Tag Archives: Sierra

PC Games

King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow!

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Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1992
Platform: DOS, Windows, Amiga, Macintosh

Score: 6

While a vast improvement over the previous installment, with a much longer, integrated plot and a much better use of mythology, the sixth installment still lacks in many basic areas that plague the King’s Quest series.  Thankfully, there’s enough that’s awesome here to make it worth playing.

Alexander, a very bored prince, is sulking in the throne room, something he learned quite well from his father. Roberta Williams digs into the plot device bag and pulls out the ol’ reliable Magic Mirror to get things started. And whadya know, Cassima, the lass King Graham helped save on his last adventure, appears in the mirror. She is trapped inside a castle and expresses her longing for a man.  While she never mentions him by name, Alexander assumes she is talking about himself. So, without asking his father’s permission or telling so much as his fairy godmother of his plans, Alexander takes off for the Land of the Green Isles, where Cassima is being held in solitude.

Wait a second. This sounds eerily familiar. Perhaps…yes, perhaps it’s because this is the exact same plot lifted from King’s Quest II: Romancing the Throne. Thankfully, Mrs. Williams must have realized her abysmal failure the first time around and decided to give it another shot.

The opening animation sequence is beautifully done. It also manages to be quite long without giving away the game’s plot in its entirety. The plot does move along during play, though barely, and during cut scenes like in King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella. While not original, the King’s Quest series was never known for its plot. Rather, environment, mysticism, and puzzles (well, sometimes) helped sell the series. For the most part, they’re all here.

Yet I have a love/hate relationship with this game. I would have enjoyed it more with a typing interface. Then some of the neat puzzles might have been hard. Unfortunately, many are very easy (i.e. click on obvious object to put in obvious place). There is one very unobvious way to become walking dead for a very long time. If you don’t converse with a particular character at the beginning of the game, you can put the game in an unwinnable situation depending on which plot branch you take. Worse yet, you will not know you have done so until the game is almost over. There is no excuse for such sloppy game design. Also, an extensive part of the game involving the Cliffs of Logic and the Catacombs is one huge copyright protection “puzzle.” The only way to solve the puzzles is to have the “Guidebook” that comes with the game. Instead of creating fun and intuitive puzzles, the designers simply became lazy.

On the bright side, most of the characters are developed well. The shopkeepers of the pawn shoppe and the library have captivating voices and wonderful personalities. In fact, every human that you meet is fun to interact with. However, many of the mythological and cartoon characters become rather annoying and have little pleasantness about them (except Hole in the Wall!). The main characters are so stereotypical that one wonders if Disney had a role in character development. Alexander will never do anything that is improper or not fit for a prince, unless of course he needs to do so to advance in his quest. And Cassima’s undying love for Alexander is groundless, but it does fit her undynamic personality. At least the corniness is good for a few chuckles.

Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is a relatively easy adventure with poor plot development and some annoying puzzles.  So why do I like it so much? Perhaps it’s sentiment.  Perhaps because its predecessor was abominable.  Or perhaps it’s all of the charm.  And the things this game does well, it does really well.

The graphics are nothing spectacular and not much of an improvement over the last game in the series. Everything is very colorful, but much of it is too cartoonish. The sound effects are above average, which a very satisfying ding if you score a point. And the original end game song is a treat.

Most of the game is pleasant, and the advent of five unique islands to explore, a plot branch, and two endings with one giving you a much longer, more satisfying game (and ending) are great ideas and I applaud Sierra. Also, magic is used almost as extensively as it was in King’s Quest III: To Heir Is Human, an idea this series should have implemented more often.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. Highly intuitive gameplay, but making an hour’s worth of puzzles a copyright protection is unforgivable.

Cruelty Rating:  Cruel. You can die frequently, and it’s not always obvious.  Only one walking dead situation, but it’s still very cruel.

PC Games

Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh

4 Comments

Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1996
Platform: DOS, Windows

Score: 6

Review: About the only thing that the second installment of this “series” has in common with the original is full motion video. Otherwise, near everything else, including the writer, director, actors, and genre have changed.

Exit Roberta Williams, enter Lorelei Shannon. Both were involved directly in the making of King’s Quest 7, one of the worst adventure games of all time. I have forgiven Lorelei after doing this project.

Unlike the first game, this is not horror. Shannon’s script has some tense moments, and there’s plenty of gore, but Puzzle of Flesh is more of a sci-fi thriller. And the tense moments that exist become so predictable that they could hardly cause a fright. What this script does have that its predecessor does not is an original plot and character development. During the game the player gets a good feel for nearly a dozen characters.

Curtis Craig, played by Paul Morgan Stetler, is the protagonist, an attractive single introvert who works in a cubicle for a pharmaceutical company as an editor. He’s at the low end of the totem pole but appears content with his simple life. He’s dating one of his co-workers, but his true love is his pet rat Blob. No one really knows much about him; in fact, Curtis doesn’t know that much about himself either. Of course, some really bizarre, seemingly supernatural things begin happening to Curtis and those around him and he spends the entire game trying to figure out who, or what, is behind these events. Curtis regularly experiences flashbacks, giving him and the player information, little by little, about what might be going on.

Stetler is fantastic. He rarely overacts, and his non-verbal reactions are often right on target. Craig’s gay friend Trevor, played by Paul Mitri, is also very good. He makes a good contrast to Craig, and Mitri’s acting appears very natural when he’s being funny (and junior high-like when he’s asked to do drama). Monique Parent, Cinemax soft-porn star, is not asked to rise above the typecast and does well enough for that role. Most of the supporting actors are sufficient, especially Michael Taylor Donovan as Stetler’s supervisor.

The real standout is Ragna Sigrun, playing Craig’s co-worker Therese, who spends most of the game trying to seduce him. Sigrun’s range is evident throughout, and like Craig, I found myself unwillingly attracted to Therese immediately.

The game’s main faults lie within the nature of the beast of FMV games. Continuity is very difficult to achieve, as the switch from still screens to video sequences tends to break atmosphere. Also, characters oftentimes seem to react inappropriately in situations because the player decided to do things in a slightly different order than the author had intended. Ultimately, though, there is very little freedom, as the days do not progress unless the character triggers certain events in an arbitrary order. Mimesis is broken quite often.

And the plot, which sees Craig investigate the unexplained death of one of his coworkers, does have several holes. However, they are minor enough that they will probably not be annoying if you find the script material interesting. I did, so I turned my brain off at times to enjoy the ride. My main gripe is with the end sequence, as it is overlong and requires the player to figure out a puzzle, seemingly for puzzle’s sake. All remnants of pace and tension are wiped out, and as the game ended, I was glad. The last thing I want in a game is to be glad it’s over.  However, one decision late in the game can lead to one of two endings, both entertaining.

This game is not for kids. It may not even be suitable for teenagers. Even if you turn the censors on (which distorts heavy gore and nudity), the heavy adult themes present may be too much for some to handle. A significant portion of the game revolves around S&M, gender identity issues, and child abuse.  Throw on top of that murder, several sex scenes, and lots of blood, and you got something the whole family can enjoy!

Like the first game, it is very short and pretty easy. It took me two days, but I enjoyed myself most of the time. A game like this should probably be short, as the emphasis is on the interactive movie experience and not puzzles. Just put yourself in a dark room and escape from reality for a few hours, much like a good movie.

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PC Games

The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery

5 Comments

Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1995
Platform: DOS, Windows, Macintosh

Review: Sierra took a risk by taking a successful game (Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers) and completely changing the interface for its sequel. The second game in the Gabriel Knight series is strictly full-motion video, with real actors attempting to bring the story to life. Compared to other FMV games, The Beast Within is a rip-roaring success; but the nature of the beast unnecessarily hurts the series.

This time, the game takes place entirely in Germany. The local town is need of Gabriel’s “powers” to help rid themselves of what they believe are werewolves. As he is once again experiencing writer’s block (after his successful book based on the last game!), Gabriel reluctantly agrees. What follows is a six-chapter series that slowly dishes out an engaging plot, only a little more predictably than before. This time around, the player alternates between playing Gabriel and Grace (his employee from the first game), as they both must research the problem and risk their lives to fulfill their destinies.

The game is fairly easy, with a faithful dose of hotspot clicking to advance the plot. However, there are still many inventory puzzles, and quite a few are entertaining to solve, including one that involves splicing tape recordings. What really holds the game back is the same problem with its predecessor, multiplied threefold. At more than one occasion, Grace must nail every hotspot in a handful of rooms, merely for information gathering, with no indication that it is necessary.

The other disappointment, frankly, is the acting, especially that of the two main characters. In Sins Of The Fathers, Gabriel was a hunk and a cocky sonofabitch, with layers of depth and sensitivity buried underneath the tough exterior. Here, he is pretty much a wuss, and not at all attractive. Grace is not any better, overreacting to nearly every situation while being passive-aggressive with everyone she meets (again, unlike the previous game, where Grace is cool, with a cutting wit). Thankfully, the supporting cast puts in top-notch performances, especially Peter Lucas, Wolf Muser, and Fredrich Solms.

While the writing at times leaves a bit to be desired (including humor, which is almost non-existent), the story and characters are enough to draw the player in through to the end, which like the previous game, is well-developed and thoroughly intense. The only major beef I had with the plot was that even though I discovered who the antagonist was well before game’s end, I couldn’t do anything about it because Gabriel didn’t know (and he should have). Instead of simply implementing mutliple endings and/or plot branches, I was squeezed through a painfully linear endgame.  Thankfully, the final puzzle is pretty damn good, leading to a satisfying ending.

Overall, this game was a success, widely considered the adventure game of the year. It is a worthy play, but probably only to fans of the series.

Contemporary Rating: Medium. Very easy to play, but the insane amount of pixel-hunting at times would drive modern gamers batty.

Cruelty Rating:  Polite. There are a couple of situations where you can die and must save before hand just in case, but the situations are very obvious.

PC Games

Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter

2 Comments

Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1986
Platform: DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, Macintosh

Score: 6

Review: When I was young, my selection of adventure games was, for the most part, limited to shareware (mostly junk) and Sierra games. But while my parents invested in King’s Quest, Police Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, and Manhunter, Space Quest was left off the shopping lists. And even though I knew about this series and was intrigued, I never put it on my Christmas list either. So approximately sixteen years after this adventure was first released, I got my hands on a copy. It was well worth the wait.

The premise behind the game is about as sophisticated as your typical plot on the original Battlestar Galactica. Possibly, that’s the point. You play Roger Wilco, a space janitor with no skills or work ethic for that matter. When your ship is raided by the Sariens, you must escape and foil their plans to use the Star Generator for their domination of the universe. What follows is less of a story than a collection of slapstick humor, crafty puzzles, and enough untimely deaths to make Wile E. Coyote blush.

It baffles me that so many adventurers hate dying. This never bothered me when I was a kid, and still doesn’t faze me. In fact, one of the primary reasons I get frustrated with current adventures is that there is usually no way to screw up. When you never have to worry about making a mistake or (gasp!) death, you can go headfirst into every task without so much as lifting a neuron. For me, that removes the innate challenge that a real puzzle presents. Not every problem in reality is guess-and-check. Sometimes you just have to guess and hope.

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With that said, Space Quest does such a marvelous job of finding creative, unexpected ways for Roger to die that I simply had to discover them all. Lucky for me, I found a document on the web that detailed every death, so instant gratification was ever-ready. And with the ‘Save’ and ‘Restore’ functions one keystroke away, I never became frustrated.  However, I was lucky.  There are several ways to put the game in an unwinnable situation.  The one I encountered only cost me about ten minutes of progress.  Another, which I avoided, requires starting the game over and losing several hours of play.  It’s unlikely that you’ll encounter it if you’re thorough, but it’s still there.

Despite these issues, the game is very well designed. Most puzzles are logical and clever, and several offer multiple solutions.  This offers a good deal of replay value and a way for different breeds of adventurers to hack away. The low-resolution EGA graphics are only okay, and the internal sound board music is not particularly memorable. And compared to its peers, the parser is underwhelming, with more instances of guess-the-verb than expected.

But what it all comes down to is comedy. The deluge of punchlines and silly antics never stops, so if your sense of humor is in line with the writers’, then you’ll like The Sarien Encounter.  If after fifteen minutes you don’t find yourself amused, then you’ll be hard-pressed to enjoy the rest of the game.  Or the rest of the series, for that matter.

PC Games

Hero’s Quest: So You Want To Be A Hero

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Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1989
Platform: DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, PC-98

Review: Due to copyright conflicts with Milton Bradley, Sierra changed the series to Quest For Glory. They later remade this game as Quest For Glory 1.

Definitely one of Sierra’s finest concepts, Hero’s Quest combines the adventure and RPG genres to create a game that not only appeals to both fans, but has great replay value as well. You can select from a hero, magic user, or thief to complete your quest.  While the paths are virtually the same, most puzzles are solved differently based on your skill set, and you are treated differently by your peers.

I love the game’s premise, and it is one of the funnier offerings Sierra has on the shelf, but the battle system left me shuddering. I prefer turn-based combat rather than hand-to-hand, but I can enjoy the latter if it’s implemented well. Unfortunately, this system is not intuitive and hardly engaging. I found fighting to be more of a chore than an opportunity.

However, I seem to be in the minority, as this game is lauded by nearly all. Computer Gaming World awarded it the best adventure game of 1990. I genuinely like it myself, and would recommend it to fans of 80’s adventures, but the RPG elements here more or less ruin it for me.  I have not played any of the game’s four sequels and probably will never do so.  From what I’ve read, the second installment is even better than the first, with the series gradually getting worse from there on out.

Contemporary Rating: Low.  The parser responds pretty well to commands, but I can’t imagine why anyone would put up with the outdated battle system today.

Cruelty Rating:  Tough.  You can die from hunger or exhaustion, and there is at least one way to die by not having an item with you at a certain time.  All of these situations are obvious and fairly easy to prevent, but you can still get stuck if you’re not careful and will have to restore back to an earlier point.

PC Games

Manhunter 2: San Francisco

4 Comments

Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Evryware
Year: 1989
Platform: DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh

Score: 5

The Manhunter series is easily the most original idea that Sierra published.  The first game, Manhunter: New York, is not nearly as good as the sequel.  Unfortunately, you pretty much have to play it to understand anything that is going on in this game.

Aliens landed in 2002, setting up shop in New York (and then later, San Francisco). I’m not going to rehash the plot here, since I’ve already covered the setup in my review of New York. Suffice it to say that San Francisco picks up where the first game left off, with little effort to explain what’s happening to newcomers.

Thankfully, if you’ve played the former and liked it, you’ll be in for a treat here. The puzzles based on interpreting symbolism are longer, more difficult, and extremely satisfying to complete. Meanwhile, there are no stupid mazes. Arcade sequences are still present and a mixed bag, but did I mention there are no stupid mazes?

While the game is never scary, it runs consistently creepy thanks to ominous music and even more unsettling gory close-up shots. One of the game’s charms is that real locations in San Francisco are used, such as Alcatraz, the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, and the Bank of Canton.

While I can’t really recommend this game today to anyone but the hardcore adventure gamer (or those who love gory games), it holds a special place in my memory. And frankly, so does this guy.