Missed Classic: Questprobe #3 - A Sticky Situation

Written by Joe Pranevich

Eight villains to defeat! (Nine if you count the snake.)

Torch & Thing Journal #2 - We are back together again and exploring a set of windy caves deep underground. The Thing made it there by holding his breath and destroying the machinery that was sucking him down, while the Torch had to take a longer route to sneak past Dr. Doom’s castle, open a shaft hidden in a cave, and fly down. But now that we’re here and together, what happens next? It’s clobberin’ time!

Spellcasting 201 - Playing the Trunk Card

By Aperama

Ernie Eaglebeak's Journal #2: Well, turns out that my fame has gotten the better of me! Or that arse Chris Cowpatty just has it in for me. One pledge had to play bagpipes in class. Another to start a food fight in the cafeteria (which is pretty hard I'll admit given nobody actually eats the food there. Can you believe I found a firefly maggot in the casserole I got on the first day?) Me? I only had to steal an elevephant!!! It really seems like Chris doesn't want me to join HDP. Which just makes me want to join them even more, to be honest. It's thankful I take good notes, though, because I realised that my EWC-2 had some elevephant mating essence hidden inside it. So, after I made it through the drudgery of my classes today.. I'll admit that trying to learn the Moodhorn is something that definitely weighs in my mind, but I'm sure I can do it if I really put my mind to it.. I set out to rustle myself up an elevephant. I managed to create a simpleberry shrub from the Sorcerer's Appliance after a little prodding around – I snuck straight past Lyle, the pledge guarding the mascot, left my EWC-2 open and lured the elevephant down into the sewerways. Turns out that firefly larva came in handy after all.. and those blueprints I had of the sewer system! Babar and I found our way through with a little trial and error, and we snuck out through the boat dock. Thankfully, Hillary remembers me from when I had that dinner date with Dean Tickingclock all those years ago, and didn't mind me sneaking Babar in with the EWC-2 still floating in the air.. in exchange for a little fond reminder of our night together! A win-win, really. It was worth it all to see the look on Cowpatty's chicken-covered face!

But I don't want to abandon him! He's my friend!

Leisure Suit Larry 5 – You Are What You Is

Written by Alex

Commenter The Mara recently noted that her question, "[H]ow much more tasteless can Leisure Suit Larry get" is one she has to wait for the answer to. Well, the wait is over. Hold on to your Tardis, because here comes the stupid!

So here’s Patti, outside of K-RAP studios in Philadelphia.

Wait, or is it Baltimore. Continuity error!

Missed Classic 12: Questprobe Featuring the Human Torch and the Thing - Introduction (1985)

Written by Joe Pranevich

It’s a good time to be a comic book geek. As I write this, I just got back from watching Ant-Man, a film that absolutely does not deserve to be as good as it is. And yet… wow. It’s the 12th straight film to open at #1 for Marvel. The next film, Fantastic Four, will be out by the time you read this and while it will not be a “real” Marvel film (as the rights are owned by Fox), I hope it does well. I love the Fantastic Four as a team and they deserve to finally get a decent film adaptation. And if you can somehow make an also-ran like Ant-Man into a good film, surely the powers that be could make a great film out of the “first family” of the Marvel universe. If the reviews are good, I’ll be seeing it in a few weeks.

That leads us to our game: Questprobe Featuring the Human Torch and the Thing. Released ten months after Spider-Man, it marks the final Questprobe game and one of the final releases for Adventure International before their bankruptcy. There are a few signs that it might have been a troubled production: the ten month gap between games (twice as long as expected), the game and manual still use an old title in several places (Fantastic Four, Chapter One), and the manual feels less polished than previous efforts. I hope that Scott Adams will share some of these details when he sits down with us in a few weeks.

Just like before, I have a ton of introductory notes. If you just want to get to the gameplay, feel free to scroll down. I won’t mind too much.

Spellcasting 201 - The Case of the Oiled Moustache

Written by Aperama

Ernie Eaglebeak's Journal #1
“I sure hope they don't find this. I mean, I woke up this morning with just my cloak – I had all of this stuff they somehow managed to drag out of my hands and throw onto my floor! It seems like they've kinda got it in for me here at HDP – or at least that moron Chris Cowpatty does. One of the other pledges got forced to unleash hornets inside my first class for the day, another to set a smoke bomb off during a concert tonight.. me? Up a huge statue and putting a fake moustache on it! Okay, I'll admit that it's pretty funny, but it's lucky I don't have a fear of heights! Classes sure did fly by today, but I did learn some stuff. For instance, if I really know a couple of spells I don't really need a spellbook for – Prof. Wartytoad explained it with BIP, but I tried later when I locked myself under a manhole and FRIMPed my way out. Good thing I can lift a twenty pound iron doughnut with it! Prof. Branmuffin is one hell of a bore, but at least I know some things about what sort of trees and herbs I'm going to need to look for in the Profession. –Hiddenmolar, though.. the guy hates me. His class should be the most fun – transmuting is something that every sorcerer (Sorcerer? I'll have to ask whether I'm supposed to capitalise it one of these days) aspires to – but he seems to want to torment everyone in the class, especially me! Still, I've got my lump of bronze for his next class. Some reading to do. As for the pledge? I think that they might have rigged it. Good thing I have the Sorcerer's Appliance! They oiled up the statue that I had to climb to put the moustache in place.. so naturally, I used a diamond manufactured by the Appliance to get a de-oiling spell to climb up and throw the moustache in place between first and second period.. I saw the surprise on Cowpatty's face and gave him a good smack for it. Looks like I've got a nemesis already..”

Not the worst puzzle in the world involving a moustache (light spoiler alert)