Puzzles and Solvability
It’s strange really, but for an adventure game of such high regard, the puzzles are really not the game’s high point. There not particularly difficult, with the majority of them being pretty darn obvious. Brauggi demands handfuls of fruit. Go buy handfuls of fruit and give it to him! Much of the game revolves around a dispel potion, and the ingredients for that are pretty easy to find and collect also. With Hero’s Quest, it’s more about the journey than the destination though! What you need to do might generally be obvious from a puzzle point of view, but gaining enough skill to do it is where the fun is to be found. That’s why I consider the game to be a true RPG / adventure hybrid, despite the wrappings being very much in the typical Sierra adventure game mould.
Even once you figure out how to get past this scene, you still have to have the skill to do it
I can’t discuss puzzles without mentioning the replayability of the game. Being able to play the game as one of three character classes, or a hybrid of them, means the game can be played over with totally different solutions. Playing as a thief or magic user means you have to think very differently than you would as a fighter, and while the plot is generally unaffected by these distinctions in the game, it’s a pretty cool way to give the game some longevity. I do have to mention that the character class puzzle solutions system does have an unfortunate result, and I think I experienced that a lot due to choosing a pure fighter class. A lot of puzzles were solved by brute force or by throwing things, simply because those were the skills and attributes my character had. “If all else fails, throw some rocks” worked more often than not, which wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been. I also should mention that the scenes leading up to the climax were more about trial and error than logical deduction, which is not ideal.
Rating: 7
How to get that seed? Oh I know! I'll throw a rock!
Interface and Inventory
Hero’s Quest adds some nifty new features to this category, and they're all handled pretty well. The RPG aspect of the game demands a character statistics screen, and the one here has everything you would want it to and is easy to navigate. The addition of coloured numbers to emphasise the statistics that have changed since the last time you visited the screen is also a welcome feature. The inventory also requires some additional attributes to meet the hybrid nature of the game, with money and total item weight sections included. It all works well enough without demanding much further discussion.
Not the type of screen normally associated with adventure games
Movement in the game is handled as you would expect for an SCI0 adventure game, yet I don’t recall getting stuck or frustrated at any stage during the game (which can’t be said for Codename: ICEMAN!). Similarly, I can’t recall fighting with the parser very much, with the great descriptions on each screen giving you no need to guess item labels, and the parser itself not being limited to only precise wordings. I have to admit (and I hope this doesn’t turn out to be embarrassing), but I figured out after playing the game that I could right click on anything on the screen and be given a description of it. Has that feature been in previous games and I just didn’t know?
Not even Erasmus' stairs could halt my progress
Of course, the fighting sequences are a new addition, and require some focus. I have to admit that I really struggled with this part of the game during my first few sessions. Not so much because it wasn’t intuitive, but more because it simply wasn’t effective. I couldn’t be reactive at all and was forced to guess when to dodge and when to attack due to the high speed at which the enemies were attacking me. However, once I played around with the speed settings of the game (not enough to make battle too easy), the fights became very enjoyable. The more skill my character gained, the easier fighting was too, which really highlights how well executed the RPG elements are. Overall, the interface of Hero’s Quest is not highly advanced, but it’s extremely slick and professional, giving the player little reason to think about movement and commands, and more reason to just enjoy themselves!
Rating: 7
They even dealt with multiple enemies, albeit in a rather primitive way (one at a time)
Story and Setting
As with a lot of games from this era, the story is a very simple one. The setup it totally contrived, right down to the only exit from the valley being blocked by a snowstorm, and the game purposely steals clichés from other similarly themed stories. It’s pretty comparable to King’s Quest, although Hero’s Quest takes more of a classic fantasy approach (monsters, treasure, quests) than the fairy tale approach found in Roberta Williams’ series, which is definitely more to my liking. However, while the story itself is nothing to get excited about, the little (often humorous) details that flesh it out and the many unique characters the player meets on the way make the whole thing feel much more interesting. I guess it’s also worth pointing out that RPGs often have very thin plots, which is necessary to give the player freedom to forge their own path. I can’t say Hero’s Quest can completely use this as an excuse, but it definitely stops me from being too harsh.
Rating: 5
Snow you say? Looks like a pretty fine day to me!
Sound and Graphics
While the sound effects of the game are merely on par with other recent Sierra games, Hero’s Quest has hands down the best music of any game on the list so far. At first I thought that belief might have more to do with nostalgia than actual quality, but over time I have realised just about every tune in the game gets stuck in my head due to how catchy and entertaining it is. Even right now, days after I last played the game, the various tunes of Erana’s Peace, the goblin training ground, Baba Yaga’s hut, and most of all the battle music, are running through my head. The main theme itself was not as iconic as I remembered, but that I assume is because my more recent experiences with it came from later games in the series, where the sound quality was far superior.
The little Arabian flourish towards the end is a nice hint towards the sequel
Apart from the overuse of pink, which I think is supposed to be purple and merely looks pink in DOSBOX, the graphics are also really great for the time. They outdid King’s Quest when it comes to fantasy scenery (the healer’s house, the Dryad, Erana’s Peace and the Mirror Lake are all very attractive indeed) and some of the darker scenes are very effectively done also. Most of all though, it’s the animation where I feel the game forged new ground! There is a lot of scripted action in the game, much of which involves the main character performing arrogant flourishes and bows, and they’re all very convincing and smooth. The combat scenes don’t have the same silky feel to them, but the enemies are given good presence and expression-filled character (I believe they were created through using built models?) All up I’d say the game is not quite up to Lucasarts’ high visual standard, but easily makes up the deficit through the wonderful music by Mark Seibert.
Rating: 7
The action scenes are really convincing and often humorous
Environment and Atmosphere
This is another area where Hero’s Quest excels. The environments within the game are reasonably varied, and all of them are memorable. I’ve mentioned it many times already, but there’s just something really beautiful and magical about many of the locations found in the game, and the generated atmosphere is delightful. The game has a very open feel, and gets the balance spot on between making the player wander aimlessly through endless bland landscape and feeling like their part of a largish game world. That game world is packed with the unexpected, with too many strange creatures to mention here. It’s these inhabitants that really give the game it’s character, with residents like the Meeps, the Antwerp, Baba Yaga, ‘Enry the ‘Ermit, Yorick and the Fairies all gaining a firm place in adventure gaming history.
Rating: 8
Yet another scene dripping with atmosphere
Dialogue and Acting
Of course none of these characters would be all that memorable if it weren’t for the dialogue attributed to them. The variety of accents, intelligence levels, rhyming tendencies, senses of humour and mysteriousness make each and every one of them stand out from the rest. There’s actually a lot of dialogue in Hero’s Quest now that I look back at it, and it’s consistently charming and appropriately descriptive. Once again I have to highlight the sheer professionalism that comes through in the game, right down to the dialogue having no spelling or grammatical errors, and always being positioned in the most ideal place to limit instances where it overlaps the items or events it describes. I guess I still can’t pass the 6 mark though, as adventure games have a long way to go on this front.
Rating: 6
Oo doesn't love ol 'Enry?
So there you have it! The game comes in at 67, and I’m going to throw another point at it just because I can. I love this game and am thrilled to find it leading the pack by a whole 6 points. I have a feeling the next game on the list (Emmanuelle) won’t be threatening Hero’s Quest’s place at the top.
It's time to go see who wins a copy of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! The answer is Fenrus! Congratulations! Send an email to theadventuregamer@gmail.com and I'll respond with the neccessary details.82 CAPs for Jarikith
* Hero-U Support Award -50 CAPs - For supporting Hero-U with cold hard cash
* Genre Support Award - 5 CAPs - For commenting about a new adventure game sale on GOG
* Unfortunate Riddler Award - 5 CAPs - For finding a totally correct adventure game character name that was actually incorrect
* Riddler Award - 12 CAPs - For deciphering three of the mixed up adventure game characters
* Companion Award - 10 CAPs - For playing along with me and completing the game
55 CAPs for Corey Cole
* Optimism Award - 5 CAPs - For predicting his own game will top the leaderboard by 10 points
* Developer Input Award - 50 CAPs - For adding invaluable insider knowledge throughout the posts
50 CAPs for Zenic Reverie
*Hero-U Support Award - 35 CAPs - For supporting Hero-U with cold hard cash
* Companion Award - 10 CAPs - For playing along with me and completing the game
* Captain Obvious Award - 5 CAPs - For letting me know I could simply have typed "fight" to fight the kobold
40 CAPs for Canageek
* Genre Support Award - 20 CAPs - For consistent comments about adventure game sales on GOG
* Genre Support Award - 20 CAPs - For consistent comments about adventure game sales on Steam
35 CAPs for Cush1978
*Hero-U Support Award -35 CAPs - For supporting Hero-U with cold hard cash
30 CAPs for Draconius
* Dedicated Noobi Award - 10 CAPs - For spending four weeks catching up on the blog. Welcome Draconius!
* Character Export Award - 10 CAPs - For helping me export my character for later use
* Right Click Award - 10 CAPs - For making me realise I've ignored a great new "look" feature for the last few games
20 CAPs for Lars-Erik
* Sponsor Award - 20 CAPs - For sponsoring the blog with free games!
20 CAPs for Andy_Panthro
* Companion Award - 20 CAPs - For playing along with me and completing the game with complete 100 stats!
18 CAPs for Ilmari
* General Knowledge Award - 10 CAPs - For informing me that the Baronet was merely using the royal we and not a schizophrenic
* Riddler Award - 8 CAPs - For deciphering two of the mixed up adventure game characters
15 CAPs for Charles
* Expolding Poetry Award - 5 CAPs - For writing a poem about an expolding head
* Woolly Mammoth Award - 5 CAPs - For announcing the announcement of a new Syberia game
* Band Camp Award - 5 CAPs - You know what for!
14 CAPs for Fenrus
* Clairvoyant Award - 10 CAPs - For predicting the score I would give the game
* Riddler Award - 4 CAPs - For deciphering one of the mixed up adventure game characters
14 CAPs for Amy K
* Riddler Award - 4 CAPs - For deciphering one of the mixed up adventure game characters
* Companion Award - 10 CAPs - For playing along with me and completing the game
10 CAPs for archivis
* Riddler Award - 10 CAPs - For solving my Dragonsphere riddle
10 CAPs for Mooki
* Baba Yaga Historian Award - 10 CAPs - For letting me know that Baba Yaga is based on an external source
10 CAPs for Deimar
* Mandrake Root Farmer Award - 10 CAPs - For picking and then regrowing mandrake root
10 CAPs for unimural
* Companion Award - 10 CAPs - For playing along with me and completing the game
10 CAPs for Novacek
* Riddler Award - 10 CAPs - For deciphering the last of the mixed up adventure game characters
I'll figure out the CAP distribution tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteTrixter, please, for the love of everything that is holy, do use MT-32 emulation in DOSBox for sound.
ReplyDeleteSierra games (and pretty much every game from now on until 1993 I think, when game developers switched to General MIDI standard) will use it to enhance the soundtrack immensely - the difference between MT-32 and Adlib is comparable to the difference between Adlib and PC Speaker.
And while it does require significant increase in processing power compared to Adlib emulation, it's nothing a Dual Core CPU shouldn't handle.
If you need help with setting up DOSBox to use it, just let me know here.
I will post some comparative samples later today.
Why don't you just get everything set up, and post a premade binary and settings file for Trickster and Chet to use?
DeleteRight you are good sir.
DeleteHere are the examples - opening theme from Codename: Iceman and Erana's Peace from Quest for Glory, both in Adlib and MT-32 versions: http://www.sendspace.com/file/toi4rt
Here's the DOSBox SVN build with MT-32 emulation enabled: http://www.sendspace.com/file/4z75z6
Feel free to modify dosbox.conf to your liking, just make sure not to change the mididevice=mt32 line. Also, do not remove the two .ROM files from DOSBox dir - those are MT-32 program and sample roms.
Also also, don't forget to set up the actual game to use MT-32. :)
Let me know if you need any help.
Holy cow! Trickster you have got to use the MT-32 version! It changes it from annoying shrieking noises to actually quite pleasant music.
DeleteWell here's the thing. I haven't done that for any other game so far, so would it really be fair to to do it in future?
DeleteI'd be happy to try it, but I want to compare oranges with oranges so to speak.
Thing is, if you want to be absolutely fair, you'd have to compare all games using the only soundcard PC had built-in - that is PC Speaker. Which is kind of insane, isn't it?
DeleteMT-32 was the de-facto standard of PC games music until General Midi based cards phased it out. People that weren't able to afford the card (it cost around 500$ in 1988 money) had to settle with Adlib or other similar FM based cards, which as you can clearly hear, don't hold the candle to MT-32 version (fun fact, Lucasarts used MT-32 recordings for CDAudio based version of its games).
Anyways, the card was still relatively new during the time you're at, first PC game to support it was King's Quest IV I believe. Of the games you completed, it was supported only by KQIV, Larry 2, Police Quest 2, Codename: Iceman and Hero's Quest.
If you want, I can share hoot sets or mp3 recordings for those five, you can then listen to them and update the music scores if necessary. Honestly, I think that's way better than listening to Adlib scores until Windows 95 games start being more popular.
I think it's fair to use the best version made at the time. They still use the technology of the time so you're comparing fairly.
DeleteIMO it's not fair to rate the games with Adlib / SB. Kind of same if you would stick to EGA graphics, while the VGA mode existed as well. In fact I was quite disappointed that you credited KQ4 for it's pioneering in sound department, and then didn't play it with MT32..
DeleteYoutube has many comparisons of different games (just search with the name of the game & adlib & mt32), that you could quickly watch to hear the difference. And while talking about QFG1 music:
Introduction music with MT32:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIi0YxriapY
Erana's peace music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHhpbE1zOys
I never had an MT32, and I don't think I knew anyone else with one either. For what it's worth, I think the Adlib/SB stuff sounds pretty great. From the links you posted, it does seem like there is a bit more to the MT32 stuff, but it doesn't seem like you'd be missing out. Perhaps I'm not enough of an audiophile to notice more differences, or perhaps it's just the nostalgia clouding my judgement.
DeleteAnyway, a great resource for Sierra game music is Quest Studios: http://www.queststudios.com/
Which has a Roland MT-32 resource page, which should help if Trickster wants to play the games with the MT32.
I think it is kind of unfair not to use it. I mean, if a company puts all the money into developing it, shouldn't they get some points in your ratings for it? Suppose two games have the same score, couldn't one break the tie if it has great MT-32 music and the other doesn't? Those audio samples Knurek posted have turned me into a believer, that is easily a point or more a game could be getting. I encourage you two listen to them, then has Knurek make you up mp3s of the old games.
DeleteDoubly so if you are giving points for how playable a game is today, since it is easily accessible.
I also absolutely think you should use MT-32 music if practically feasible. It really was a huge change and should be noted, especially for the early games.
DeleteYou can also look at it this way. Eventually you are going to be forced to leave AdLib sounds behind. If not before, at least with Windows games. Is it fair to reward games for better music then? For those games, the better music is merely the least they had to do. Where as in this era, those games that do offer Roland synth sounds had a true leg up on earlier games and also games of the same era that didn't.
Another problem that's approaching around 1992 is when games begin using general MIDI - it is a much more open standard than MT-32 MIDI, allowing many choices of synths or soundfonts.
DeleteAFAIK most games of the GM era were composed using a Roland SC-55 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_SC-55), but it doesn't have proper emulation like the MT-32 does. You could also keep using MT-32, as most games kept supporting it, and there's even utilities to reprogram the MT-32 to be fairly GM-compatible. With soundfonts you can get much higher quality music than was possible back then, which unfortunately goes against the idea of judging the technological advances of the time properly. There however exist soundfonts that mimic specific devices, such as AWE32. The Microsoft GS Wavetable Synthesizer is just crappy, and never should be an option.
I find it amusing that a game that the vast majority of people would not call a "pure" adventure game is the current leader on a scoreboard designed to rate adventure games.
ReplyDeleteI am not advocating that it lose points though. This game is a beloved childhood memory of mine and it pleases me greatly to see it exceed the Lucas Arts games that I never played (yeah, I have a Sierra/nostalgia bias).
I hear you Mooki, although I think Hero's Quest is at least 75% an adventure game. I feel comfortable with it at the top of the list. :)
DeleteWell, HQ scored high in categories that fit both to adventure games and CRPGs. In the only adventure game specific category (puzzles), it is mentioned that puzzles are not the high point of the game.
DeleteSimilarly in CRPGAddict's review HQ scored well in all categories expect CRPG specific like combat and equipment.
very nice articles visit progameita.blogspot.it
ReplyDeleteSpam?
DeleteI just had a mental image of vikings parachuting to snowy Canada while singing "lovely spam, wonderful spam".
DeleteIlmari, your hovercraft is full of eels.
DeleteIn Hungary, that would get you convicted ;)
DeleteNow that's a score that won't be beat for the next few years of adventure games.
ReplyDeleteThat disappoints me slightly for some reason.
Hmm. Wonder if I can get the pissed rating down a point or two ~Throw rock at rating~
Well, Loom's coming around next year. And even this year there's Colonel's Bequest, and as the founder of the Admirers of Laura "Ingenious" Bow's Investigations -society I'd expect it's PISSED to be at least as good as Hero's Quest's - or the ALIBI will be very pissed ;)
DeleteColonel's Bequest is a great game, I'm looking forward to that one!
DeleteI'm just worried Trickster might miss most of the game by rushing too fast from one scene to another. CB is definitely a game that deserves a second playthrough.
DeleteHmmm, hey Trickster, would you take CAPS to do a second playthrough of a game, with some number of caps per hour?
DeleteI've never played a Laura Bow game - now I'm looking forward to reading about it.
DeleteSo start blogging the next game already. ~Throw rock at Trickster~
I'll distract Canageek so you don't have to play the game twice ~Throw CAPS at Canageek~
Yes, it's not that long of a game, but it can be quite a varied experience. Probably worth replaying at least once, after you know a few things. I'd happily throw a few CAPs towards it!
DeleteTBD: Hey, owww! I meant, so we could pay for Trickster to go back and beat it as a wizard. Trust me, when I put CAPS towards Emmanuelle I thought it would be an amusing game. Then someone sent me a review. On the plus side, this sounds like a truly horrible, awful game, so at least we should get an amusing post or two as Trickster pulls his hair out.
DeleteLooks like it is a few more years until I can force Trickster to play something with tentacles or something. What? STOP WITH THE ROCKS! OWWWWWW.
@TBD: I was sitting there having my breakfast and then WHAM, this rock hit me right in the side of the head. I guess I better stop procrastinating and get on with Emmanuelle! ;)
Delete@Ilmari: Was that a challenge? That sounded like a challenge! ;)
Canageek: Sorry about that, didn't know CAPS would hurt. Must be the sharp edges.
DeleteFor the record, if Trickster wants to play the game again for CAPS, I'm all for it.
But I'm also counting the games until we get to ones I played and enjoyed back in the day so each extra game played delays the next one by a month or so.
I agree that Emmanuelle could be fun to make fun of, so the next few blog posts could be quite entertaining.
I just hope Trickster will get through Emmanuelle before the holidays or it will probably ruin Christmas for him ;)
Delete@Trick: It could be a challenge - try to find as much plot points in Colonel's Bequest as you can! This is actually quite easy to check, because the game helpfully gives at the end a detailed list of things you've accomplished to do and discover.
It could be easy to misjudge the game, so I second a second playthrough if needed (in case that Trickster doesn't discover everything on his first..). Or maybe a stop'n'go check after each act (they are fairly short), and the community could decide whether he should replay the act or not, in order to discover more (using hints and spoilers if needed).. don't know if that would work in practice though.
DeleteIn fact I was also thinking about a similar challenge to Trickster, as it is fairly easy to just rush through the game and miss most of the party.. Looking forward what score Trickster is going to get in the "Sleuth-o-meter" at the end (or whatever it is called..)
I think the score would have been even higher if you'd chosen a thief or magic user. My memory of these games was that the Fighter track was almost always the least interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth noting that I have played the game previously (albeit a long time ago), so I am at least aware of some of the other magic user and thief solutions / differences.
DeleteI also read some other sources before coming up with this final rating post to make sure I had a good understanding of the game as a whole.
I wish I had time to play the game three times over, but it's time to move on. There are lots of other games to come!
Nice writeup. Two comments:
ReplyDelete1. The puzzles were intentionally "easy". Lori and I felt that too many adventure game puzzles are arbitrary and unsolvable without external hints and information. We worked to avoid that. However, we probably could have increased difficulty level (while keeping the puzzles fair) by adding more stages to quests. There's a fine balance between fairness and "too easy".
2. Your combat speed issue is almost certainly due to the DOSBox emulation. When Hero's Quest was released, all Sierra games were capped at 10 fps, and the combat was balanced for that. If you are running a faster frame rate, that affects the balance.
3. Gerry is right about character choice - the Fighter option was designed for people who wanted an easier game experience - but it would probably only affect the score by a point or two. Probably the Magic User got the most variety in game play options, due to having a choice of spells as well as physical actions.
4. I'm slightly disappointed with the story and dialogue scores, but I can't really argue with your reasoning. We had a few atypical twists (such as most of the "bad guys" actually having reasonable motivations for their actions, and the "good guys" doing sometimes-questionable things). But I'm sure we could have done - and in later games did - more.
I agree with you regards the story score. The basic storyline is very simple indeed, but given how varied and detailed most of the individual encounters in the game are, and how memorable some of the characters are, I think 5 is rather unfair. But I guess Trickster doesn't view that as part of the story score, and that's perfectly valid.
DeleteI do think the dialogue score is pretty much as it should be. Most of the dialogue in the game is just pure information pumping or humorous asides, however delightfully written. I do feel that a lot of stuff, like the encounters with Baba Yaga suffer a bit from the engine. It feels too much like a cut scene, and I do think that later dialogue trees addressed the issue to a large degree.
Corey, I have a question that came up earlier on the CRPGAddict. Someone, I forgot who, asked if the barracks at the baron's castle has or was originally supposed to have any function. To my knowledge, there's nothing one can do there.
Our thirst for trivia is boundless!
Oh, and good luck with Hero-U, I'm really looking forward to it!
The "function" of the barracks is to show that almost all of the Baron's soldiers are dead or have deserted the castle. They imply that the castle was once much more active.
DeleteI think you can also knock on the barracks door to get the attention of the Weapon Master, but I might be thinking of the unpublished novel.
@unimural: Yes, considering I paid quite a bit of attention to the fantastic characters in other categories (Dialogue and Environment), I didn't think I should reward the game yet again in the story category.
Delete@Corey: Now that you mention it I can see that you guys did indeed bring motivations into play (for both good and bad guys), so I can only apologise for not mentioning that. I do think it's worth comparing the ratings I've given here to other games pn the list to get a true picture though. I've not yet given more than a 6 for Story or Dialogue, so Hero's Quest is still right up there for both categories. I've let room for the improvements that will come in the future, and your own games will no doubt benefit from that.
Once again, I thank you ever so much for taking part in the conversations here. I still can't quite believe that you're doing it!
Not too typical for adventure games, to just give the items that are being asked for (fur/spell from meeps, spell from Enry), instead of requesting a silly errand in exchange..
DeleteThe story and setting category will probably improve in future games. I think one of the best aspects of the series is the overarching of the story. Despite each game being set up in a different (part of the) world, the development of the Hero (and some other characters) is carried nicely along, and deeds done in earlier games is nicely recognized in the dialogue across the series.
Interesting comments about the puzzles Corey; QfG definitely bucks the "Sierra logic" trend. This game is so well constructed, I'm still blown away by it over twenty years later.
DeleteYep, one of the very best games I have ever played, still my favorite adventure game by far.
DeleteHi Trickster - you really did miss a lot of cool stuff by not playing as a character with thief and magic abilities. When you get onto the next QFG games, or if you play the remake, you should consider a Thief who has magic ability, as you get a whole lot of really cool other stuff to do, as well as other places to go (by going inside people's houses and robbing them in the night).
ReplyDeleteMe and my brother played these games a lot when we were younger, I was always a Thief character and my brother was always a Magician.
I prefer that players choose a class and stick with it. The ability to pick up a skill from another class is a nice feature of the games, but could detract from the flavor of the class. We designed all the puzzles to be solvable with each class's basic skills.
DeleteGame 3 puzzles are light for Thieves, otherwise any class should have plenty to do in each game.
Corey, one of my very few complaints in the series is, that after becoming a paladin in QFG2, the game forced you to change class in QFG3 if you wanted to continue as paladin (as the paladin class is actually an extended fighter).. I am still proud that I was able to become a paladin back then, without even knowing about the whole "becoming a paladin" goal..
DeleteI would have preferred if the original class had remained, but you would just have the paladin skills (and requirements) parallel to the class-specific skills..
The right-click descriptions started with SCI-0. I'm pretty sure they were in KQ IV. Definitely in PQ 2. Assume they were in LSL 2 but haven't played that. It's definitely in all the following games. So glad to see it at the top of the list. Definitely agree with you about the puzzles, having just replayed tis and 2, (currently playing 3) I often found my self knowing what to do but niot having the skill for it. A lot fewer puzzles than I remember as well, but that certainly didn't detract from the game.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the right click option would have been invaluable in some sections of Codename Iceman. I may have to load the game up just to see whether it was possible. I'm thinking of that drawer in the engine room in particular!!!
DeleteI knew it'd lead, but I thought it'd break into the 70s at least. Oh well, plenty of time for other games to do that I suppose. Good luck with the next game... I have no idea what to expect.
ReplyDeleteNot that long between the next few QFG games, perhaps they'll score a bit higher as they go along?
DeleteThe 90s in general (and the VGA era) were a great time for adventure games, so I'm sure we'll see 70 being broken some time soon! I think I was too optimistic with this one though, although I guess I'd score it far higher.
It seems Fenrus might have won the prize for guessing the score, with my 74 looking a bit optimistic. Although I'm sure I could make a good case for it getting an extra six points!
ReplyDeleteI also finished my blogging about Quest for Glory 1 here: http://playedbypanthro.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/a-heros-journey.html
Included a little bit about the journey ahead, and included a few pictures to show the graphical changes throughout the series.
Andy, didn't you comment some time ago that with a nick like this I should know these things.. ;)
DeleteBTW, thanks for the link - these are some good times for a QFG fan!
Finally figured out CAP distribution for Hero's Quest. Please note that I've only given companion awards to those who announced their completion of the game. I'd like to encourage readers to not only announce that they are going to play along with me, but also to have input throughout.
ReplyDeleteAm about to update the leaderboard.
I played through with the thief until I'd done the burglary parts, but I noticed from the Addict's walkthrough that things are pretty similar after that point, and didn't complete the game. I'm slightly tempted to finish the thief character and build up all his stats (I got magic as well) but after reading Corey's post about sticking to a class, I think I will just play QFG2 with my original mage when I get to it.
DeleteI probably won't have much to say for the next few games but still will keep reading. I'm playing some slightly obscure games now (Altered Destiny, Countdown, Operation Stealth, Rise of the Dragon) so I might be able to contribute a little more down the road a bit.
Leaderboard updated!
ReplyDeleteJust realised I forgot to email about backing Hero-U, and so I've missed out on some CAPs! Is it too late?
DeleteSend through the email and I'll pay up!
DeleteWoo-Hoo, first game commented on and I'm already at 30 CAPs. Watch out Lars-Erik you're in my sights.
DeleteAnother backer reporting (email coming in), completely missed that request..
DeleteThere is a Mattchat on the Shadowgate Kickstarter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt2L3ClEDFs
ReplyDeleteFor those interested (I'm sure Corey knowns all of this already), there is a comparison of the two EGA versions here: http://home.comcast.net/~ervind/qfgnames.html
ReplyDeleteMostly small changes due to the change in title. Some of the jokes are a bit more of a stretch (Which makes sense, since they were written based on one) and one title screen isn't as good. Other then that it is all cool.
That said, as someone who owns the Heroquest board game, I can see why they changed the title, as if I saw a computer game named that I'd think it was a dungeon crawling RPG. I think there was an RPG that had to change its title as well, though Wikipedia doesn't have any record of this.
Also too many games use *quest as their name:
Runequest
Openquest
Everquest
Hero quest (Adventure game)
Heroquest (Board game)
Heroquest (Robin D. Laws RPG)
Heroquest (Computer RPG based on the board game)
Dragon Quest (NES RPG; aka Dragon Warrior)
DragonQuest (RPG)
And probably a few more that I'm forgetting (There is one I always get mixed up with RuneQuest that I can't remember the name of now)
Ok, I've spent most of my lunch looking up things for this blog and side by siding various versions of screenshots. I am going to go eat now if no one minds.
DeleteTrickster, I've decided I prefer posts about games you enjoy--both because fewer bad things happen to you therein and because the play goes more smoothly so I get a better sense of the game's story. Given that, I proceed with some trepidation into Chapter 27: Emmanuelle.
ReplyDeleteI like this. I wonder why present games don’t provide this type of playability. I’m not speaking about RPGs or MMOs in general, but about games such as Dishonored 2. I was so excited about the idea of playing different stories with two different characters but only the persona changed. Most other things remained the same, so I was pretty disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI can answer that: Cost. Having the game totally change for a second character would nearly double the cost. When games cost thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars to make, that was pretty viable. Today games cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make, and I'm guessing a fairly small percentage of players are willing to play through a game twice to see everything, doubly so when games are now much longer then they were in the 80s and early 90s. So you are better off releasing the second campaign as its own game, or DLC and getting some of that money back.
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