest to Quest for Glory. Today, we will be exploring Police Quest. A series of gritty law enforcement games designed by former police officers Jim Walls and Daryl F. Gates. Police Quest followed police procedure so closely that it was even used for real life police training at one point.
The New Treasure of the Sierra On-Line (Police Quest)
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.
I fought the law and the law won.
Sir, yes sir! I promise to uphold the rule of law.
Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. This is the city. Los Angeles, California. I walked its streets. I perused its computer stores. I grew up here. The city holds a lot of memories for me. Both good and bad. It's the bad that puts a thorn in your boots. Thieves of all kinds can be found here. They are a sinister jack of all trades. If only there were a police officer brave enough to stand up to them. What the force needs is a good pup.
This is the city. Lytton, California. The name has been changed to protect Los Angeles.
It was a warm evening. Spring was in the air. And I was once again in the market for a new Sierra On-Line adventure. It was a Friday. The selection of Sierra On-Line adventure games had thinned out considerably. It looked as though it were a dying breed. I did however find one title on the computer game shelf that drew my attention. It was Police Quest: SWAT. I was only vaguely aware of its existence. The Torin's Passage CD-ROM included a non-interactive demo for Police Quest: SWAT that demonstrated a small selection of scenes from the game. The FMV animations were certainly astonishing. They were unlike anything I had seen at the time.
What I failed to realize was that Police Quest: SWAT was not an adventure game. It was more of a tactical simulator. Regardless, my curiosity was piqued by the non-interactive demo, and further piqued by the game's box. The scenes depicted on the back of the Police Quest: SWAT box were eye-catching to say the least. There was heavy use of combat rifles and even what appeared to be hostage negotiation.
With the sudden passing of friend and fellow Sierra On-Line fan, Roberta Vaughan, I decided that now might be the best time to revisit The Treasure of the Sierra On-Line. I am in the process of further exploring various memories of Sierra On-Line. Everything from Space Quest to You Don't Know Jack. From Police Quest to 3-D Ultra Pinball. From King's Quest to Quest for Glory. Today, we will be exploring Police Quest. A series of gritty law enforcement games designed by former police officers Jim Walls and Daryl F. Gates. Police Quest followed police procedure so closely that it was even used for real life police training at one point.
The New Treasure of the Sierra On-Line (Police Quest)
Sir, yes sir! I promise to uphold the rule of law.
Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. This is the city. Los Angeles, California. I walked its streets. I perused its computer stores. I grew up here. The city holds a lot of memories for me. Both good and bad. It's the bad that puts a thorn in your boots. Thieves of all kinds can be found here. They are a sinister jack of all trades. If only there were a police officer brave enough to stand up to them. What the force needs is a good pup.
This is the city. Lytton, California. The name has been changed to protect Los Angeles.
It was a warm evening. Spring was in the air. And I was once again in the market for a new Sierra On-Line adventure. It was a Friday. The selection of Sierra On-Line adventure games had thinned out considerably. It looked as though it were a dying breed. I did however find one title on the computer game shelf that drew my attention. It was Police Quest: SWAT. I was only vaguely aware of its existence. The Torin's Passage CD-ROM included a non-interactive demo for Police Quest: SWAT that demonstrated a small selection of scenes from the game. The FMV animations were certainly astonishing. They were unlike anything I had seen at the time.
What I failed to realize was that Police Quest: SWAT was not an adventure game. It was more of a tactical simulator. Regardless, my curiosity was piqued by the non-interactive demo, and further piqued by the game's box. The scenes depicted on the back of the Police Quest: SWAT box were eye-catching to say the least. There was heavy use of combat rifles and even what appeared to be hostage negotiation.
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