SQ4: Impressions :SQ5

[AndreaDraco]

Yesterday evening I finished Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. What can I say? The series is definitely growing on me.

I liked this chapter. A lot. And the final moment, the confrontation between Wilco and Vohaul, Wilco's discoveries about his future and his last dialogue with his long-lost son enthralled me! I was so captivated that, after the closing credit (Jane Jensen voiced Maebot! ), I started immediately SQ5! I was so happy...

... then I saw the horrible Dynamix dialogue bubbles, the grainy text and the name of Mark Crowe nowhere to be seen!

I'm really ignorant of this series, so I ask you experts: what the hell happened between SQ4 and SQ5?

(Oh, by the way, I'll play it no matter what; I just hope that it is as good as the 4th one)

[Tawmis]

Sort of like LSL4, there's a SQ4.5 that you have not played!

Actually SQ4 is my favorite (of the high res games, where as SQIII is my favorite of the low res)... That said, SQ5 is still a fun game. I think it might be a little more fun if you're more familiar with Star Trek (which I am not, I am more of a Star Wars geek) - since it seems to make a lot of jabs and have a lot of similarities to Star Trek. SQ5 may not have the son and the fun of SQ4 that you're familiar with - but wait till you meet your "Crew" on SQ5 - they should provide you quite a bit of entertainment. As a matter of fact, my avatar on the Sierra forums forever (when they allowed custom avatars) was a blue version of one of your crew members to be in SQ5 (won't say who or what, so I don't spoil too much).

[Datadog]

No sign of Mark Crowe? You mean Scott Murphy, right?

What happened between games was that the Two Guys split up, so it was just Mark Crowe helming SQ5. Scott didn't return until after he joined Josh Mandel partway into production on SQ6.

[AndreaDraco]

No sign of Mark Crowe? You mean Scott Murphy, right?

Yes! Sorry, I meant him, of course!

@Tawmis: I hope that the son/wife storyline would be continued, because I find it really entertaining. I read an interview with Scott Murphy and he was really bitter about the splitting and the direction of the last two games, not to mention the harsh comments he made on Josh Mandel.

[Tawmis]

I can only imagine. I mean - you dump blood, sweat and tears into something - and they do some of the things he claimed (not even knowing SQ5 was being developed - until he learned by accident?) - I can see how one might get bitter. I know if there was something I created, and worked so hard on - and someone else comes along and takes it from me - you can bet I am gonna be bitter myself.

But that said - if you remove yourself from the drama - and play the games for what they are - just games - I think you still might enjoy yourself.

[Collector]

Another thing about SQ5 is that it was developed by Dynamix, a subsidiary of Sierra at the time, where Mark Crowe had moved on to. It was still done with SCI.

[AndreaDraco]

But that said - if you remove yourself from the drama - and play the games for what they are - just games - I think you still might enjoy yourself.

I intend to. But I was really curious about the back-story.

@Collector: unfortunately, Dynamix hand is pretty clear: man, I hate their bubbles!

[MusicallyInspired]

SQ5 is very different from the first 4 games, but it's not a bad game. Not my favourite, but not a bad one. It's one of the funniest, actually. And yes, the story does continue. In SQ5 you meet your wife-to-be (but she thinks your a bumbling dork).

Sadly, don't expect much from SQ6 as they seemed to flush that story down the tubes. Some loser named Stellar Santiago, who thinks Roger is the best thing since sliced bread, takes on the rold of his semi-love interest and Beatrice is nowhere to be seen (except for a single line of thought dialogue by Roger saying something to the effect that if he gets involved with Stellar Beatrice will have his head) creating an annoying form of a phantom love triangle (I say phantom because Beatrice is no where in the game at all). But to its credit, in my opinion SQ6 is the funniest in the series aside from the lacking storyline.

[jujigatame]

I always thought SQ5 was the best of the series. It had great graphics, the same trademark humor, and for the first time a really fun supporting cast of characters. Also for the first time the gameplay seemed a little less "cheap" than usual. There were less unfair dead-ends and sudden deaths.

It just stinks they never came out with a CD talkie version. I mean the game came out in 1993, around the time of Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, Gabriel Knight 1, Police Quest 4, and Quest for Glory 4. It seemed like it was the only adventure game of its day not to get a CD version. I still wonder why that was.

[QuestCollector]

I really liked SQ5 a lot. I felt that the story was very in depth and the game is actually long, especially on the first playthough. It took me several weeks to beat this game.

What I missed the most through SQ5 was not having Gary Owens narrating. In my opinion he made SQ4 and SQ6 even better!

[jujigatame]

I'm actually replaying SQ6 right now for the first time since I got it new back in 1995. I have to say, I liked it a lot when it came out, but now playing it after the first 5 games, it hasn't aged well. The plot doesn't flow from the previous games at all and the first part of the game (on Polysorbate 60) is pretty tedious and unenjoyable. Kind of a letdown after really enjoying replaying SQ1-5 in DOSBox.

[DeadPoolX]

I really enjoyed SQ5. Maybe the art style was different and the tone somewhat more serious in various areas, but I still liked it. Maybe it was because Roger wasn't completely insulted throughout the game.

Granted, Roger becomes the captain of a garbage scow, but at least it's his own ship and he's not a janitor. Interestingly enough, Roger's uniform is red and since the game borrows heavily from Star Trek, I have to wonder if that was done on purpose. On the other hand, red (or maroon) was the command color in ST:TNG and other later shows

Overall, I thought SQ5 was highly enjoyable and expanded a lot on Roger future family. He meets Beatrice (and she becomes an important part of his adventure) and forms a relationship with her. In SQ4, Roger's son shows him an image of his mother -- Roger's future wife -- and she appears to look a lot like Bea.

Unfortunately, SQ6 does away with Roger's captaincy and demotes him back to that of a janitor. I really disliked SQ6 -- which was the first time I didn't care for an SQ game. Maybe others shared my feelings and that's one reason (among many) that no new games in the series were ever created.

[Collector]

Interestingly enough, Roger's uniform is red and since the game borrows heavily from Star Trek, I have to wonder if that was done on purpose. On the other hand, red (or maroon) was the command color in ST:TNG and other later shows

And in the original series red was the color of engineering (as in sanitation engineer?)

I, too, liked 5 more than many SQ fans seem to like.

[DeadPoolX]

Interestingly enough, Roger's uniform is red and since the game borrows heavily from Star Trek, I have to wonder if that was done on purpose. On the other hand, red (or maroon) was the command color in ST:TNG and other later shows

And in the original series red was the color of engineering (as in sanitation engineer?)

I, too, liked 5 more than many SQ fans seem to like.

Well, yeah... red was the color of engineering, so that works too. I was thinking more along the lines of the "expendable red shirt" in the original series of Star Trek.