KINGS QUEST VIII

                 Reviewed by Stefan Herber

Probably the last in a long running series along with the other
Sierra die-hard series Quest for Glory this group of games always
struck me as being slightly twee. I bought it at full price some
time ago not realising how much time the newer RPGs would occupy;
it's still available but only as part of a megapack. However the
game received good reviews even from the so called popular press
and while waiting for a replacement for a damaged disc I decided
it was time to give it a try.

To be honest I only ever played KQ 1, 6 and 7. One because it was
redone for modern computers and the other two because they were up
to date for their time so to speak. The primitive graphics and
very dicey controls but the ridiculous time limits imposed on the
gamer made me lose patience with the others.  KQ8 slightly
differed from the others in that it introduces Tomb Raider
elements - there are a number of very dicey arcade sequences and
the vicious puzzles of the early games are largely sacrificed on
the combat arena. Unfortunately it also opts for the boring brown
and gold graphics plus the strange potato like 3-D graphics that
seemed universal when the game was introduced. Anyone who has
played Omikron or Kingpin will know exactly what I mean.

But it's OK - perhaps more than that - when taken as a whole.  The
story is quite pleasant - everybody but you and the other
important characters that advance the story plus a horde of
villains has been turned to stone - these include your beloved as
well as your beloved king and queen - and you are the chosen
saviour of the entire race. I did wish that the game had
concentrated on the adventure elements more at the expense of
combat and arcade but adventure games per se were pass‚ when this
was made (as is currently the case) and to be fair some of the
puzzles are relatively challenging.  The game also feels about the
right length - I was never bored or overly frustrated.

It's very far from perfect - but I still liked it. With a mountain
of recent RPGs waiting to be played I'm also going to miss
relatively undemanding games like this that one can play for the
odd half an hour while waiting for the dinner to cook.  Everything
in the pipeline appears to be much heavier material.
















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