Customer Reviews

Space Quest Collection

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought a couple of these re-release sets over the years trying to make them work on newer computers. Vivendi finally took some time here to polish up these games and get them working on modern hardware. I have tested and played through the intro to each of these games and did some basic gameplay.

Vivendi has licensed a program called DosBox to act as middleware between DOS emulation and Windows XP. This means the games finally run properly on new computers. The sound is properly redirected through sound cards under Windows. Even the beeps and bleeps of the PC speaker sound from Space Quest II come through on my Sound Blaster Audigy 2. I had not been able to play the sound for Space Quest III since I sold my old 486 about 8 years ago.

The games also play at the proper speed. No longer does the character move at light-speed regardless of the setting you make in the game. The games all seem to be playable and enjoyable. Included in the set is the VGA remake of Space Quest I, the talking CD-ROM version of Space Quest IV, and the CD-ROM version of Space Quest VI. It might have been nice to see the other versions of those games included, but the quality of what has been included here is first rate. There is also a manual included in PDF format from one of the earlier releases of the anthology.

Thank you Vivendi for resurrecting some of my favorite adventure games from my childhood and for taking the time to make a polished interface to make them work properly!! I hope the rest of the Sierra games will be released soon. You certainly can't beat the price for these at all!

I also bought the King's Quest Compilation and I expect it to be just as great based on my impressions of the Space Quest Compilation.

The Space Quest series games easily hold their own among the funniest, funnest and most enjoyable adventure games ever. The main character is Roger Wilco, intergalactic janitor extraordinaire. All he wants to do is nap in the broom closet, but he is the only one who has what it takes to save the world: luck, disregard for personal safety, and extremely large pockets. Each game involves different circumstances, various planets, shopping malls and restaurants, and villains, from the nefarious Sludge Vohaul to legions of insurance salesman, game pirates (the Pirates of Pestulon), the Time Rippers, and more. Fans of other popular science fiction franchises will appreciate the many spoofs that abound. My kids like the humor and interplanetary travel. Age has done nothing to diminish the playability and fun of these games. If you like adventures games with challenging situations, off-beat humor, pleasing graphics (considering the evolution of gaming as these were initially released), engaging plot, complex character interaction and just plain good fun, then you definitely will enjoy this series. Great value for price too considering each single game tends to sell for much more on internet marketplaces, if and when you can find them. Recommended for all ages.

It was the 80s. Ms. Pac-man was the rage, nintendo revolutionized our view of the video game system, and the PC game market was in its early stages. Among the first graphical adventure games, the Space Quest series is the beloved creation of the Two Guys from Andromeda. This witty, comical series is the story of one lowly space janitor and his rise to fecal fame. The games make light of the great space movies, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens, and Buck Rogers among many others.

Not for the adventure gaming faint of heart, the Space Quest series was known for its many and creative ways to die. While I personally love this fact, modern gamers may find it frustrating. The graphics are period specific think 80s and early 90s with beeping and chirping computers. But isn't that exactly why you'd buy a series compilation like this?

This compilation is designed for people like me, who either enjoy the games the first time out, or are old enough to remember when you knew 16 ways of telling a parser interfact to "look at object." It's the kind of old school nostalgia that keeps us feeling young, but knowing that we're getting old.

Note: In spite of the care given to putting this collection together, some thing are noticibly absent or were not fixed. In SQIV, even with DOS-box, timer issues abound. But fixes and patches can be found online. Missing from the collection is the original (non-VGA icon interface) version of the original Space Quest game.

Space Quest IV was the game that captured my attention as a young computer gaming. The wonderful characters, humorous situations, beautiful hand-painted scenes all combined to immerse me in a game like nothing I had seen before. From that point I was hooked on all computer adventure games, especially from Sierra. I played the remaining games available in the Space Quest series, the King's Quest series, QFG, PQ, Laura Bow and on and on. I am very glad to see these games re-released, and am looking immensely forward to playing them again. Here's to nostalgia. Now if we can just get some of the others (QFG, Quest for Camelot, Laura Bow) re-released, that would be great!

The Space Quest collection is a must for those ex-adventure gamers and Sierra fans from the `80s and early `90s. These were once the cutting edge of gaming. Space Quest was the first game we got for our PC and the color and pseudo-3D look was revolutionary. Sadly, this collection doesn't have the original EGA version of SQ1. The VGA update really wasn't much of an improvement for the most part (as it was with the King's Quest 1 VGA update). Many people will miss seeing the original. The puzzles and locations haven't changed, however. The classic parser interface will bring back memories from the pre-mouse era. SQ2 and SQ3 are also classics and I think the series reached its pinnacle with SQ3. Oddly the digital sound I had on my old Tandy SL2 is missing in SQ3.

SQ4 introduced all voice and mouse interface. The mouse interface, first seen in Sierra's Rise of the Dragon, removed the inherent frustration factors in the parser-text system, though long-time adventure gamers probably took awhile to get use to it. The VGA graphics are great, but at times seem too static, too much like paintings and not enough animation. Granted, each Sierra game pushed the available technology. SQ5 is a mixed bag. The voice work and extensive digital sound of SQ4 is gone. The graphics seem crisper, but some animations seem to have fallen back to SQ1. The storyline is strong, though exploration on the various planets is limited. SQ6 brings back the superior sound design, updated mouse interface and superior graphics and animations. It would be the last game before the Sierra that we classic gamers knew, fell apart along with the market for classic adventure gaming.

The problem was, while Sierra pushed the envelope of the games' technical features, they never advanced the adventure game concept itself. They should have brought the adventure games into true 3D first person style like was exploding in the FPS (first person shooter) market (Sierra would later produce Half-life). The Tomb Raider series would produce the quest/puzzle solving/FPS combination that Sierra should have pioneered. Imagine SQ or King's Quest in a true 3D environment? Now with the next generation of 3D and FPS game tech, maybe Sierra (or what is now Sierra) will go back and redo some of these classics. The level of detail and interaction now possible was unimaginable when these classics were first released (and they were ahead of their time!).

I loved these games the first time around. However, the original boxes came with some very important information for solving the puzzles. This new 'manual' doesn't have that information and the files aren't on the discs. You don't get a star chart for SQ5: The Next Mutation, and Janitorial Hot Spots isn't with SQ6: The Spinal Frontier. That means you have to use a cheat sheet to solve the homing beacon puzzle is SQ6, since you don't have the information to solve it.
The packaging isn't what you'd expect from a re-release compilation. It's a cardboard box with a CD in a paper sleeve and once piece of paper (with information on how to fix an error when installing the King's Quest compilation!) How hard would it be to include some of that fun paperwork we loved from before, like the Galactic Inquirer, the information we need to play the games, and maybe put the discs in an actual plastic case?
That said, I'm so excited about being able to play these games on my computer again. SQ6 was the last to go, but when I got my current computer it started glitching, so I was very happy to hear about the re-release of this and the King's Quest games. The games are certainly worth buying the compilation for (as long as you still have your paperwork from the origina versions.)

I would have preferred to have the original SQ1 (instead of the VGA remake)... and I was glad to find that I can choose to use text instead of speech for SQIV, as I had the text-based version as a kid. The manual (as another reviewer said--taken from a different I-V compilation, with SQ6 tacked on) and having to print it out yourself annoyed me at first... but it's not really a big deal considering the big plus of having all these games that will actually work on my current computer.

I also bought the King's Quest Collection, which also does not include the first original (it has the SCI remake), and KQV has speech instead of text without any option to choose.

I think Vivendi could have put a little more into both these collections, or at least more detailed advertising as to what versions of these older games are included (I was expecting all of the original releases, not remakes). But for Space/King's Quest fans they are handy to have!

I have always loved Space Quest and it's great to be able to play the old "3D Animated Adventure Games" (As we called them in the day) on a modern computer. They all look great and act great, but it feels very pieced together. In a game so heavy with copy protection, it would have been nice to have an actual instruction book, instead of having to print the copy protection out. And the documentation is just the documentation of a previous collection that had Space Quest 1 - 5 and then they tacked on Space Quest 6. Nothing new was added and the older version of Space Quest 1 was left out. Still, what you're paying for is the games, and the games are worth every penny! I highly reccomend picking this up while it's still on the shelves!

Bought this because I grew up playing the games - it's great and convenient to have all the games AND manual on the same CD. This is a classic set and only true gamers would appreciate this. Highly Reccomended - kills boredom, I usually play on my laptop on long trips lol.

I haven't quite finished these games, but I think I like them. However, I'm fond of old games like these, while most people prefer newer stuff. I was disappointed that Space Quest I was a remake, and not the original. In its new form it was extremely easy, but worth it in my opinion. I have not finished Space Quest II, because of a small bug which prevents my progress (tech support has not been good about getting back to me), but I like it very much so far. The story lines of Space Quest III and IV reminded me of bad fan-fiction, but I mostly play for the puzzles and I enjoyed them. Space Quest V is my favorite right now; the play was great and the writers did a good job making the plot less ridiculous, but still tying it in with the previous games. I haven't quite finished Space Quest VI, but so far I am not impressed. The puzzles are more complicated and engaging, but it is almost not worth the playing. The plot and characters do not mesh well with those of the previous games, and the stupid attempts at 3-year-old humor are disgusting (people picking their noses, eating earwax, etc.). Furthermore, it seems someone forgot to include the entirety of this game's manual. Apparently, some information necessary to complete the game was supposed to be in the manual, but I had to find it in an on-line hint site.

In summery, I have found these games to be entertaining and engaging, but not quite as good as the King's Quest and Laura Bow games.