Thoughts on classic Sierra games

[Tawmis]

Space Quest 1
Very fun. There was much ensuing of hilarity. The storyline and puzzles made sense. The random arcade sequence was ... wait, what? Skipped. However, there were two problems with the game, and I sense these being somewhat reoccurring: It was too easy and too short. Also, the enforced reliance on random elements in a game (eg. GAMBLING) is not fun, ever. Thank you Space Quest, for unamusingly wasting half an hour of my time in order to progress. Otherwise, great fun to play even if you didn't have to think too much.

Next up: I have to 'flip' together chicken burgers for half the day. >_< After that, I'm thinking the more serious Gabriel Knight.

There is a way to cheat at the gambling to ensure an almost always successful pull of the lever.

[ThePudd]

There is a way to cheat at the gambling to ensure an almost always successful pull of the lever.

I can't believe I figured that out, and Nameless didn't.

[Tawmis]

There is a way to cheat at the gambling to ensure an almost always successful pull of the lever.

I can't believe I figured that out, and Nameless didn't.

LOL! Well the more "experienced" Sierra players have, through time (and experience) figured out there's ways around a lot of the things.

[Nameless]

Well, somebody let me in on the secret already then!

[ThePudd]

Widg et not be nice if there was an easy solution?

[Nameless]

Widg et not be nice if there was an easy solution?

Now there's a pun that would make even Quest for Glory ashamed ... heh.

[ThePudd]

Now there's a pun that would make even Quest for Glory ashamed ... heh.

I'm getting better...by getting worse, I guess...?

[Nameless]

Well, it doesn't look like I'll be finishing this game anytime soon, so I'll just post my mini-review of it now.

Gabriel Knight 1
Gabriel Knight was, overall, very awesome ... as a novel (indeed, wikipedia tells me such a novel exists). The story was involving, the characters well developed and likeable, and the cutscenes and conversations well presented. Occasional humorous moments were nice. There were one or two moments that were a bit forced (GK's Sudden Instance Romance Syndrome, and Wolfgang's death was as cheesy as it was predictable), but generally it was well worth playing in that regard.

In terms of gameplay, however, it merely good. The puzzles were logical, if somewhat arbitrary at points (compared to the story - they were still better than most adventure/puzzle games), but there were a few minor problems. The first was that the game's structure meant I was often left wandering around trying to figure out what I was still supposed to do on any given day, especially since unlike most similiar games there weren't always any obvious puzzles to solve. (Worst case in my mind ... I had to look to a walkthrough before it even occured to me to try carrying a lump of wet clay around. Oh, and the time I knew I had to draw a copy of the partial veve at the crimescene, but had to search around town for a pencil before finding one (+notepad) in my grandmothere's attic. Right. Level of detail in the background meant finding what you needed to interact with was a bit tricky.)

And, damn it, for somebody who has flipped through and used a German-English dictionary before would it kill GK to look "schattenjager" up in it instead of hoping somebody else would tell him?

Still, I need to hunt down the sequels on ebay sometime.

[Tawmis]

The sequels play different. GK2 is FMV, and GK3 is 3D Model.

I was thinking - why not send your bugged save game to me - and I will see if I can open it and what not. And see if I can't save just past it and see if it lets you continue?

[Almirena]

You definitely must play GK2, Nameless - and then GK3.

I wish I could help with your bugged game problem, but you're too far away and I'm not Inspector Gadget. <sigh>

[Tawmis]

You definitely must play GK2, Nameless - and then GK3.

I wish I could help with your bugged game problem, but you're too far away and I'm not Inspector Gadget. <sigh>

He's in the same country as you at least!

[Almirena]

Still too big a country, though...

[Nameless]

I was thinking - why not send your bugged save game to me - and I will see if I can open it and what not. And see if I can't save just past it and see if it lets you continue?

Eh, I wouldn't bother. It's not the end of the world if I can't play the last day ... and I'm sure I can find a video of it on YouTube or something.

[Jules]

Quest For Glory 1
Overall, it was average. I played the VGA remake, and it was presented well and easy to play. It was fun (particularly getting through the bandit's fortress), but there were two major factors limiting this:
1) The fundamental problem with combining adventure games with RPGs is that you're often left wondering if you've missed something important, or if you're just expected to keep dully training a skill in order to get anywhere. (In the case of the spitting plant things, the 'solution' was to hurl rocks for over ten minutes before hitting the damn thing ...) When training the skill isn't even interesting, this really detracts from the fun.
2) Maybe I'm just spoiled from playing roguelikes, but no aspects of the game really had any depth to them. The fighting was simplistic, the plot and explorable area minimal, and the puzzles laughable. Actually, on that note, maybe one more thing:
3) The frequent uninspired, unhilarious, unevengroanworthy puns. Some moments were rather funny. "Oak-ey"? was not.

Anyway, I finished with 459/500 points. Currently undecided whether I'll play any of the sequels or not. But next up: Space Quest.

You totally have to play the other two characters if you haven't already, Nameless! There are at least three other ways of getting the seed besides throwing a rock at it.

I hope you get a chance to play the whole series. As well as the whole KQ, SQ and LSL series.

Others you really should play are the Laura Bow (mystery like GK) series and Freddy Pharkas (comedy, by Al Lowe, creator of LSL).

[Tawmis]

Quest For Glory 1
Overall, it was average. I played the VGA remake, and it was presented well and easy to play. It was fun (particularly getting through the bandit's fortress), but there were two major factors limiting this:
1) The fundamental problem with combining adventure games with RPGs is that you're often left wondering if you've missed something important, or if you're just expected to keep dully training a skill in order to get anywhere. (In the case of the spitting plant things, the 'solution' was to hurl rocks for over ten minutes before hitting the damn thing ...) When training the skill isn't even interesting, this really detracts from the fun.
2) Maybe I'm just spoiled from playing roguelikes, but no aspects of the game really had any depth to them. The fighting was simplistic, the plot and explorable area minimal, and the puzzles laughable. Actually, on that note, maybe one more thing:
3) The frequent uninspired, unhilarious, unevengroanworthy puns. Some moments were rather funny. "Oak-ey"? was not.

Anyway, I finished with 459/500 points. Currently undecided whether I'll play any of the sequels or not. But next up: Space Quest.

You totally have to play the other two characters if you haven't already, Nameless! There are at least three other ways of getting the seed besides throwing a rock at it.

I hope you get a chance to play the whole series. As well as the whole KQ, SQ and LSL series.

Others you really should play are the Laura Bow (mystery like GK) series and Freddy Pharkas (comedy, by Al Lowe, creator of LSL).

I would recommend Police Quest 2 and 3, also.

And surprisingly one of my favorites (also by Al Lowe - he's simply a god!) - is Torin's Passage. It's so much like an interactive Disney cartoon... it's amazing.