Police Quest (or SWAT) is a series of police simulation video games made and sold by Sierra On-Line from 1987 to 1998. The first five games in the series were adventure and simulation games. The first three were created by Jim Walls, a former police officer. The fourth through sixth games were designed by Daryl F. Gates, a former chief of the LAPD. The games titled SWAT and SWAT 2 still used the Police Quest name and were numbered V and VI in the series. However, later games in the series no longer used the Police Quest name and were instead called SWAT.

Games

The first three games were created by Jim Walls, a former police officer. These games follow the story of Sonny Bonds, a character inspired by Jim Walls' own son, Sonny Walls. Jim Walls appears in each game, usually in the beginning.

Released in 1987, Police Quest uses Sierra's Adventure Game Interpreter parser engine. The game places the player in the role of Sonny Bonds, a 15-year veteran police officer in the fictional town of Lytton, California. Assigned to traffic duty, Sonny investigates what seems like a simple car crash but discovers it is a murder. After a short break, he writes a traffic ticket, deals with a group of drunk bikers, and arrests someone for driving under the influence. As the game progresses, Sonny moves from patrol officer to temporary narcotics detective and then to an undercover agent, aiming to find a drug dealer named Jessie Bains, called "The Death Angel." To track Jessie Bains, Sonny teams up with Marie, a former classmate who now works as a prostitute.

Police Quest is more realistic compared to other Sierra games from the late 1980s, such as Leisure Suit Larry, King's Quest, or Space Quest. It includes puzzles that require correct police procedures to solve. The game was released for MS-DOS, Apple II, Mac, Amiga, Atari ST, and Apple II GS. In 1992, a SCI1.1 enhanced version with 256-color VGA graphics was released. This version was the first in the series without dead-end paths.

Released in 1988, the second game uses the SCI0 engine. Again, the player controls Sonny Bonds. After arresting Jessie Bains, Sonny is promoted to the homicide division and starts dating Marie Wilkans, who helped him during his undercover work. However, Jessie Bains escapes from prison and seeks revenge. With the help of his partner, Keith, Sonny must protect Marie and himself while chasing "The Death Angel" again. Despite Sonny's efforts, Bains kills several people involved in his arrest and kidnaps Marie. Sonny tracks Bains to Steelton, where Donald Colby, a reformed drug dealer from the first game, now lives.

Police Quest II is more serious than the first game and focuses heavily on proper police procedures. If Sonny fails to care for his gun or enters dangerous situations without backup, the game ends.

After Bains' death, Sonny and Marie marry. Sonny is promoted again and faces new challenges as a drug cartel and a satanic cult appear in Lytton. When Marie is stabbed in a mall parking lot, Sonny's work becomes personal. He must deal with a partner with questionable morals and find crime patterns to solve the case. The Bains family also plays a role in this game.

Released in 1991, Police Quest III uses the SCI version 1 engine and is fully mouse-controlled. It was only released for IBM PC and Amiga. Before completing this game, Jim Walls left Sierra for reasons not publicly explained. Jane Jensen finished the game's dialogue and messages. Daryl F. Gates, founder of SWAT, took over the Police Quest series, while Walls and others later designed Blue Force, an adventure game similar to Police Quest.

Later games in the series were created by Tammy Dargan and produced by Daryl Gates, who previously led the Los Angeles Police Department. These games had different styles and even changed genres. Like the original series, Daryl Gates appears in each game. Police Quest IV and V were later rebranded as the SWAT series. These games were listed as Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest instead of numbered titles, though numbered versions appeared on packaging and CDs.

Daryl F. Gates' first game for Sierra changed the series completely. The player is no longer Sonny Bonds but John Carey, an LAPD homicide detective in Los Angeles, California. Carey must find a serial killer after his best friend is killed. The game includes serious themes like hate crimes, neo-Nazism, and youth crime. It also shows graphic images, such as a child killed by gang violence and a severed head in a refrigerator.

Using SCI2, this game replaced earlier graphics with scanned photos and live actors filmed on green screens. Released in 1993 for IBM PC and Macintosh, the game is incompatible with Windows 95 and later systems. Some parts, like the shooting gallery, may cause the game to crash, but this was fixed in the CD version with a Windows installer. This game is the most mature in the series, focusing on drug abuse, police corruption, and gang violence rather than police procedures.

Although the title screen does not show "PQV," the game is referred to as such in files, credits, and packaging. Police Quest 5: SWAT was later included in the Police Quest Collection and other compilations.

Police Quest: SWAT 2 is the sixth and final game in the original series. It is a real-time strategy game with an original engine, retaining only a few adventure elements like inventory use and puzzles. Sonny Bonds is one of the agents the player can use. The game was included in the SWAT Force and SWAT Generation compilations.

After Open Season, the series continued with two more games, which led to the SWAT series and shifted into different video game genres:

• SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle (2000) — PC/Windows, tactical shooter
• SWAT: Urban Justice (2002) — PC/Windows, cancelled
• SWAT 4 (2005) — PC/Windows, tactical shooter

SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle and SWAT 4 are the only tactical shooters in the series. SWAT 4 is the final game in the eight-game series, though it no longer connects to the original games except for a cameo by Marie Bonds in SWAT 3 and Sonny Bonds as a SWAT unit lieutenant in SWAT 4.

At this point, neither Jim Walls nor Daryl Gates were involved in the series, though Gates consulted on SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle with LAPD advisor Kenneth A. Thatcher.

The first SWAT game, technically Police Quest 5: SWAT, was later included in the Police Quest Collection Series.

Attempts to continue the series

On July 16, 2013, Jim Walls introduced a Kickstarter proposal for a game called Precinct, which would be a new project in the Police Quest series. Robert Lindsley, a former employee of Sierra, was chosen as the game’s executive producer. The game was to be made by a new company named Jim Walls Reloaded, where Lindsley also worked as president. The game aimed to use the same style as older Sierra adventure games but with modern updates. The campaign had a goal of raising $500,000, and backers had until August 16 to support it. However, the campaign was canceled early on August 6, with only $85,756 raised from 1,870 backers.

After this, Walls and Lindsley announced a new fundraising plan for Precinct, which they described as "new and unique." This campaign would not have a strict deadline, and the game would be released once enough money was raised. However, this effort also failed, ending after two weeks. Lindsley explained that the team lacked the support needed to complete the project. Despite this, Walls and Lindsley still hope to create Precinct in the future.

In August 2014, Activision revived the Sierra Entertainment brand, which could allow for future games in the Police Quest series, as Sierra owns the rights to the franchise.

Collections and re-releases

The first re-release of the games in a collection was made in 1995 as Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest Collection: The Four Most Wanted. The package was part of the Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest series. It was released to take advantage of the popularity of the newly released Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT. Extras included behind-the-scenes information about the game creators, a shortened version of the L.A. police department manual, and a video interview with Daryl F. Gates.

The second re-release collection was made in 1997 as Police Quest Collection Series. It included Police Quest 1–3, Open Season, and SWAT. It also included the Daryl Gates interview and the documentation from the previous collection.

The two Police Quest: SWAT games were re-released in 1999 in a collection called Police Quest: SWAT Force.

The third re-release collection was made in 2000 as the "SWAT Career Pack." It included all six Police Quest games: 1–3, Open Season, SWAT, and SWAT 2. It also included a demo for SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle.

In 2003, the first three SWAT games were released in the Police Quest: SWAT Generation compilation.

In September 2006, Vivendi Games released Police Quest Collection: Step Behind the Badge, which included the first four Police Quest games, excluding the original AGI version of PQ1. The package included the DOSBox emulator for compatibility with Windows XP.

Since January 18, 2011, the Police Quest 1–4 and Police Quest: SWAT 1 & 2 packs have been available internationally on GOG.com as digital downloads. The 2.0 installer for the Police Quest 1–4 pack added the original EGA version of PQ1. In 2017, SWAT 3 and SWAT 4 were both added to GOG. A community-driven online system is available for SWAT 4's multiplayer mode after the closure of Gamespy.