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Post by Discoalucard on Jan 4, 2009 22:21:13 GMT -5
www.hardcoregaming101.net/spacequest/spacequest.htmAs I mentioned in a post a few weeks back, I've been getting heavily back into Sierra adventure games. I'm not entirely sure why, but it's been fun revisiting them! I played a ton of them back when I was in middle/high school, in the mid 90s. This is when they were past their prime, but they were cheap to buy, considering I was too young to have a job, and they ran easily on our slow 486. The first in this series of articles covers Space Quest, the wacky sci-fi parody that contains elements later seen in Futurama. They have some frustrating elements, but damned if some of them aren't hilarious, especially Space Quest IV, where Roger time travels through his own (non existent in real life) sequels. Whenever some loony points to Kojima for being a genius for breaking the fourth wall, all you have to do is point towards Space Quest, where one of the games revolves around saving its creators from the hands of evil software pirates. Next up (really shortly:) Quest for Glory!
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Post by MRSKELETON on Jan 4, 2009 22:47:51 GMT -5
Looks like a fun game. I dunno why though, just never liked adventure games.
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Post by derboo on Jan 4, 2009 23:45:28 GMT -5
Turtles in time tried to, but those damn Foot Soldiers didn't make it through the screen... But honestly: Isn't "breaking the fourth wall" what video games are all about? Btw. Leisure Suit Larry 5 does a similar thing like Space Quest by incorporating the lost disks to Larry 4 into the plot... Oh, and even though the Futurama people claim the concept of Zap Brannigan was William Shatner BEING James T. Kirk instead of just playing him, his uniform looks an awful lot like Roger Wilco's in Space Quest V, minus the pants...
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Post by Discoalucard on Jan 5, 2009 0:02:12 GMT -5
I actually never really played the Leisure Suit Larry games. I played through 1 (EGA) and 3, way back when, but I was too young to buy them. Eventually I plan on covering the series, either before or after Gabriel Knight.
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Post by Isao Kronos (BANNED) on Jan 5, 2009 2:26:48 GMT -5
I assume you're still updating the images? Some are still broken for me.
Also: Take a Break Pinball is probably the first pinball game I played religiously when I was young. Unfortunately I could only play it at my grandparents', but when I was there I played it a LOT.
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Post by onoff456 on Jan 5, 2009 4:05:16 GMT -5
Nice article. Internet opinion favors SQ4 as the best one in the series. Even the two guys from andromeda admit this was their favorite in an interview published in one of the website links at the end of the article. Personally I liked parts 3 to 5 and hated SQ6. If I had the chance to improve the article I would mention the funny stuff found in the supplemental documents in some of the games. The SQ5 tabloid magazine is briefly mentioned, but only as to say it carried the copy protection codes. I would also mention the digitized Roger voice at the intro in SQ3 (saying "Where am I?". That was sort of novel back then. Did you mean "saving"? The alien from the tourist store in SQ3 looks a lot like the aliens from 1985's scifi movie "Explorers". Maybe I missed it in the article but there was also play on words humor as well. "Ulence Flats" ~ "Flatulence". You should also explain Radio Shack sold lots of software (instead of cell phones) during their Tandy days in early 1990s.
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Post by YourAverageJoe on Jan 5, 2009 7:05:06 GMT -5
ScumSoft = SCUMM-soft? hmmm...
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Post by TheChosen on Jan 5, 2009 10:05:56 GMT -5
Just remembered that you're missing one small game: Nick's Picks. It was included in several collections; Its a pack of 3 minigames from the series: The Miss Astro-Chicken, The Monolith burger job and the Speed-pod sequence from SQ1 remake.
There's also Nick Picks based on the casino games from Leisure Suit Larry and two others which I cant remember right now.
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Post by Discoalucard on Jan 5, 2009 17:32:30 GMT -5
Nice article. Internet opinion favors SQ4 as the best one in the series. Even the two guys from andromeda admit this was their favorite in an interview published in one of the website links at the end of the article. Personally I liked parts 3 to 5 and hated SQ6. If I had the chance to improve the article I would mention the funny stuff found in the supplemental documents in some of the games. The SQ5 tabloid magazine is briefly mentioned, but only as to say it carried the copy protection codes. I would also mention the digitized Roger voice at the intro in SQ3 (saying "Where am I?". That was sort of novel back then. The only one of these I actually have is SQ5. I have SQ 1 (remake), 2 and 3 in box but they don't have any of the neat supplemental stuff, just boring play issues and the time codes. I'll have to check the fan sites to see what they're like. Also, which version of SQ3 has the voice clip? I've only played the DOS one and I don't think it was in that one. I think 4 is the funniest, but not necessarily the best. The pacing is weird, the action scenes are lousy, and it feels like you spend way too much time in the mall. I've had a renewed appreciation for SQ5 when I replayed it - I was initially disappointed that the Smell/Lick icons were gone, as was the narration, but now that I'm older and have experienced a bit more sci-fi (especially Star Trek), I picked up on more of the references and enjoyed it more.
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Post by TheChosen on Jan 5, 2009 18:34:38 GMT -5
I think the voice clip can be heard in any version If you use a specific sound card. Dont know which one it was, but it was very expensive back in the day.
I always liked the 3rd and 5th, probably because they're the easiest in the whole series. 4th isnt bad either, but its very hard (Did you really figured out that you have to climb in the shuttle through its open hole, despite the fact that you'l be killed in the area If you dont go away?).
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Post by derboo on Jan 5, 2009 19:21:37 GMT -5
The only one of these I actually have is SQ5. I have SQ 1 (remake), 2 and 3 in box but they don't have any of the neat supplemental stuff, just boring play issues and the time codes. I'll have to check the fan sites to see what they're like. replacementdocs.com has scans for most of them.
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Post by onoff456 on Jan 5, 2009 20:57:38 GMT -5
Also, which version of SQ3 has the voice clip? I've only played the DOS one and I don't think it was in that one. I can confirm it played on the EGA/Tandy version of the game (the one I had). Like Worf taking the satcom test during the beginning of the game. That scene is one of the most memorable for me personally (though not because of Worf). The cheating-robotcop and the multiple choice answers are very funny (if like you said the player has the scifi baggage).
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Post by Discoalucard on Jan 5, 2009 22:42:16 GMT -5
I actually let the intro run to the end...and hey, there it is! I definitely don't remember that...maybe I just never let the intro run to completion?
Was I also correct in hearing that some versions of SQ3 allow you to "look" at items with the right mouse button, a la Quest for Glory?
Also, something I missed the first time - "Kiz Urazgubi" = "Kiss your ass goodbye".
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Post by onoff456 on Jan 5, 2009 22:57:33 GMT -5
LOL SQ5 is littered with play on words. For example the name of the planets from the copy protection codes: "Commodore LXIV" (Commodore 64), "Lukaszuk II", "Klorox II". The female terminator's name (or model number?) is WD-40 (like the spray lubricant sold in hardware stores).
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Post by shion on Jan 6, 2009 14:06:23 GMT -5
Heh, I have a love/hate relationship with reading articles about classic Sierra adventure games: I love it because it brings back fond memories from my childhood as I played all of their titles first-run; I hate it because it because it brings back fond memories from my childhood as I played all of their titles first-run, but it also reminds me that along with those fond memories comes the crushing reality that, man, I'm getting old
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