Game Club 199X: King's Quest V (DOS, NES)

[Snarboo]

I finished Beneath a Steel Sky a few nights ago, so I thought I'd post my impressions of the game now that the podcast has been recorded. Overall, I enjoyed it, although I felt the middle third of the game dragged a bit. There was a massive tone shift during that section of the game, going from moody and atmospheric to goofy and lighthearted. The puzzles were also more inane than the earlier ones.

Thankfully, the game gets back on track once you find your way into the

SPOILER: Click to show

the abandoned subway station. I was on the edge of my seat as I progressed deeper into LINC, especially as the imagery became more grotesque. This section is really atmospheric, exuding a sinister vibe that lasts until the very end of the game. I love the upgrade Joey receives in this area, too, and how he sounds more like a beach bumb than a robot after the upgrade. The only problem I had with this section was the ridiculous light bulb puzzle. That required some serious pixel hunting!

Ultimately, the climax was satisfying, although Robert's callous response to the events surrounding the ending kind of depressed me. It was perfectly reasonable for him to behave that way, though. As I said earlier, I really enjoyed the snarky banter between Robert and Joey, and there were some jokes that had me chuckling out loud, as well as a few lines that I groaned at. If there was one major problem I had, it was the lack of character development. Quite a few characters are introduced and then never seen again, with only Gilbert Lamb and Joey receiving any sort of development over the course of the game. While both of these characters were fun to interact with, it wouldn't have hurt to see more from Anita or Mrs. Piermont.

[Discoalucard]

If you haven't played Broken Sword yet, Mrs. Piermont ends up getting reused in that game. Plus her niece even shows up in the third broken sword.

[Snarboo]

I've decided to move onto the lesser known Alien Incident after finishing Machinarium. Weasel sold me on the game when he streamed the intro a few weeks ago. So far I'm really enjoying it. It gives me a real Maniac Mansion vibe, and the graphics are absolutely gorgeous. The use of palette shifting to fake light sourcing is especially clever!

I have to say that this month's game has been the most interesting to me so far. I just barely remember the heyday of the graphic adventure, so it was nice to be able to sort of peer back into that era and examine it critically. There are so many things this genre of games did wrong, but just as many, if not more, that it did right. Adventure games as a genre are truly games of diplomacy: you often have to speak with others to solve problems and make sacrifices to progress, such as bartering a valuable item in exchange for a less valuable but immediately useful one. They also put a greater emphasis on using your brains rather than your brawn to progress. It's refreshing to play a game where the main character doesn't have to murder other people to get their way, so it's a shame this genre had to lie dormant for so long.

I feel this game more than any other has really played to the strengths of GC9X's approach to games. It really reminds me of the days when I'd discuss games with other kids at school, swap tips, and spread ridiculous rumors about the games we were playing. Or how we'd sometime share games by loaning them for a bit or through casual piracy. In that respect, GC9X is like a window into the past. I wouldn't have been able to beat either King's Quest V or King's Quest VI without help from the community, especially you, muteKi! I salute all of those that joined in this month and played King's Quest with us.

[kal]

It's nice to turn Kings Quest 5 into a tolerable experience.