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SPACE QUEST IV

ROGER WILCO AND THE TIME RIPPERS

FLOPPY REVIEW

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YEAR:  1991                

 

SIZE:  5.89 MB

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PLATFORMS:  SCUMM, DOSBox

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Exciting story

+  Lots of humour

+  Gorgeous VGA graphics

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-  Tricky arcade mini-game

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STORY

 

Picture the scene:  A busy space bar in Magmetheus.  Drinks flowing.  

Loud chatter.  And a young man recounting tales of bravery.  

 

Yes, Roger Wilco is trying to relax and unwind, during his long trip back

home to Xenon, so he decides to drop in at this delightful bar for a bit

of cheerful company.  After everything he’s been through in the last

few games, he deserves a break.  And he’ll happily tell anyone who’ll

listen, how he rescued The Two Guys From Andromeda from the evil

ScumSoft corporation, and how he was the only one that could defeat

Sludge Vohaul.  But his heroic deeds become more… heroic… with each

telling - not that Roger would ever exaggerate, you understand!  

 

But Roger’s good mood is not to last.  Two ‘Sequel Police’ barge into

the bar, and drag poor Roger outside, where they proceed to play him a

hologram message from… VOHAUL???  But… But isn’t Vohaul dead?  

Didn’t Roger defeat him, back in Space Quest II, when he pulled out his

life-support system?  What on earth is going on here???  

 

Well, yes and no.  Roger DID defeat Vohaul.  But unknown to Roger,

Vohaul managed to download himself (or at least, his consciousness)

onto disk, before he died.  So now he’s back, and he’s rather ticked off

at Roger for ruining his plans for world domination AGAIN.  He wants

revenge!  

 

So just as Vohaul orders his Sequel Police to open fire on Roger… two

mysterious strangers appear from nowhere, and save our favourite

janitor.  They open a time-rip for Roger to jump through, thus escaping

Vohual’s clutches.  

 

But what’s on the other side of the time-rip?  Why, it’s Roger’s own

planet - Xenon.  He’s finally home again!  Except… it’s not quite how he

remembers it.  The place is rather desolate.  And when he looks at the

status bar (yes, he really does look at the status bar), he sees he’s in

the future.  And what’s the deal with those cyborg-zombies?  

 

After a bit of exploring, he discovers that Vohaul implemented a virus,

which brought about the destruction of his beloved Xenon.  And now, in

the future, Vohaul is somehow supreme leader.  

 

So that’s where Roger’s adventure begins.  He has to travel back and

forth in time, figuring out how to stop Vohaul, and put things back how

they’re supposed to be.  But he can’t do it without your help.  

 

And the stakes get a whole lot more personal for Roger in his final

showdown with Vohaul, when he discovers that one of the strangers

that rescued him at the start… is actually his son!  A son that hasn’t

been born yet.  With a wife he hasn’t even met yet.  

 

Time travel is a confusing business!  

 

 

 

 

HANDY TIP

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Pay careful attention to any time-codes you see in the time pod, or

anywhere else.  Make sure you take a note of these codes - you will

need them to return to certain time-periods of the game.  And the

codes change with each play through.  
 

 

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GAMEPLAY

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Some big changes have occurred in Space Quest IV, and it looks and

plays very differently to the previous Space Quest games.  

 

Space Quest IV:  Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers continues the

adventures of Roger.  But the introduction of the Point & Click interface

makes things significantly easier.  


The first thing you’ll notice, is that the text parser that lets you type in

commands has gone.  Instead, it’s been replaced with icons that you

can click on to interact with Roger’s world.  What’s more, those icons

are safely tucked away at the top of the screen, so it doesn’t get in the

way of what’s happening on-screen. To access them, just move your

mouse cursor up there.  

 

The icons are:  Walk, Look, Pick Up, and Talk.  There is also 2 additional

icons - Smell, and Taste.  And while these icons are not really necessary

to the game, you’ll have a LOT of fun trying them out on everything!  

Your inventory is stored in a handy bag, also accessible from the menu

at top of the screen.  The Eye icon gives a more detailed description of

any of your items, while the Hand icon allows you to manipulate items

in your Inventory.  The Slider Bar brings you to the Game Menu, and

from there, you can Save, Restore, Restart, or Quit your game.  There is

also sliding scales, allowing you to adjust Detail, Volume, and Speed, to

your own preference.  Your score is also shown in the Game Menu, so

you can keep an eye on how well you’re doing.  

 

Additionally, as you use the mouse to control Roger now, you can click

on part of the screen, and Roger will walk there, automatically walking

AROUND obstacles, rather than stopping at each little hurdle.  

 

We take these things for granted today, but back it 1991, it was all very

new and exciting.  

 

The humour is this game is top-notch.  It breaks the fourth wall, and

isn’t afraid to make fun of itself (as well as everything else).  As

mentioned above, Roger looks at his status bar to see that he’s in

Space Quest XII (if only that game really existed!).  And of course, the

infamous Death Messages are here.  But my favourite part is when

Roger has to buy a ‘Space Quest IV Hintbook’, so that you (the player)

can get some tips, and some crucial information, in solving the puzzles.  

I should mention that there is a tricky arcade mini-game in Monolith

Burger, where you have to make burgers on a conveyor belt, using

ingredients in the correct order.  Luckily, this mini-game is skippable.  

There is also a point later in the game, that due to modern computers

being faster than old computers, it’s very hard to escape the droid

chasing you.  But that’s easily overcome, by slowing your speed right

down, allowing yourself more time to act. 

 

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GRAPHICS

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Graphics are another improvement over the previous Space Quest

games, showing that Sierra strived to make each game better than the

last.  Space Quest IV boast stunning VGA graphics, which are just

gorgeous to look at!  

 

The game begins with a cinematic intro (skippable), showing Roger

relaxing in the space bar, and the Sequel Police coming for him, then

Roger jumping through the (very colourful) time-rip, and ending up in

the future.  

 

Conversations are shown in nice little text boxes, with the Narrator‘s

text box being slightly different to anyone else‘s, so it stands out.  

Inventory items are shown as icons, so you can easily see what you’re

carrying.  Clicking the Eye icon on an inventory item gives you more

details about it, while clicking the Hand icon on an inventory item lets

you manipulate it.  The inventory box automatically expands as Roger

collects more things, rather than scrolling.  


Even NPCs are beautifully animated, and get on with their own lives

regardless of whether Roger is there or not.  For example, aliens in the

arcade are so engrossed in their arcade games, they don’t care who else

is around.  And I love how the green alien wiggles his hand frantically,

as he tries to beat his arcade game.  Or shoppers in the mall go about

their business.  I’m impressed how view from the time-pod cockpit

changes, depending on where Roger is.  Ulence Flats was an

interesting place, with Roger in VGA style, while the rest of the place

was old EGA.  There are some really lovely touches, like that cute wee

alien outside the bar in the intro.  Or the way the tall alien comes

crashing through the shop sign as she leaves the shop, because she is

so tall.  And the variety of different alien species just amazes me!  

 

There is so much to explore and love about Space Quest IV!  

 

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SOUND AND MUSIC

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Space Quest IV is the first game in the series to boast a proper sound-

track, rather than just beeps through the computer speaker.  And wow,

we are treated to some really beautiful music throughout the game.  

Everything from the spooky ‘Careful You Don’t Get Caught’ music at

start of the game, to the fanfare as Roger travels through time, to the

funky music in Sacks Clothes Shop, and everything in between, is a

pleasure to listen to.  

 

Sound Effects are equally impressive.  A satisfying ‘tinkle’ is heard is

Roger picks up a new item.  The cyborg-zombie screaming at you sends

chills down my spine.  Thunder crashes realistically in the distance, in

SQXII.  The sea slug in Estros lets out a frightening roar.  But special

mention goes to the arcade!  It sounds just like an arcade should, with

different noises coming from different arcade machines, and all of

them clashing with each other.  It’s just wonderful!  

 

Give the game a try - you won’t be disappointed!

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