Game 35: Deja Vu II - Introduction

 VGA! That's a pleasant surprise!

It seems an age since I played the first Déjà Vu game. Titled Déjà Vu: A Nightmare Comes True, it was the first MacVenture game on the playlist, and only the third game overall. For anyone not aware of the MacVenture series of games, the name should give away the fact that they were adventure games made for the Macintosh computer. The first three games were Deja Vu: a Nightmare Comes True in 1985, Uninvited in 1986 and Shadowgate in 1987, although the games would not be ported to DOS until 1987 (the first two) and 1988 (Shadowgate). This meant that by the time I played them, they were already fairly antiquated when it came to graphics, sound and interface. Unfortunately, it seems likely I’m about to have a similar experience here, as while Deja Vu II: Lost in Las Vegas was released for Macs in 1988, it didn’t get to DOS until 1990. It’s worth pointing out that the first three games were completely remade between 1991 and 1993 for Windows 3.1, but the version of Déjà vu II that I’m about to play is the only version released for the PC.

 Finishing the first game felt like an achievement. Little did I know what was to come in Uninvited and Shadowgate!

I don’t know an awful lot about the plot of this sequel, but I do know that it starts in a very similar way to the first one. I’ll one again be playing as Theodore “Ace” Harding, and I’ll once again be waking up in an unknown bathroom with a large bump on my head. The manual tells me the following: “There’s a guy you owe big. At least he thinks so. His name is Tony Malone. He’s countin’ on you to come up with a lot of dough, and you don’t have a lot of time.” This leads me to think that there will once again be a strict time limit too, which is likely to mean plenty of restores. If it sounds like I’m not looking forward to this one, then I guess that’s accurate, particularly as I’ve read that Déjà vu II is considered to be the most difficult of all the MacVenture games. I struggled with all of the others, particularly Uninvited and Shadowgate, so I can’t say I'm chomping at the bit. At least this game has more than 4 colours though, which might make it a little easier to see critical items on screen (and just make it more pleasing on the eye). It appears to have both EGA and VGA versions to select from, but I’ve not tested that theory just yet.

 The interface looks pretty much the same

Déjà vu II was written by Fred Allen, and from what I can tell, it was the first game he worked on. If Moby Games is to be believed, it was also the first game that artists Michael Manning and Julia Ulano worked on, but they weren’t on their own. David Marsh (Shadowgate and Déjà vu) and Karl Roelofs (Shadowgate) were also involved in the graphics for the game. I can’t find anything regarding the sound in the game, but if the first three games are anything to go by, there might not be much. I’ve downloaded a DOS version and will be running it in DOSBox. I’ve not been able to find a DOS manual for the game anywhere, but I have got my hands on the original Macintosh documentation. I’m assuming the port would be pretty much identical, and shouldn’t have any trouble with the interface given my previous experience with it. Now, looking back at my The Year Ahead post, I can see that Pacpix, Zenic, mpx and Charles all put CAPs down to make me play this game, so I can only assume that the four of them will be playing along with me. Right? Guys?

 Not a great cover. I'm not sure what the plastic looking Ace is supposed to represent.

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There's a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no CAPs will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. As this is an introduction post, it's an opportunity for readers to bet 10 CAPs (only if they already have them) that I won't be able to solve a puzzle unassisted (see below for an example). If you get it right I will reward you with 140 CAPs in return (it's going to keep going up until someone beats me)! It's also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Voters can predict whatever score they want, regardless of whether someone else has already chosen it. All correct (or nearest) votes will go into a draw.

Example Bet:

Qrrc orybj gur fhesnpr oyhr

V wbva ure enaxf nf eblny thneq
Lrg abj n punyyratre vf va ivrj
Fb V zhfg frrx gur uvqqra funeq.

Jung’f zl anzr sbe 20 PNCf? 

Extra Note: Once again, Lars-Erik will gift the next readily available game on the list to the reader that correctly predicts what score I will give this game. So, if you predict the right score (or are closest), you will get 10 CAPs and a copy of Loom from Steam! How awesome is that!? Good luck!