Pepper's Adventures in Time - Sierra

                      Reviewed by Sue

Ace reporter Pepper Pumpernickel and her newshound Lockjaw take on
the might of the British army in this extremely pro-American
edutainment game from Sierra. Pepper's crazy uncle Fred, a mad
scientist (every family should have one in the attic) has used his
'what-if' machine to introduce the principles of the 1960s' hippie
lifestyle into colonial Philadelphia and in trying to stop him,
Pepper and Lockjaw have been sucked into the past. Their task is
to set American history back onto the right track otherwise -
shock! horror!  - the Brits will take over the country AND,
eventually, the White House!

Ben Franklin was the main target of Uncle Fred's dastardly plan,
and far from being the well-respected figure that history tells us
he was, he has turned into a laid-back slouch, lolling in a hot
tub all day, festooned in love beads. Since Ben Franklin is such
an important character, it's vitally important that Pepper brings
him back to normal. Unfortunately, his 'love and peace, man'
philosophy has also affected the townsfolk who have always looked
to Ben for guidance and some of them are following suit.

The game is made up of six acts, and you don't have to play them
in order though obviously it would make sense to do so for
continuity.  At the start of each, you're told what items to look
for and the act's objectives. For example, in the first act which
is called Pepper Travels Through Time (a.k.a. Colonial
Crash-landing) you have to look for Poor Richard's Almanac, The
Town Watch, the Liberty Bell, the Village Stocks, and the Stamp
Tax, and the objectives are to meet Uncle Fred, go back in time
and escape from the watchmen.

At the end of each part there's a short quiz where Ben Franklin
asks you questions on these topics to check if you really have
seen them.  There is a small booklet in the package which covers
the life and times of Ben Franklin and as far as I can see, it
also contains all the answers if you can be bothered to look. You
will have to resort to the book at two stages because there is a
question-and-answer session at one point where you have to satisfy
a postal clerk that you really do know Ben in order to take a
package for him. The other occasion is when you need to make a
Leyden jar to store the electricity generated during the kite and
key experiment. The schematic has got wet from Ben's hot tub so
you're told to look at the booklet to know exactly what you need
and how to put it together.

On the education side, obviously, some of the events in the game
are pure fiction, but others are based on fact. One of the icons
which controls the game is a 'Truth' icon. By clicking this on
people or items, you'll be told whether or not they were real.
Also, while you play, you'll notice certain words in the text are
highlighted. Clicking on these gives their meaning.

But above all, gaming is about having fun, and though some facts
will be absorbed while you play, it's the 'play' which is the
important thing. Since it is aimed at youngsters, the game is
brightly coloured with good sound effects and animation. The
graphics are cartoon-like, of similar standard to other Sierra
games of the same era. The puzzles are mostly logical and gentle
in nature - Pepper will spend a lot of time doing favours for the
townsfolk and generally being helpful, not even losing her temper
with Ben - which I was tempted to do when I couldn't get the old
fool out of his hot tub! One section involves distributing
proverbs to the people they apply to, and generally showing people
the error of their ways. It's a bit cutesy and do-goody, but fun
all the same.

The main bad guys are the governor, Pugh, and his awful daughter
Ima. Pugh has brought in imaginary taxes and is taking money from
the colonists for his own use. The ghastly Ima takes a fancy to
Lockjaw and takes him back to their mansion. Evidently terrible
things happen to dogs that Ima dog-naps, (she has a ghoulish
collection of dog collars which would strike fear into the heart
of any pooch) so Pepper also has to rescue her pet. At certain
points of the game you will 'become' Lockjaw and the icons
available for talking to people, getting items and manipulating
them etc will change appropriately. If you've ever wanted to chew
up a pair of slippers, now's your chance!

One bit that may drive you crazy is the interior of the Pughs'
mansion which is a maze of passages and doors. It isn't hard, just
tedious, and I doubt anyone except James Judge could find their
way through it without mapping it. If you'd rather not bother,
check out my map which I've provided elsewhere in this issue.

I found the anti-British tone irritating (others might get more
annoyed at the sentiments expressed which at times can be quite
OTT). It was tempting to look on the British taking over the White
House as a success rather than a failure, but that would have made
for rather a short game. Ignoring that side of it, the game works
its way to a satisfactory finale and though there were certainly
plans for a sequel by the way it ended, as far as I know, one
never appeared. Shame. I would have liked to have seen more of
Pepper and, especially, Lockjaw, who was quite a character.



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