I've been playing this on DOSBox, so I guess it's emulation now.
In my internet travels, I came across a collection of every classic Sierra Adventure ever produced, and I've decided to play "catch up" on all the titles I missed. I just polished off the Space Quest series (discounting 6, whose troubled development was very apparent through the 20 minutes I gave it) and have moved on to the Knight series. Regarding the first game ...
If you haven't played it ... DO, NOW. This is my favorite Sierra adventure. A lot of people give KQ6 that title, but I'd hand it out to GK1.
Its art and location design is nothing short of stunning -- every background looks like a lavish oil painting, and each area is filled out with knickknacks, "curios," and dusty merchandise which, though completely unnecessary to completing the game, yield an extra game's worth of entertainment. The amount of recorded description for lamp posts, trees, benches, jazz bands, desks, and antique drum sets is incredible. It must have been a true labor of love for the voice actress recording hundreds of lines like "The park administrators would not appreciate Gabriel doing that to the statue."
The breadth of conversation you can have with characters is also incredible. When a new topic becomes available, you can talk to EVERYBODY about it -- right down to asking your bartender about obscure voodoo idols. Every major character also has an enthralling personal history, which you can inquire about at length. And all this dialog comes from stellar veteran actors -- Tim Curry, Mark Hamill (whose Detective Mosely is one of my favorite characters in anything ever), Michael Dorn ...
Oh, and lest I forget, the puzzles, plot, and gameplay are awesome. The slowly unraveling murder mystery is gripping and, although there are some incredibly difficult puzzles, I only had to consult a walkthrough once.
Really, the level of detail in this game almost makes me feel like I'm visiting somewhere and meeting people. I don't think it's been met before or since.
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In my internet travels, I came across a collection of every classic Sierra Adventure ever produced, and I've decided to play "catch up" on all the titles I missed. I just polished off the Space Quest series (discounting 6, whose troubled development was very apparent through the 20 minutes I gave it) and have moved on to the Knight series. Regarding the first game ...
If you haven't played it ... DO, NOW. This is my favorite Sierra adventure. A lot of people give KQ6 that title, but I'd hand it out to GK1.
Its art and location design is nothing short of stunning -- every background looks like a lavish oil painting, and each area is filled out with knickknacks, "curios," and dusty merchandise which, though completely unnecessary to completing the game, yield an extra game's worth of entertainment. The amount of recorded description for lamp posts, trees, benches, jazz bands, desks, and antique drum sets is incredible. It must have been a true labor of love for the voice actress recording hundreds of lines like "The park administrators would not appreciate Gabriel doing that to the statue."
The breadth of conversation you can have with characters is also incredible. When a new topic becomes available, you can talk to EVERYBODY about it -- right down to asking your bartender about obscure voodoo idols. Every major character also has an enthralling personal history, which you can inquire about at length. And all this dialog comes from stellar veteran actors -- Tim Curry, Mark Hamill (whose Detective Mosely is one of my favorite characters in anything ever), Michael Dorn ...
Oh, and lest I forget, the puzzles, plot, and gameplay are awesome. The slowly unraveling murder mystery is gripping and, although there are some incredibly difficult puzzles, I only had to consult a walkthrough once.
Really, the level of detail in this game almost makes me feel like I'm visiting somewhere and meeting people. I don't think it's been met before or since.
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