Police Quest 3: The Kindred - A Fair & Balanced Retrospective

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Features by Adventure Game Hotspot staff
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In his latest video retrospective, the Space Quest Historian returns to a different classic Sierra series for an in-depth look at the highs and lows – or lows, anyway; mostly lows – in the third Police Quest adventure, The Kindred.

Where did it all go wrong for the 1991 police procedural? Well, just about everywhere in a "disappointing half-baked idea of a game where nearly every facet feels rushed and incomplete." It could be the gameplay, which wavers between a "hair-pulling combination of utter tedium and frustrating gotcha moments," including more than a few softlocks and driving sequences that set a new series standard for awfulness "by a factor of a thousand."

Surprisingly, though, the biggest culprit in the ill-fated return to Lytton is the story itself. Ostensibly it's about a murderous cult that attacked Marie (now the wife of the newly promoted Detective Sergeant Sonny Bonds) and left her in a coma all game. Unfortunately, says SQH, it loses its way before the end, meandering between far-fetched plot developments and pointless characters, culminating in the not-even-hyperbolic "worst ending he's ever seen."

Why surprising? Because the writing is credited to none other than the legendary Jane Jensen, which seems less a reflection of her abundant ability and more a case of botched production and rushing the product out the door before it was ready.

Is it all bad? No, not ALL, with some decent art and music on display, but mostly it all adds up to a "wet fart of a game." But hey, it's a good primer for the next Police Quest, which promises to be even worse!

For now, though, enjoy this uniquely amusing look back at Police Quest 3: The Kindred, Space Quest Historian style.

Space Quest Historian is part of the Adventure Game Hotspot Network, a collective of talented, dedicated content producers who work entirely independently but have joined forces to promote each other’s efforts. All opinions expressed belong solely to the original creators.