The Space Quest Collection Reviewed by Andrew Wielochowski Sierra is the producer of many many adventure games. But three main adventure series stick out, they are: Space Quest, King's Quest and the cheeky Leisure Suit Larry series. We shall now enter the realms of the Space Quest Collection. The Space Quest Collection spans through the entire history of the Space Quest games - from Space Quest 1 EGA to Space Quest 6 SVGA. The Space Quest Collection apart from the games comes with a some demo products and AVIs. In one AVI is a little humorous interview with the designers of Space Quest called "Current Inside Copy" this is rather tacky, but gives you a little knowledge of the Space Quest series. It gives you a list of probably over half the law suits over the Space Quest series - Hilton Hotels, Ever Ready, Ken Williams???, Toys 'r'Us. Also comes a little program that gives you information about the "World Famous Talking Bear" this is a sort of brochure - what you can see and do - and is rather good. SPACE QUEST 1 EGA - - Sarien Encounter The original Space Quest 1 in EGA graphics is made with the AGI interpreter. The graphics are obviously not as good and also you may notice some of the puzzles are modified slightly. I always enjoy playing the original games as well as the re-makes. One exception though has to be the King's Quest 1 + 2 originals in which the graphics are so bad it is almost impossible to play due to the fact you cannot see or identify objects and have to guess the name of the object before you can see it or pick it up. The Space Quest 1 original however is not as bad as the King's Quest 1 so I quite enjoyed playing it. SPACE QUEST 1 VGA - - Sarien Encounter Ah the old favourite ... point and click. In this remake of SQ1 we now have the point and click interface like that in SQ4 and SQ5. The graphics are much better and objects are easily found and located with the eye icon. The point and click interface consists of the WALK icon. EYE icon. TONGUE icon which you can use to taste, lick or eat things. The NOSE icon to smell things and the background (if you really want to). OBJECT icon displays the object you are currently holding ready to use. The gameplay and graphics have clearly been vamped up quite a bit here. Some of puzzles have also been modified slightly to make it a bit fairer ... and harder. The actually descriptions have also changed and probably for the better. But my favourite little bit in this is actually with certain death scenes, because when you die sometimes, for example when you put your arm into a pool or acid, the Two Guys from Andromeda crop up and start to perform a run-along commentary of your death. "But here see that big real bad mistakes" and will put a nice little red circle around your hand reaching for acid. Oops! Got a bit carried away there. SPACE QUEST 2 (EGA/CGA/VGA whatever) - - Vohaul's Revenge Not really as good as Space Quest 1, but is highly entertaining and amusing. In this episode we start off sweeping some part of the outside of the ship. Moments later Roger is called up to mop up some mess in a ship that has just landed. On entering the ship he is biffed up a bit and then he comes face to face with his to-be-arch enemy Sludge Vohaul. After the little cliche chat about how he is going to take over the Earth with millions of life insurance salesmen he puts you on a hovercraft with two real apes. And orders them to take you to some prison camp. But you never make it for one had forgotten to fill it with fuel. Oh dear! You plunge to your doom. Luckily both your captors get away with being lightly killed and your fall on one of them saved your life, Roger. Space Quest 2 is still using AGI, so graphically it is the same as the original Space Quest 1 and King's Quest 3. In KQ1+2 the colours are not as good, and your face is yellow in all them. Whereas in SQ1+2 it is flesh coloured. I think that is something to do with CGA/EGA/VGA etc... Apart from that I found it quite good. The problems are sensible and there are multiple solutions to nearly every problem which I always think is important. I.E. In your locker at the start there are some items; a Rubic cube, a jock-strap, that's all. But both items are needed for later on in the game, but you can still do it without getting those items. This is useful because if you find your way out of the underground caves, and cannot give the cube to the Beast, once you've blown your whistle, then you can still complete the game by leaving the scene and then re-entering. Then so after that there is the problem of getting to the space ship. Which is where you need the Jock-strap, but it can be done many other ways. Not the best Space Quest, but still very funny to play. SPACE QUEST 3 - - The Pirates of Pestulon Space Quest 3, ah, this is my favourite episode in the Space Quest series. We continue where we left off, flying through space in a space pod. A garbage ship pulls our hero, Roger Wilco, into the garbage and there you are left to your own devices. Through a series of mind bogglingly antics you free yourself from the ship and plummet into the unknown. Soon however you uncover a plot. Two top programmers have been captured and you must save them. The programmers are none other than the Two Guys from Andromeda, in layman's terms the two guys who invented the Space Quest series. Space Quest 3 was made using the language and interpreter of the later SCI. This had improved graphics, mouse capability and an all round better gaming interface. The plot and puzzles are very well designed and put together. This is like all Space Quests a very light-hearted and enjoyable game with that certain pinch of raunchy ideas. In no other game I have played do you survive a lava planet by buying a pair of thermal underpants with a thermostat. You can play a little arcade game - Astro Chicken and then you can solve the encoded message after you complete it. The message is from the Two Guys saying they need help. A few continuity mistakes, but nothing else. Space Quest 4 - Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers This marks the entrance of a new kind of Space Quest. The plot and game play has developed a more sinister and darker aspect than we have previously seen in any Space Quest. Along with the fab point and click interface, this makes one hell of a good game. While in the process of telling his tales of adventure to a couple of aliens, Roger is rudely interrupted by two dark uniformed guys with laser guns. Naturally Roger goes out with them only to be confronted by a hologrammatic image of Sludge Vohaul. Sludge who is very miffed after that episode in Space Quest 2 is basically bragging about how Roger is going to die. But just before he is shot he is saved by two men. And soon after Roger finds himself jumping into a hole in the air. He reappears on Xenon. However it doesn't look quite like its old self. Space Quest 4 is a massive step forward in the Space Quest series. With the point-and-click capability SQ4 is extremely playable and means you don't have to spend ages typing in various commands. The usage of the point-and-click facility is again very easy to use and master. WALK icon - Used to walk from one place to another HAND icon - Used to pick up or manipulate something NOSE icon - Used to smell something TONGUE icon - Used to taste, eat or lick something POCKET icon - Displays an object for you to use HEAD icon - To talk to the other characters EYE icon - To look at something Space Quest 4 is a brilliant game. It has been improved in the way that you have a nice plot with a much darker side but you still do not lose the enjoyment and certain characteristics the earlier SQ games had. The CD version also has sound and audio. SPACE QUEST 5 - The Next Mutation This episode is another of my favourites. We join our friend and semi-hero, Roger Wilco as he is kicked off the simulator and told to proceed to his exam. You must help Roger cheat his way through the exam before going to clean the floor. Whilst cleaning the floor you meet the spiteful Captain Quirk and the subtly named Beatrice Wankmeister. Yes, Roger Wilco has become a Captain, of a garbage collector. Although not all garbage collectors will have the kind of hard time Roger receives. Roger is once again chased by a droid sent to kill him for not paying for the "free" Lebion Terror Beast Whistle. The point-and-click interface here has slightly changed since SQ4 but is basically the same. TALK, PICK-UP, LOOK etc... Space Quest 5 certainly gives a different dimension to the way the games had been going before hand and Roger appears now to look very Nordic and has the strange way of walking, which really isn't quite him. It has quite a good continuity and is enjoyable. It has some very annoying bits which involve crawling around the ducting of Captain Quirk's ship and playing a game like battleships against him, but that all adds towards the Space Quest style of adventure; set in space, odd American humour, arcade games, strange hidden "Easter eggs" and lasers guns. SPACE QUEST 6 - The Spinal Frontier Space Quest, with SVGA, scrolling screens, speech, music, amazing cut-scenes and with a jingle. It must be Space Quest 6. And it is. Space Quest 6 has left the previously accepted Space Quest style and interface layout. In Space Quest 6 you watch your trial. As you are stripped of your rank as Captain, and sent back down to the old janitoring level. Roger is back where he started. But upon arriving on Polysorbate 60 for shore-leave you are immediately dropped up to your waist in trouble. Now with smooth scrolling graphics you can slip and slide your way around Polysorbate. There is even as chance to meet up with some old pals and while you're at it you can freeze a few endodroids. Space Quest 6 features very good graphics and the vocal work is just superb. The story behind the game still follows the pre-layed Space Quest style but is portrayed in a new style. The puns and jokes in the game are still as obvious as ever - the Information Superhighway for one. Yes! You can log onto the Superhighway and browse through files. I must say like all Space Quest games I very much liked this one. Final stuff : ------------- I have no idea how you would rate them all individually. So I won't. I do however suggest that you go out and buy or borrow this one day. - o -