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PC Games

King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

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Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1988
Platform: DOS; Amiga; Apple II; Atari ST

Review: 1988 and 1989 were Sierra’s truly great years, and it all began with The Perils of Rosella. With the series’ fourth installment, Sierra revolutionized the gaming industry with professionally composed music, their new SCI game engine, the best parser they ever created, and an adventure worthy of the moniker.

King Graham is planning on passing his adventurer’s hat to the next of kin, but before Alexander and Rosella can fight over the rights to star in the next sequel, Graham lets everyone down and has a heart attack. While Graham is on his deathbed, Rosella runs out of the room in emotional anguish, only to have the magic mirror come to the rescue once more. Genessa, a good fairy from a faraway land, informs the hopeful Rosella that a magical fruit within her realm can save her father much like drinking water from the Holy Grail. Rosella says “Okay.” Genessa informs Rosella that because the producers needed to flesh out the game, she has been struck ill and does not have enough magic power remaining for a round trip; rather, there’s just enough left for a one stop shop. Rosella says, “Screw that!” Genessa informs Rosella that the evil fairy Lollotte has stolen her talisman, and if Rosella would be so kind enough to destroy the evil Lollotte and bring back her talisman, she just may continue to live, and would thus be able to send Rosella back home. Rosella says nothing. Genessa reminds Rosella of the incredible guilt she’d feel if she didn’t at least try. Rosella says, “Bloody hell!  I’m in!”

Okay, so maybe the introduction isn’t quite like that. I make light of it because Roberta Williams must let the player know the entire plot before the first chapter even begins, as she did in nearly every game she ever made.  At least it’s the only significant mistake she made here. In fact, the plot does veer slightly at various junctures. Rosella ends up needing to complete more quests than the one already outlined during the introduction. While the various plot lines are not connected very well, they do stand up on their own merits, and because the ride is fun you can forgive everything else. The characters (human and otherwise) you meet have good development considering you rarely interact with any of them for more than a couple minutes. The game has humor; I fondly remember reading all of the epitaphs in the cemetery. There are multiple endings, and creative ways you can die. To top it off, halfway through the game day turns into night, fleshing out more characters and allowing for more exploration, not to mention adding a few spooks.

Like the last game, time is a factor, as you must retrieve the talisman within 24 game hours. While that may seem like a short time, the game can be won much quicker than that if you know what to do. There’s a chance you may have to restart if you do enough aimless wandering, but if you make good use of the “save” and “restore” commands you shouldn’t have to worry too much. Some puzzles are difficult without being unfair. Mythology is used quite heavily but knowledge of the stories is neither required nor all that useful. There is one terrifyingly awful puzzle involving a whale’s tongue(!). Thankfully, it is not terribly difficult, although it’s a mite frustrating. At least Sierra was able to poke fun at this very puzzle in Leisure Suit Larry 3.

If you only play one game in the King’s Quest series, and you are not allergic to typing, make it The Perils of Rosella.

Contemporary Rating: Low. The pointless time limit and some cheap falling deaths were annoying twenty years ago.

Cruelty Rating: Cruel. Not as cruel as other Sierra titles, but there is one way to lock yourself out of the good ending without realizing it. You might realize you did something wrong, but the game gives little indication.

PC Games

Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love For Sail!

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Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1996
Platform: DOS; Windows; Macintosh

Review: Al Lowe redeemed himself with his final installment in the series, taking everything good about previous two games in the series (see: not much), and extrapolated it into a massive game that manages to score in several areas.

The premise behind the game is familiar. Larry is left by the girl he wooed in the previous game (count that five times out of six) but manages to get tickets to a cruise, where there are quite a few luscious babes to be had. Of course, Larry can get every girl he desires just like any normal person would do–bring them an obscure item. All of this practice will allow him to bring the super item to the ship’s captain who will ensure Larry has the ride of his life.

Victorian Principles

I jest a bit.  There are quite a few puzzles in this game and they are not all of the lock-and-key variety. Some are fun and logical, some are fun and stupid, and some are just stupid. But since the last couple of games did not list “brain” under the requirements section, all puzzles are welcome.

The cartoon graphics actually work well, in that they don’t completely clash with the game environment. Gameplay is fairly intuitive and there were few times I felt myself annoyed at the production values.

On a positive note, there are a few features that were unique to the adventure game world. Before starting the game, the player can read lines for a character that will show up during play, save them in the directory, and hear your horrible acting in one scene. Also, as you score with each girl, your desktop wallpaper changes to the image of your latest conquest. Not groundbreaking, just unique.

One of the best features is the reintroduction of the keyboard into a Sierra game. Several puzzles require you type in the verb you want to use after you point-and-click the screen to death. Some of them are a little unfair, but it’s refreshing all the same.

Most importantly, I found Love For Sail genuinely funny.  “Where’s Dildo!” is a giant help, as you search the ship for 32 red and white dildos. The easter eggs are some of the best in PC history, and they are numerous. The narrator is hilarious. And the game goes a long way for stupid, elaborate puns. Despite the plot and a few nagging faults, I thoroughly enjoy playing this adventure every time.

Contemporary Rating: High. Only a couple of pixel-hunting issues, and this is the type of game one feels okay going to a walkthrough if necessary.

Cruelty Rating: Nasty.  Oh, Al.  There is one way to make the game unwinnable. Most people will probably figure they screwed up, though it’s unclear how badly at the time, as you can still complete most of the game if you ignore the gaffe.

PC Games

Black Dahlia

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Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Take-Two Interactive
Year: 1998
Platform: Windows

Review: In the mid 1930’s, the Torso Murderer ravaged Cleveland, Ohio by slicing up seven people and leaving Eliot Ness a puzzling case that even he could not solve. In 1947, Elizabeth Short (nicknamed the Black Dahlia), an aspiring Hollywood actress, was brutally murdered in much the same fashion of those in Cleveland a decade earlier. That case wasn’t solved either.

Take 2 Interactive takes their shot at solving the case, creating a mystical black gem (sought by the Nazis, naturally), known by the name of Black Dahlia. The gem gives its owner power to rule the world, quite typical for Nazi relics. The crusade for this gem by various groups is masked by all of the aforementioned murders, and one agent of the CIS is bound and determined to solve the case and stop the world takeover. You play Jim Pearson, a fictional agent of the non-fictional CIS (later the OSS, and still later the CIA). You must interview agents, criminals, and face the murderer himself in order to solve the case, while dealing with interference from the local police, Eliot Ness and the FBI, as well as, of course, Nazis.

Take 2 does so many things right with this adventure that it’s hard to know where to begin. One of the last games (until the rise of indie adventure games in the 2010s) to use extensive FMV sequences, it avoids the pitfalls present in most games of this nature. For starters, the game plays in first-person perspective. You never see Jim unless you’re watching a movie, so the continuity of his clothing and emotional state never come into play. And while some of the script is hokey, there are no noticeably horrible acting performances. The worst performance, surprisingly, is given by Dennis Hopper as an ex-CIS agent who’s been committed to a psych ward. Complementing the movies is the soundtrack, which is nearly flawless. Tense moments are subtly treated as such, without cheapening the mood with overblown scare tactics.

The plot, which is perhaps the most ambitious and well-crafted in adventure game history, spans many locations, including Cleveland, Germany, and Los Angeles, and about ten years of history as Jim Pearson attempts to track down the Black Dahlia and the killer. The story borrows plenty of historical facts to increase the feeling of realism.  As it is fairly easy to determine what is fact, fiction, and pure mysticism, the player never feels insulted by the storyteller. The game never pretends that it knows the truth behind the killings; it simply takes a fascinating historical account and creates an even more fascinating story around it, much like James Cameron did with Titanic.

What either makes or breaks the game for most players are the puzzles. They are hard. While there are a few inventory puzzles, most are symbolical or mathematical and require extensive note-taking. If you’ve ever done Mensa puzzles, think of the hardest of those. I would encourage all players to have a walkthrough handy, as unless you are a literal genius, you will break your keyboard from pounding your head against it. The designers cannot be faulted for the puzzles themselves, as none of them are contrived and all fit seamlessly with the plot. However, there are far too many of them, especially midway through the game, and at times it feels more like a homework assignment than a game. To be fair, some of them I found to be fascinating and I solved approximately a third of the puzzles without any help to much personal satisfaction.

If you like FMV games and don’t mind using a walkthrough to get through the tough parts, there is little doubt that you will be as enthralled with this adventure as I am and will no doubt follow up your experience by hitting Wikipedia for a history lesson.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. It takes a little bit to get used to movement.  Also, swapping eight discs during gameplay is a pain, though there’s not much back-and-forth.

Cruelty Rating: Polite.  Death (or a premature game over) is a rare outcome but can happen.  The occasional save is needed.

PC Games

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary

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Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Interplay
Year: 1992
Platform: DOS; Macintosh; Amiga

Review: One of the few true adventure games that Interplay had produced, they struck gold with this license. With characters lifted perfectly from the TV show, the game is a pleasure to watch (let alone play) if you even moderately enjoyed Star Trek.

Interplay did an adequate job of incorporating the four icon system into gameplay. At times you must combine items in your inventory and manipulate them, and the designers came up with some inventive uses for the phaser! The graphics are excellent, and the sound is even better than on the original show. Imagine what 25 years can do for production values.

Deftly incorporating all facets from the show, Kirk and his crew must solve each of seven missions efficiently and in accordance with the prime directive. In other words, don’t mess with the natives! After each mission, an admiral from Starfleet will give you a rating representing how well you accomplished your goals. The higher the rating, the more powerful upgrades you receive for your weapons, shields, and flight control. These resources are key if you want to stand a fighting chance during the battles. Several times you will be confronted by either the Romulans, Klingons, or Elasi pirates, and unless you become a master of the controls, you’ll need all the help you can get!

Part of your rating relies on your demeanor towards native populations and to adversaries. During conversation, you are presented with several choices of how to respond. You can pick the funny, brash, or sarcastic comment, but these will get Kirk in trouble most of the time. Not only do you have to be a good adventurer and fighter, you have to be a good diplomat as well.

A few of the missions are a breeze, but watching the characters interact is such a joy that I am glad the game wasn’t extremely difficult. However, there is one excruciating mathematical puzzle which I could never solve. Several years after pounding my tricorder against a wall, aided by an internet walkthrough, I acquired the answer. I think I could have sat there for decades and never solved it.

Perfect characterizations (aided by the voices of the real-life actors on the CD-ROM version), combined with a fluent story, moderate challenge, and excellent graphics and sound, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary should be played by every adventure game aficionado, regardless of your personal affections (or lack there of) for the source material.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. While most of the game is intuitive, the battle system is pretty clunky.  There’s also no way to skip it, which can be a beast for the game’s final battle.  If you haven’t done well on the missions and received the best upgrades, you might as well restart because there’s no way you’re seeing the ending.

Cruelty Rating: Polite.  Many ways to die, but no ways to get stuck.  My kind of game.

PC Games

Back to the Future: The Game

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Publisher:  Telltale
Developer: Telltale
Year: 2010
Platform: Windows; Macintosh; Playstation 3

Review: When I discovered this game was a thing, I immediately bought it for the wife and I to play. Like with most Telltale games it was released in agonizingly slow chapters. Each time a new one came, we’d knock it out in a day or two and then wait a couple of months. But as evidenced by my score, it was definitely worth it.

I was a bit hesitant as every single game that has ever been released with this license has made as much sense as a screen door on a battleship (e.g.  killer bees!). But Telltale has yet to screw up a license, or any game for that matter. For starters, Bob Gale was consulted on several story elements. And not only did they get Christopher Lloyd (who was also great in Toonstruck) and Claudia Wells(!) to reprise their roles as Doc Brown and Jennifer, they held a worldwide contest to see who would play Marty. Enter A.J. Locascio, who sounds so much like Marty McFly that if one didn’t know any better, you’d swear it was Michael J. Fox.

Of course, the game has to be more than its voice talent. While some of the chapters are better than others, the overall story is entertaining. It has countless paradoxes and is unendingly silly, but no more so than the second movie. It doesn’t have the dramatic impact of the first or third movies, but it’s funny enough to make up for it. One chapter in particular had us laughing out loud time after time, as the script writers were not afraid to go blue on several jokes.

As for the puzzles, they’re generally straightforward and easy. Only a couple of mindbenders are in the game, and there are unfortunately a few annoying lock & key puzzles that are not obvious.  But one should never get stuck long.

The ending leaves things open for a sequel, though one certainly isn’t necessary. If they do, there is no doubt in my mind the wife and I will drop what we’re doing and play it.

Contemporary Rating: High.

Cruelty Rating:  Merciful.  There is no way to die, which does take some of the drama out of a few puzzles.

PC Games

25: Eric the Unready

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Publisher: Legend
Developer: Legend
Year: 1993
Platform: DOS

Review: Rated by many the best adventure game of 1993 and it’s pretty obvious to see why. You are the infamous Eric the Unready. You have been assigned to save the princess from her evil stepmother. Unbeknownst to you, you were assigned because you are the most ill-equipped knight in the land.

As with the early Legend games that used a text parser, you can play the game with or without graphics.  The graphics are gorgeous for the time, and being a comedy they do well to serve the humor.  The music is pleasant if too repetitive.

It’s more of a parody than a game. To the skilled adventurer, this should take less than a couple of weeks to win. The puzzles are not all that well-developed, and can even be annoying at times. But it is without a doubt the funniest game I have ever played. Bob Bates spoofs everything from Star Trek to Saturday Night Live to Zork and has a grand ole time with medieval culture. There is something here for everyone.  I haven’t played the game since 2000, however, so it’s possible the jokes have become dated.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. Some of the puzzles seemed there just for busy-work.

Cruelty Rating: Tough. Like many text games, you can get rid of objects that you need later, but you never really need to.

PC Games

Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals

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Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1989
Platform: DOS; Amiga; Atari ST

Review: How do you take the success of the Looking For Love and turn it into something better?

1)Crank up the laughs. Al Lowe is at his absolute funniest here.
2)Include lots of sex, but use it simply for the comedy material it presents.
3)Change the perspective. Halfway through the game, you get to play as Patti!

Patti

Larry has lost his wife to a lesbian affair and thus his job when nepotism is no longer an option for him. So, Larry is without money, a job, or a place to live (something all too familiar to him), and must regain his sense of purpose in life.

Everything is improved, including the graphics, music, and parser. The puzzles are also more fair, without being ridiculously easy, providing a good pace to the game. And as mentioned already, the game is relentlessly funny.

Contemporary Rating: Low. There is one puzzle that is tied into your computer’s memory.  On faster computers, the time needed to beat the puzzle approaches infinity.  Playing the game in DOSBox can help, but it still is touchy.  There is also a puzzle that is copyright protection.

Cruelty Rating: Tough.  Unlike the previous game, you can only go walking dead if you do something obviously dumb.

PC Games

Toonstruck

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Publisher: Virgin Interactive
Developer: Burst
Year: 1996
Platform: DOS

Review: Just a few years after Who Framed Roger Rabbit garnered huge acclaim for its masterful joining of human actors with the cartoon world, Virgin Interactive began its own similar project of magnificent proportions, only this time for the computer. Toonstruck was three years in the making, costing Virgin over eight million dollars, most of it on some ridiculously good animation and top voice talents. Despite this effort the game was a commercial flop. But was it a lackluster game or did it simply have unrealistic expectations?

Christopher Lloyd, one of the stars of the aforementioned movie, is the live actor in this game and plays Drew Blanc. A cartoonist, he is given an order by his boss (Ben Stein, in a brief cameo) to create a new cartoon for the struggling network, but with one condition: it must contain bunnies. Bunnies are what made Drew Blanc famous, but he loathes them now. Pulling an all-nighter, he tries in vain to scrape an idea together but ultimately fails. Just as he’s about to give up and pack his bags, he gets transported to Cutopia, one of his cartoon worlds. Shortly thereafter, he runs into Flux Wildly (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), who agrees to tag along with him until he can get back to his own world. Unfortunately, only King Hugh (David Ogden Stiers) can send him back, and he needs Drew’s help first. King Nefarious (Tim Curry) has begun creating devastation in Cutopia and Drew must help return it back to its original cuteness. Thankfully, the plot doesn’t end there, as it develops along the way.

Gameplay is standard adventure fare, with oodles of lock-and-key inventory puzzles. Some of them are difficult in that you must understand the twisted logic of Cutopia and Flux’s homeland Zanydu. However, there are several puzzles that require some creative problem solving. Some even require using Flux as an object. While there may be a few too many puzzles, and they generally must be followed in strict order, they are usually fun to solve. Also, the game will often give you appropriate responses to solutions that seem logical but don’t work.

What makes or breaks this game for most people is how well you enjoy the humor and the characters. I found the cynical, over the top Flux Wildly to be charming and enjoyable; however, if you find him irritating, the game will be a chore for most of the ride. Lloyd is at his best, doing a very believable job in front of the blue screen. Most of the characters are performed by professional voice actors and they give fine performances. The humor draws from everything with puns, stereotypes, groaners, wit, and sexual innuendo. The effeminate scarecrow–no wait, carecrow–is a riot, and the S&M cows are both shocking and amusing. Despite the game’s appearance, it is definitely not for children.  Not only will they misunderstand most of the jokes, you probably wouldn’t want them repeating them either.

Many have said this game simply tries too hard to be all things to all things. I would agree with that assessment. Yet, there are so many wonderful things packed into this game that the sum of its parts are still pretty high even if it doesn’t result in a satisfying whole. Virgin’s eyes were too large for their stomachs, as after Lloyd, the rest of the cast could have been replaced with cheaper talent. The animation didn’t have to be quite so perfect, either. But the profit margin shouldn’t be the measuring stick Toonstruck has to measure up to. Anyone who enjoys animation should give this one a shot. As long as you don’t expect perfection, it is doubtful you will be disappointed.

Contemporary Rating: High. The strict order of some puzzles can be annoying, but if you like the game, playing with a walkthrough is still enjoyable.

Cruelty Rating:  Merciful.  No real danger in Cutopia!

PC Games

Blade Runner

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Publisher: Virgin Interactive
Developer: Westwood Studios
Year: 1997
Platform: Windows

Based on the cult-classic movie of the same name–starring Harrison Ford–this cyberpunk adventure is one licensed title that doesn’t disappoint.  I unabashedly feel this is better than the source material. Being as that the movie is currently ranked #123 at IMDb, I am sure to be in the minority.  Good news is if you liked the movie it is doubtful you’d be disappointed by the game.

In the future, where buildings rise above the city, crime is rampant, and man has colonized the moon, a mega corporation has developed replicants, super-humans with a predetermined lifespan. Naturally, some of the more advanced replicants have begun to become self-aware and are pissed that they have been essentially subjected to slavery for moon colonists. And some of them have come back to Earth in order to meet their maker with the intention of reversing their fate. Blade runners have been employed by the city to terminate all replicants before the bloodshed spreads. However, it’s not so simple, as determining who is and who isn’t a replicant is not a foolproof process and there is considerable sympathy for the replicants. It’s even possible some of the blade runners are replicants and don’t know it!

This premise is the same for the movie and the game. The designers of the game were smart in creating a new storyline, sharing only a few characters from the movie made fifteen years earlier (of which Sean Young and William Sanderson reprise their roles!). Not only does this keep the game from becoming stale, I felt the movie’s story was plodding with poor dialogue. To be fair, the plot of the game is no Oscar-winner, but I actually did enjoy the script significantly more, feeling the characters on my desktop were more sympathetic than the wooden personae on the silver screen.  They did, however, keep the Voight-Kampff testing, and you can whip that out whenever you feel it’s appropriate.

I keep discussing this game as if it’s a movie, which is only because that’s what it feels like. There are very few puzzles and it is incredibly difficult to become stuck. Atmosphere and exploration rule the game, with gorgeous sights and beautiful sounds lifted straight from the movie. There is certainly detective work to be done, but a significant portion is optional, shedding a light on the finer points of your case. What gives Blade Runner the feel of a game (and not just an interactive movie) is that there are multiple paths, stories, and endings dependent on several factors.  Every time you start a new game, character motivations change, which in turn changes some puzzles, dialogues, and eventually plot branches. In addition, whether or not you decide to terminate or sympathize with the replicants will also change the story.  If you like this sort of thing, you’re in for a treat. Personally, I did not have a desire to replay the game multiple times, but I did reach a few endings on my own before downloading some save files to see the others. Blade Runner has incredible production values and it is worth trying to find everything there is to see.

Oh, and you can use your gun. Good times.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. Some modern timing issues in action-scenes.

Cruelty Rating:  Polite.  You can die, so saving is necessary.  If you “screw up” the worst that happens if you take an alternate path through the game.

PC Games

Grim Fandango

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Publisher: LucasArts
Developer: LucasArts
Year: 1998
Platform: Windows

Review: How does one review a game that is universally loved by everyone? And I mean everyone. I can’t find one negative review of Grim Fandango anywhere. Oh sure, there are criticisms out there, but this may be the only game that has nothing but choirs to preach to. So I guess the only thing to do is to keep this short.  And once again sing the praises of Tim Schafer.

The last pure adventure game by LucasArts, Grim Fandango tells an epic tale of Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead. Your job is to give clients their best means of reaching the underworld where their souls can move on. Problem is that your coworker seemingly is getting all the good clients now, while you’re getting all the bad ones. And if you can’t get some saints to give express tickets to, you can’t work off your time (for whatever unspeakable moral crimes Manny committed in his first life) and leave this place. The plot (unraveling over four years and many hours of gameplay) turns sinister as Manny reveals the mystery behind his problems at work.

The graphics are fabulous considering the designers were able to convincingly give pathos to skeletons (albeit well groomed skeletons). The atmosphere is film noir with heavy touches of Mexican mythology and Art Deco. The play control is all keyboard (or joystick), which while allowing for less artificiality to the atmosphere, is rather clunky and annoying at times (as you’ll discover after accidentally whipping out your scythe for the fiftieth time when you don’t want to use it). The puzzles are mostly fair and some are devilishly complex.

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But what I believe truly makes this game for the fans is the incredible voice acting. Yes, the dialogue is good, but I’m not sure this game reaches the pantheon of adventuredom without the characterization and emotion that can only be provided with tone and inflection. Nearly every hero, villain  and bystander is marvelously portrayed without devolving into caricature or stereotype. If you’re not reeled in by the introduction, then you will be after speaking with your co-worker and your boss’s secretary.

While I became antsy at times while playing due to the controls and a few inane puzzles, I was never bored. I even forgave the multiple bugs and occasional game crash, which speaks volumes as my patience for such sloppiness is on a very short leash. It’s not one of my favorite games, but there’s not a gamer out there I would have reservations recommending Grim Fandango to, adventure fans or otherwise.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. The controls suuuuuck.  Also, very buggy.  But everything else holds up today.

Cruelty Rating:  Merciful.  No way to die, though you still need to save regularly in case the game crashes.  And maybe save twice in case a save file gets corrupted.