Path: news.uh.edu!barrett From: kcci1@central.sussex.ac.uk (Alan L.M. Buxey) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Subject: REVIEW: Simon the Sorcerer (Talkie) CD32 Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.games Date: 12 Sep 1994 20:49:41 GMT Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Lines: 225 Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Distribution: world Message-ID: <352et5$c5@masala.cc.uh.edu> Reply-To: kcci1@central.sussex.ac.uk (Alan L.M. Buxey) NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu Keywords: game, AGA, CD32, CD-ROM, adventure, speech, commercial Originator: barrett@karazm.math.uh.edu PRODUCT NAME Simon the Sorcerer (Talkie) CD32 BRIEF DESCRIPTION This is a CD32 silver disc conversion of the AGA floppy based Amiga game "Simon The Sorcerer." AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Adventure Soft Address: PO Box 786 Sutton Coldfield West Midlands B74 4HG UK Telephone: 021 352 0847 Distributers: PDQ 021-625-3377 LIST PRICE This copy cost 39.99 UKP from a computer store with a blue and yellow sign in Portsmouth, UK. ;) SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE A CD32. A mouse is recommended. (The joypad is usable.) Audio speakers of some sort, to hear the speech. (Otherwise you wont be able to play the game.) SOFTWARE None. COPY PROTECTION None that is visible to the user. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING CD32 equipped with: FMV (Full Motion Video) module. Mouse. INSTALLATION Just insert the silver CD into the CD32 and boot up! :) INTRODUCTION For those that haven't played or heard of Simon The Sorcerer ("STS"), here is a quick description. STS is a graphical adventure in the same vein as many of the LucaArts productions (e.g., Monkey Island I & II). The background story is that a boy named Simon is given a dog as a present. With this dog comes a weird scroll. Well, while playing with the dog one day, the scroll is rediscovered and activated. The Result? A warp tunnel to another dimension of course! :) The dog jumps in and Simon follows... this is shown in the game as an Attract Mode intro sequence. Game on.... I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW..? The first thing that might hit you, if you have played only the OCS/ECS version before, is the graphics. This is the AGA version here, most definitely. This means that 256 colour palettes have been used unsparingly to give a very atmospheric feeling to the game. Indeed, some of the scenery in the woods and caves looks extremely lifelike. But there is still the "sweeping" problem... that is, the mouse must almost always be swept over the whole scene to discover objects - as they are not well defined. There again, if they were, the objects would be too obvious and the adventure would be too easy. SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING'S COMING The sound! The sound! wow! incredible. Valhalla may have claimed to be the first ever Amiga speech adventure, but this game wipes it into the ground - to the other side of the world! Every character in the game speaks. Every single person has a different accent (no "all scottish a la Liberation" here!!). There is no repetition of samples. In fact, the main character (Simon) is voiced by the famous "Chris Barry" (of `Red Dwarf' and `Brittas Empire' fame). The other voices are done by famous impersonators (well, within British television entertainment circles anyway). The speech means that all text that used to be printed to the screen is now absent. The only text is for your use: to select what you want to say to the other characters. Thus, without sound, the game cannot be played since you can't hear what is said. The music has been revamped too (slightly). It can be turned off if desired, and it is not required for playing the game. HUMOUR The game is very enjoyable, not just because it is a long lasting adventure game (at least a weeks worth of brain usage), but also because of the constant bombardment of humourous touches. Silly sketches and references to classic fairy tales constantly abound, not to mention plain and classic British humour!! :) You learn to like the depressed woodman, Swamp thing, barman - the list is endless. THE END Eventually I will finish the game. So I don't know whether there is an ending animation (which is unfortunate really - as I would really like to say whether there is...). But it will take me a while yet. DOCUMENTATION A brief, printed manual is supplied with STS. It details enough that you can get started, but not too much to give the game away. ;) If you are new to graphical adventures, you MAY get stuck, but the point'n'click interface is so easy that documentation is almost made redundant. For example, to use the whistle, you click on "Use", and then click on the picture of the whistle in your inventory. (I won't tell you where to do this, though. ;)) LIKES The graphics. They use the palette fully and are beautifully drawn. The sound. Real voices for every character! :) Data: 2 hours of speech. Over 3,500 individual samples. The game - a great graphical adventure that will waste many hours!! DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS The background music. Too repetitive. Luckily, it can be turned off. The speed of Simon's sprite. He lurches along as if he's pulling a 2 ton weight behind him. I thought that this would have been fixed for the CD32 version. (It doesn't damage the game, though.) Some samples click at the end; however, this is not noticeable with the music on. ;) COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS Liberation on the CD32 was a different type of adventure. It was an RPG (Role Playing Game), so that doesn't count. (STS is better though. ;)) Until "Beneath A Steel Blue Sky" comes out for the CD32, this is the only graphical adventure so far available. BUGS None found so far. VENDOR SUPPORT I have not contacted the vendor for support yet. I can see no need for anyone to do so either. Any hints required for the game can be found in magazines and on Aminet. As for support... Simon The Sorcerer 2 will be coming out in November!! New storyline, new plot, new characters! Expect a preview on Usenet. ;) WARRANTY 28 days warranty from the shop where it was purchased. The warranty is applicable only to the holder of the receipt. CONCLUSIONS This is the best ever CD32 game so far!!!! :) :) Sorry for my over enthusiasm, but this game breaks the mould of all other console games. There isn't a single console game like it on any other platform. Once again, the CD32 creates a first in the industry!! No game will ever be "perfect," so 98% is all that I can award it. ;) COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1994 Alan Buxey. All rights reserved. (But if you want to quote something from within this review, you can.) - Alan Buxey kcci1@solx1.susx.ac.uk --- Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews