For one thing, keep in mind that you will be dealing with a very "modest" and simple parser (i.e. the programming structure that analyzes typed-in commands), which means that you can't give complex orders. In fact, many words that are being used in the descriptions of certain locations are not recognized by the program, which can be frustrating, but on the other hand it should be obvious that a word that isn't recognized is unnecessary to solve a particular situation, which is no help if you've thought of a synonym but can't come up with the recognized word. E.G. if you type "look table" and the computer responds with something like "There's an oak table with four chairs next to it" then it's quite likely that "look chairs" or "examine chair" will result in "What's a chair?". Illogical but that's the way it works. And also an example of poor, lazy, and unprofessional programming.

Another feature inherent in these games is the "one solution only" symptom. Although various commands may be used to the same effect ("look", "check" and "examine" are the same thing, so are "take" and "get") each situation needs a particular phrase to solve. So when you wish to get the drunk into your custody and he starts giving you a hassle about not having done anything wrong, you need to test his sobriety (or lack of it). If you type "test man", nothing happens. But "give test" does the job for you. You'll find that coming up with the right command can be a bummer.

Last but not least, this kind of game is illogical. A perfect example is once you've arrested "Hoffman", you can do everything that's necessary to take him to jail (i.e. cuff him, read him his rights, and bring him to jail). But when you're at the city jail and you take off his cuffs, he'll shoot you unless you've taken his gun away while he was on the ground in the spot where you arrested him. If you wish to take away his gun ("search man") outside of the county jail where's there's all the room in world and nothing to keep you from searching your suspect, the program says "you should have thought of that when you had him on the ground". And although a whole parking place is at your disposal, you can no longer put the man on the floor and get his gun. Which means that, if you've saved your game after putting the suspect in your patrol car, you can start all over again. And this, my friends, is what I truly and positively dislike about any game: Lack of logic.

And yet, all in all, Police Quest is an ok game to play because there's lots of variation and a good deal of interesting stuff to do. That, and some witty remarks and situations (big dude in jail cell: "Hey man, get me outta here, I didn't know copying disks was illegal!") should keep Sierra fans happy.

Fighting crime in the streets of Lytton used to be a mostly nice and friendly job with just the occasional serious offense that comes with the territory, or so Jack says. Fact is, he's been a member of the department much longer than I. I never thought of my job as merely "nice and friendly". What with dope dealers, murderers, rapists and other hoodlums on the streets these days Lytton is no longer a nice quiet town. So it's up to us to keep it as much of a safe place as is humanly possible.

It was the morning of what might have been just another day in the field and I was waiting for Dooley's briefing to help me and the public safely through another day. I went into the locker room, took my gun and ammo, loaded, took my briefcase and walked into the briefing room to get the latest news.

Hi everyone to another glorious day in the business of solving adventures. Not a fantasy or S.F. role playing simulation this time, but the latest text and graphics adventure from the folks that created Leisure Suit Larry.

Sonny Bonds is the name of the blue uniformed police officer that you're supposed to guide through traffic accidents, arrests, seductions and many other situations that'll prove a definite health hazard if not properly executed. Police Quest is a "typical" Sierra game that features a good deal of variation, a reasonable deal of dry wit (not as much as Larry but then this is supposed to be a more or less serious challenge) and all the advantages and disadvantages inherent to this particular kind of game. You're advised to make a lot of different saved positions and keep them on a (backup) disk because you may find that a fatal mistake is not always obvious at once, and when you find out that you made an error two hours of play before and you don't have a saved position prior to that point you can get very frustrated. Believe me.

Briefing was short and if it wasn't for the Lytton Tribune and the other note my time there would have been wasted. So I read the news, got myself a radio and the keys to my patrol car and checked a couple of things on the computer. Then, ready...set...go! Checked the car and its contents and boy, driving sure is a hard thing in Lytton these days. But as usual I survived and after driving around town for a while looking around a bit, I got a call from the station about a traffic accident. I called in, responded to the news and shortly arrived at the scene where some silly dude (who later on appeared to have been shot) had tried to enter a building with a car, and without even bothering about such things as an entrance.

I reported the situation and, while waiting for help, talked to an anxious looking young man who seemed positive that the accident was not an accident at all but the result of a brutal murder. The news he gave me neatly fitted some other scraps of information but it wasn't enough to build a case on so I waited for my relieve and subsequently drove to Carol's Coffee Castle where Steve was waiting for me. Good coffee and an interesting telephone conversation kept me thinking while I hit the streets again, ready to write a million tickets.

I hadn't gone two miles when some hot red sports car jumped a red light and disappeared around a corner. I followed that car for a long time before finally the driver realized it wasn't going to work and slowly drove over to the curb. I took my ticket book and pen, called in, and walked to the little red car.

And found a spoiled rich girl with the looks and manners of a 20th century Cleopatra. She tried to talk me into something but a professional man doesn't yield to temptation (aargh!) so I kept cool and checked her license, wrote a ticket, ignoring all kinds of abusive language and finally making it back to my own car where I discovered that I was profusely sweating and had completely forgotten to sign the ticket and hand it to her. Well, you can't win 'em all.

After that poor excuse for a policeman's work, I decided to make up for it first chance I got, which came all too soon. When I entered Carol's place, I saw some bikes standing in front of the door and I just knew there was going to be trouble. I talked to Carol and was invited (instructed is more like it) to ask the guys to be less liberal in using up her parking space. So I went next door into Wino Willie's beer joint and was immediately provoked by some unshaven beer-drinking half-human motor gang hoodlums but the good use of my nightstick quickly reminded them of the "force of the law" and with a polite excuse they removed themselves, and their bikes.

The next chapter in crime-fighting Sonny Bond's short and daring career was the prolonged pursuit of a very erratically driving very drunk dude whom I merely had to give a test to convince him of better places to be than on the street in his own car. I checked his license and read him his Miranda rights and witnessed how the jailer shared my opinion and when I left the drunk in his custody, replaced my gun and went to my car I really felt like I'd done a good job protecting the public, but there was much more to come.

I called in and realized that now was as good a time as any to drop a request for promotion to narcotics, so I left a memo in the basket and did all the things necessary to change clothes and hit the streets in my Corvette. I was still thinking about the infamous Gremlin's actions (kind of funny so I didn't even bother to find out who it was) and made my way to the Blue Room.

Inside, I played some music and drank some wine and listened to a sad story from Jack and suddenly I didn't feel like dancing and drinking anymore. Luckily someone reminded me that it was my turn for late duty so I got out fast and returned to the police station just in time for another visit to the briefing room where I located an interesting note and (once outside) also established that my memo was "under consideration". How nice.

I hit the streets once more and before long I was in pursuit of that Cadillac, a very dangerous driver, and a very hard job. But after many attempts to escape, he finally realized he wasn't going to shake me and parked his car. Seeing that we were supposed to be dealing with a very dangerous criminal here, I called in and requested backup.

Following the entire procedure and not forgetting to take the man's weapon from him I booked one Marvin Hoffman but we both knew that this was not his real name. Found some interesting things in his car before I brought him to jail on a charge of Drug Trafficking. I was hoping he would stay there for an indeterminate time.

A message from Morgan (I had been promoted!) convinced me that an indeterminate time would prove to be no time flat if I didn't find some way to prove that Hoffman was dangerous and should be denied bail. I checked some notes and files and found that one Hoffman was the same as one Jason Taselli (not only did the faces match but so did the tattoo) and quickly went to court where I boldly asked the clerk to let me in for an emergency.

The judge let me in and gave me a chance to offer her the file and the poster and explain my case. I told her something about that flower tattoo and when I left the courtroom I had a no-bail warrant for Mr. "Hoffman". I went to jail and arrived just in time to prohibit Taselli's premature release from custody. I think I made the jailer's day there as he was really friendly to me.

My next operation in the field of narcotic warfare was breaking up and busting two dudes dealing in the park. With gorgeous but professional Laura as my backup, and never forgetting the correct procedure to follow, we found lots of interesting stuff (not sugar!) and booked both suspects. After this little success, things rapidly went downhill. First of all, I got the news that Jack's daughter had died of an overdose, and another thing was that the guy I'd booked earlier on, Jason Taselli (alias "Hoffman") had escaped from jail and was later on found dead in the grove. I had to identify him and once more saw that tattoo. Then Sweet Cheeks Marie got busted but Morgan had a good idea and in order to nail the infamous Death Angel, who was responsible for most of the bad news spreading around town, it was suggested that I get Marie released from jail if she agreed to help the hotel operation, which she did.

The things you have to do to be a narcotics agent. I even had to bleach my hair. So, after a thorough briefing, I left everything that might give me away in the police station and kept the things that might come in handy and went on my way to the Place of the Clue: the Hotel Delphoria.

I got a room there, made some calls and soon found myself playing poker with two illegal gamblers and - oops! - the Death Angel himself. He seemed impressed with my play and asked me to join in for a private game later on, which I accepted. But first I got myself a voice transmitter so as to be able to keep my backups informed.

Later that night I played some more poker, won, and was invited to join Frank "Death Angel" in his private room. What I didn't know was that he'd learned of my true identity as I soon discovered when he aimed a gun at my undervalued hulk. But right then my backups arrived and in the heat of the fire fight the Death Angel was severely wounded.

Medals, decorations, praise, and a 97 year sentence without parole for Jessie "Death Angel" Bains were the result of my short but eventful career as Lytton Police Officer. Not bad for a few days' work. I'll make Captain yet. Perhaps I'll see you on the team soon.