Set in the 40's, the game has a pulp setting, complete with a seasoned hero, his comical sidekick, exotic locales, sexy women and a mad scientist with German accent. It reminded me of such works as 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' or 'Heart of China' and (much intentionally) Indiana Jones.
I know that many people loved it but I never had a personal slant to it. It was well implemented and the graphics were beautiful, but something was lacking. Although comparable, it was not of equal quality to a LucasArts game and at points it seemed like a fan game. Some characters seemed to be out of place and to exist for no purpose other than displaying some humor and providing some puzzle.
Other than that, the creators did a good job imitating LucasArts' type of humor, and also made a good use by well-used adventure cliches such as
*a crowbar (an item necessary to most of the most well known adventures)
*vines (always found in a jungle, and turn out to be very useful)
*a sarcastic protagonist who sometimes seems out of place
*a protagonist with some gimmick he has fro the beginning of his adventure and never parts with it. In FOTAQ you start with a baseball bat, and it's useless until a couple of puzzles near the end.
*people who seem annoyed by the protagonist ("You again?")
*a Charon-like ferryman (seems to be a stock character in many earlier and later games)
*cross-references and tributes to other media, such as Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Indiana Jones makes a very very discreet appearance at some point.
*requirement to visit and revisit many times a scene and traverse the same places to and fro again and again (it was too bad that they didn't implement a 'zap' feature to make Joe walk faster. LucasArts did
)Recurring lines and inside jokes are numerous, such as:
- "I am Joe King, pilot for hire" (a greeting line said to almost everyone Joe meets)
- "Now that's what I call UGLY" (exclaimed several times by Joe as when you look at the witch doctor or some mummies)
- "You don't get out much, do you?" (usually said to characters who seem obsessed with the Commander Rocket comics)
- A frequent reference to some 'Bonzo the Clown'
- References about how annoying or dangerous are some archeologists
- Some comments with your sidekick now and then, about how your current adventure reminds you of a previous 'Borneo Incident'. Although the protagonists remember it fondly, the player never actually learns what exactly happened there, other than some absurd or surreal references ('I am not putting my head in a clay pot this time, no matter how many exotic dancers are there')
