Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1989
Platform: DOS; Mac; Amiga

Score: 6

Many laud Space Quest III as not only the best adventure of the series, but one of the best adventures of the 80s. I just don’t see it.

Once again, you are Roger Wilco.  Once again, you need to save the universe. And once again, the plot (this time involving the Two Guys from Andromeda and the evil corporation Scumsoft) is paper-thin. Dying has been toned down a bit in this game, and the deaths aren’t nearly as entertaining as before. With the previous two games in the series, discovering all the ways Roger could die felt like a reward in itself, thanks in large part to how mercilessly the game mocked you. Here, it feels more like a chore. It’s especially disappointing because the graphics are considerably sharper, the music is more lively, and the parser finally understands you. The characters you meet are also more fleshed out. I just can’t seem to care.

Perhaps my indifference results from the sheer obviousness that permeates the entire game. The puzzles are painfully easy. Combine this with the game’s brevity and you have a stunning four to six hours of total gameplay, unacceptable considering how much the game cost back in 1989. The characters, while colorful, are also a bit on-the-nose. As I found them predictable, I found none of them memorable. Most importantly, the humor takes “obvious” to whole new levels. It began to feel as if the “APPLAUSE” sign was flashed after every joke to remind me that I was supposed to laugh.

To be fair, I did laugh a few times.  And I did enjoy a few of the puzzles. And I did enjoy some of the characters. And a couple of times I even enjoyed dying. But for all its technical improvements, I didn’t see anything particularly fresh or surprising in Pirates of Pestulon.