[BLOG] Old School is Cool Vol. 2 - Sariens and the Golden Mop
Last time on this blog, I reviewed Fantasy Empires, a rather obscure turn based stategy game from 1993. For those who missed my review of it, you can read it here. This time I go back to 1986, to an adventure game I spent many hours playing at my mother's shop after school. The main reason I played this game there was because it was one of the few I could get to run on her office system at the time. So what is this game?
Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Sierra
Publisher: Sierra
Designer(s): Mark Crowe & Scott Murphy (aka the "Two Guys from Andromeda")
Game Mode(s): Single-Player
Platform: Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh
Engine: AGI (EGA version), SCI (VGA version)
History
I first came across this game when fellow Icrontian CB introduced it to me back in the late 80s. The original release of the game only had a 160x200 resolution, displaying a whopping 16 colors and featured an environment that allowed the character move behind and in front of objects. As I watched CB play, I found myself drawn into the game just as a spectator, as we bounced ideas back and forth about how to solve the various puzzles the game offered. I was able to get the game for myself, but at the time, the only system I had regularly available to me was my mom's office computer. Thankfully, it was able to run it, even though I had to make due with the grayscale monitor. As I would spend a lot of my time after school at my mom's office, I ended up spending time on this and other games avoiding sheer boredom.
So when I decided to go back to Space Quest for this blog, I was curious how easy it would be to find a legitimate copy. Thankfully, the Space Quest Collection was re-released by Vivendi back in 2006, and they licensed DOSBox for use in the re-release, making the games compatible in Windows XP without needed to go through any complicated setup. I was able to find the Space Quest Collection on eBay for about $10 shipped.
Review
Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter is a single-player sci-fi adventure game where you lead the character, Roger Wilco, through various mis-adventures. In The Sarien Encounter, Roger is a janitor aboard the spaceship Arcada, which has onboard a device named the "Star Generator" The Arcada is attacked by the Sariens and Roger, who was asleep in a broom closet at the time, is the only survivor. Using his (limited) intellect and (dumb) luck, Roger is able to make it to the escape pod, and the adventure truly begins...
The interface of the game depends upon which version you are playing. The original EGA release utilized the AGI engine, and the primary means of input in this version was via the use of a text-based parser for issuing commands, and the use of the arrow keys for movement. In the VGA release, the game utilized the SCI engine, simlar to the version used in Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. In this version of the game, input is mouse driven, with an icon interface taking the place of the text driven command of the original release. This is the version that ships with the Space Quest Collection, and is the one I played for this review.
I found the interface to be as easy to use as I had remembered. I suspect that those who have never play any of these adventure games from this era will enjoy the mouse driven interface more than the text interface. The updated VGA graphics were ok; the graphics remind me of a bad 50s B-movie. The sound was solid as well, and featured digitized speech, which the original could not utilize (In fact, the original had to play sound through the internal PC speaker, as sound cards were not readily available when the original was released in 1986.)
The appeal of this game comes from several sources. First, via the natural puzzle solving challenges that are inherent in this genre. The puzzles are sufficiently challenging and humorous as to engage you, but not so frustrating (usually) as to drive you away. The various pithy comments the game gives you when you try various actions are also quite funny (use the hand icon on Roger, for example ) Lastly, half of the appeal of this game is finding the myriad of hilarious ways Roger can die. Trust me, you'll spend almost as much time trying to kill Roger as you will trying to beat the game. Just save often... 
Space Quest will probably give you 6-10 hours of gameplay, depending on your play style. It's not a long game by any stretch, but definitely a worthwhile weekend game.
System Requirements
8088/8086 CPU, 256KB RAM, CGA, EGA or VGA(for the remake) graphics, PC Speaker or Sound Card(for the remake), Keyboard (original) or Mouse(remake)
Ratings
I've decided to add a couple new rating categories, Attainability and Technical. Attainability is how easy it is to get the game legitimately, and Technical is how hard it is to get the game to run on Windows XP (my OS).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale, 1 is lame, 10 is Awesome Sauce!
Graphics: (7.5/10) - The VGA version is clean, easy to look at, and free from glitches that interfere with gameplay.
Sound: (6.5/10) - The sound is fairly clean, and the digitized speech is a nice touch. The speech crackles a little, but this is simply a result of the limitations of the technology at the time, and doesn't interfere with the game.
Game Play: (9/10) - The mouse-driven icon interface is very intuitive, and should be easy for a new player to pickup. You can scroll to the top and a menu with the icon choices appears, or you can right-click to cycle through the various actions available to you. The game itself has many funny pop culture and sci-fi references built into it, such that anyone in their 20s or older will appreciate them. For example, the "Star Generator" mentioned in the review section is a reference to the Genesis Device from Star Trek II. Trust me, there are plenty of others in the game.
Attainability: (9/10) - The Space Quest Collection, which is the version I recommend, was easy enough to find on eBay. A simple search yielded over 40 matches, and the collection can be had for about $10 shipped.
Technical: (10/10) - Pop CD in, run basic step by step install, play. Vivendi(which owns the rights to Sierra) licensed DOSBox and recoded the games to be fully compatible with Windows XP. Nice and simple.
Replay Value: (7/10) - The main plot itself doesn't change with multiple playthroughs. However, there are many puzzles that have multiple ways to be solved, and these different solutions can change how things progress through the game. Plus, you'll really want to find all the ways Roger can be killed, lol...
Overall: (8.5/10) - Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter is a quirky, fun game that will have you chuckling over and over again. It doesn't take itself seriously, and won't require a large investment of time to play. A fun throwback to the golden era of adventure games.
Well, that's it for this edition of Old School is Cool. Until next time, remember....
Old School is Cool.
Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter
This screenshot is from the VGA version of the game.
Release Date: Oct. 1986 (EGA version), Aug. 1991 (VGA version)Genre: Adventure
Developer: Sierra
Publisher: Sierra
Designer(s): Mark Crowe & Scott Murphy (aka the "Two Guys from Andromeda")
Game Mode(s): Single-Player
Platform: Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh
Engine: AGI (EGA version), SCI (VGA version)
History
I first came across this game when fellow Icrontian CB introduced it to me back in the late 80s. The original release of the game only had a 160x200 resolution, displaying a whopping 16 colors and featured an environment that allowed the character move behind and in front of objects. As I watched CB play, I found myself drawn into the game just as a spectator, as we bounced ideas back and forth about how to solve the various puzzles the game offered. I was able to get the game for myself, but at the time, the only system I had regularly available to me was my mom's office computer. Thankfully, it was able to run it, even though I had to make due with the grayscale monitor. As I would spend a lot of my time after school at my mom's office, I ended up spending time on this and other games avoiding sheer boredom.
So when I decided to go back to Space Quest for this blog, I was curious how easy it would be to find a legitimate copy. Thankfully, the Space Quest Collection was re-released by Vivendi back in 2006, and they licensed DOSBox for use in the re-release, making the games compatible in Windows XP without needed to go through any complicated setup. I was able to find the Space Quest Collection on eBay for about $10 shipped.
Review
Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter is a single-player sci-fi adventure game where you lead the character, Roger Wilco, through various mis-adventures. In The Sarien Encounter, Roger is a janitor aboard the spaceship Arcada, which has onboard a device named the "Star Generator" The Arcada is attacked by the Sariens and Roger, who was asleep in a broom closet at the time, is the only survivor. Using his (limited) intellect and (dumb) luck, Roger is able to make it to the escape pod, and the adventure truly begins...
The interface of the game depends upon which version you are playing. The original EGA release utilized the AGI engine, and the primary means of input in this version was via the use of a text-based parser for issuing commands, and the use of the arrow keys for movement. In the VGA release, the game utilized the SCI engine, simlar to the version used in Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. In this version of the game, input is mouse driven, with an icon interface taking the place of the text driven command of the original release. This is the version that ships with the Space Quest Collection, and is the one I played for this review.
I found the interface to be as easy to use as I had remembered. I suspect that those who have never play any of these adventure games from this era will enjoy the mouse driven interface more than the text interface. The updated VGA graphics were ok; the graphics remind me of a bad 50s B-movie. The sound was solid as well, and featured digitized speech, which the original could not utilize (In fact, the original had to play sound through the internal PC speaker, as sound cards were not readily available when the original was released in 1986.)
The appeal of this game comes from several sources. First, via the natural puzzle solving challenges that are inherent in this genre. The puzzles are sufficiently challenging and humorous as to engage you, but not so frustrating (usually) as to drive you away. The various pithy comments the game gives you when you try various actions are also quite funny (use the hand icon on Roger, for example
) Lastly, half of the appeal of this game is finding the myriad of hilarious ways Roger can die. Trust me, you'll spend almost as much time trying to kill Roger as you will trying to beat the game. Just save often... Space Quest will probably give you 6-10 hours of gameplay, depending on your play style. It's not a long game by any stretch, but definitely a worthwhile weekend game.
System Requirements
8088/8086 CPU, 256KB RAM, CGA, EGA or VGA(for the remake) graphics, PC Speaker or Sound Card(for the remake), Keyboard (original) or Mouse(remake)
Ratings
I've decided to add a couple new rating categories, Attainability and Technical. Attainability is how easy it is to get the game legitimately, and Technical is how hard it is to get the game to run on Windows XP (my OS).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale, 1 is lame, 10 is Awesome Sauce!
Graphics: (7.5/10) - The VGA version is clean, easy to look at, and free from glitches that interfere with gameplay.
Sound: (6.5/10) - The sound is fairly clean, and the digitized speech is a nice touch. The speech crackles a little, but this is simply a result of the limitations of the technology at the time, and doesn't interfere with the game.
Game Play: (9/10) - The mouse-driven icon interface is very intuitive, and should be easy for a new player to pickup. You can scroll to the top and a menu with the icon choices appears, or you can right-click to cycle through the various actions available to you. The game itself has many funny pop culture and sci-fi references built into it, such that anyone in their 20s or older will appreciate them. For example, the "Star Generator" mentioned in the review section is a reference to the Genesis Device from Star Trek II. Trust me, there are plenty of others in the game.
Attainability: (9/10) - The Space Quest Collection, which is the version I recommend, was easy enough to find on eBay. A simple search yielded over 40 matches, and the collection can be had for about $10 shipped.
Technical: (10/10) - Pop CD in, run basic step by step install, play. Vivendi(which owns the rights to Sierra) licensed DOSBox and recoded the games to be fully compatible with Windows XP. Nice and simple.
Replay Value: (7/10) - The main plot itself doesn't change with multiple playthroughs. However, there are many puzzles that have multiple ways to be solved, and these different solutions can change how things progress through the game. Plus, you'll really want to find all the ways Roger can be killed, lol...
Overall: (8.5/10) - Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter is a quirky, fun game that will have you chuckling over and over again. It doesn't take itself seriously, and won't require a large investment of time to play. A fun throwback to the golden era of adventure games.
Well, that's it for this edition of Old School is Cool. Until next time, remember....
Old School is Cool.
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Comments
MY first games EVER on an IBM PC were Space Quest games. Still love em! Now that I think about it, I wonder if I still have the originals at my parents house......