King's Quest VII : The Princeless Bride - Sierra

                      Reviewed by Sue

In the years since the first King's Quest game appeared, the
series has gone from strength to strength. The plots have become
more complicated, though there has been a storyline link from one
game to the next with certain characters reappearing in different
games, and the appearance of the games and the engine used have
grown more sophisticated.

King's Quest VII is no exception. It uses cel animation and
visually it is on a par with a commercial cartoon, though I didn't
think it was up to the standard of Torin's Passage. The
characters' movement isn't quite as fluid during the
player-controlled sections of the game but the cut scenes are top
notch.

The introduction sets the scene for the game as Princess Rosella
sings a song proclaiming her independence - especially of men!
She's being told to grow up and settle down but she's happy as she
is and wants to explore and have adventures. Little does she know
what's in store...! Her mother, Queen Valanice, is trying to
match-make by setting her up with various princes but Rosella is
distracted from the conversation as she looks deeply into a forest
pool. Suddenly a seahorse-cum-dragonfly creature flies out of
the pool and flutters in front of her before diving back into the
water.  Rosella hesitates for only a second before jumping in
after it, followed closely by her mother who sees what is
happening with horror.  The pair are sucked down a whirlpool, much
like Alice fell down the rabbit hole, but as Valanice reaches for
her daughter's hand another, stronger hand, bursts through the
wall of the whirlpool and drags Rosella through. Her mother
watching helplessly as she tumbles past.

The two main characters are thus separated at the start of the
game and, in alternating chapters of the adventure, the player
will control one or the other of them. There are 6 chapters in all
with great titles such as "Where in the Blazes am I?!" and "Will
the Real Troll King Please Stand Up". A nice touch is that you can
choose to play any chapter on its own rather than play one after
another so if you get stuck, you can just start another chapter.
It's unlikely you _will_ get stuck though, at least not for long,
as the game is pretty easy.

Each chapter is set in a different area with its own peculiar
problems; the first chapter, for example, is in a desert area
where Valanice will have to content with a scorpion, help a
short-sighted desert rat, ensure a ghost can rest in peace and
investigate a temple. The second chapter sees pretty Rosella in
the land of the trolls, horrified to find that she's been turned
into a troll herself! Yuk. This chapter also introduces the major
bad guy - erm - woman - in the form of the wicked Malicia. You
just _know_ that she will get her come uppance before the end of
the game if there is any justice in the world but, interestingly,
there are two endings to the game, one happy and the other not so.
It is worth investigating both.

Other chapters take place in a forest area near the town of
Falderol, full of eccentric characters including a bull who runs a
china shop and a mincing, lisping poodle called Arch Duke Fifi le
Yip Yap or some such silly name. There is also a sequence in the
nightmare world of Etheria where ghouls and ghosts abound but
friends are to be found everywhere if you're a nice person which,
of course, Rosella and Valanice are. In this area, there is an
excellent sequence involving a big black dog who turns out to be
more of a pussy cat than a Hound of the Baskervilles.

The game controls are simple involving a single wand-shaped cursor
which sparkles when it is over something of use or interest.
Clicking the mouse will then initiate a conversation, examine
something, use something or pick it up, when appropriate. The
inventory is stored in a box along the bottom of the screen and
items can be moved to an eye icon for examination and,
occasionally, manipulation. Another icon covers volume control
and shows your progress through the relevant chapter. One thing I
didn't like is that the game automatically saves when you quit;
when you restart the game you go back at the point you left. In
theory this means you can't get into a "no win" situation, but in
practice I don't think this is quite right. Once a save corrupted,
so I had to replay a chapter, and I know of other people (hi,
Jenny) who experienced crashes.

The game is pretty easy, I didn't really hit any problems until
the last chapter so it would be good for beginners as well as
experienced adventurers. It is very twee so be warned if you're
more into blood and guts. I enjoyed it, though, and am looking
forward to King's Quest VIII.











                              - o -