I finished “Police Quest 1 (VGA)” in 4,5 hours!

Well, not really… I got tired of the poker games after an hour, so I reloaded and let the game win them for me so I could get my final screenshots for this playthrough post! Then I went back and spent another half hour to finally win the first poker game on my own! Now I still should play and win the SECOND poker game; I’m stubborn like that… I think I got a handle on it now, so I’m sure that will only take me another half hour or so…

Also, this was a replay for me, people! I’m no speedrunner, but it wasn’t a normal playthrough either. I know this game almost inside out – though I did only get 191 out of 225 Sierra points in the end…

I love how the walking cursor changes depending on your outfit

But anyway, how did I end up in these poker games to begin with? Well, after returning to the station, my boss had devised a complete plan where I had to go undercover and team up with my high school sweetheart turned “courtesan”. Of course when you go undercover, you need to make sure people don’t recognize you. So I had to dye my hair blonde (5th time in the locker room? I lost count...) and wear a white leisure suit. But I’m perfectly fine driving the car I’ve done all my previous police errands in to the hotel.

Lytton PD does have some fancy cars...

Once there I booked a room and met up with Marie in the bar. She introduced me to the bartender and we played our part to get me invited to the late night poker game. But first I return with Marie to my hotel room. Basically she wants to jump you, but you have to call her a cab. And this is where I was stuck for years in my childhood, because 411 isn’t common knowledge outside of the USA, people! I restarted the game dozens of times, looking for that phone number for the cab company all over the place. Only years later, when the internet came into existence and brought us online walkthroughs, did I figure out what the idea was.

This phone is the cause of YEARS of being stuck in this room...

So I call the cab, inform my boss about the situation, and return to the poker game. Which I lost. And kept losing. Seriously, if you’re looking for some easy money, invite me for a poker game. I’ll bring the pizza. Anyways, after a successful poker game (at the start you can actually choose to play yourself, not to play and lose, or not to play and win) you’re invited to ANOTHER game later on, with higher stakes. So I head back to my room to inform my boss by phone, and he sends a backup team with extra cash and a transmitter so they can find me. I head back to the bar, of course win that second game, and the big shot at the table takes me up to his penthouse suite and shoots me.

Yep, poker definitely isn't my game... Uno, anyone?

Okay, I got a little time before he does so, but I’m not immediately sure how I can prevent him from shooting me after he’s informed of my true identity with a phone call in the back. Didn’t I have a backup team somewhere? Where are they? Is my transmitter malfunctioning? No, turns out I have to tell them exactly where I am myself, and then the game’s finale plays out. I’m hero of the city, but I don’t really know why. Basically I was just following orders all the time, I don’t really had to solve any puzzles, and all the plans to take down the Death Angel were made by my superiors, I didn’t really have an active part in that, I was just a pawn.

Yay, the big finish!

I'll definitely be playing the other games in this series, but first some other things. "A Twisted Tale" will be released tomorrow, so I'll be posting about my playthrough. Then I'll be leaving Sierra for a bit to "crack my whip" at Lucasfilm Games! for my next classic playthrough!