The Colonel's Bequest

The Good
I loved this game from the first 10 minutes after installing and playing it. The game was very different from the usual Roberta Williams designs. The game is set up like a drama play that you are actually participating in except that the choices you make during the game effect the outcome of it all. It was probably one of the first of it's kind. The atmosphere of the plantation is downright errie, scenes ranging from a creepy "Chucky-Like" doll house, an abandoned chapel, mucky swamps and of course the main attraction, the huge mansion! All around you and throughout the game, there are people conspiring and plotting with and against each other trying to rub each other out for the Colonel's inheritance. As you move through the game (or through acts), you must take notes, interrogate people, spy on people, eavesdrop on conversations and solve puzzles to find out who-dunnit. There are some pretty creepy scenes you sometimes stumble on to which adds to the suspense. Another great thing about this amazing game is that there are multiple endings! and a meter guide to tell you how well you did as a detective... this game is a one of a kind. Roberta Williams did it again!

The Bad
The copy protection was terrible. It was annoying having to distinguish between those blotchy finger prints.

Sometimes it was hard to know what to do to trigger the next event, sometimes leaving you aimlessly wandering for awhile.

The Bottom Line
A great one of a kind mystery adventure game that was the first of many detective adventure games that were soon to follow. A must play for all adventure game lovers..

The Good
Back when this game came out there just wasn’t that many serious adventure type games out there. Most games were either simulations or SimAdventures. Part sim part adventure game. (I.E. Police Quest) This game was very unique. The main role was played by a Woman, and was based on mystery.

 When I started playing this game I became totally hooked.  My heart would beat a little faster when the clock advanced or I saw that another guest had been murdered.  I actually began to fear for Laura's safety!   I was in total love with the excellent graphics and music that this title had.  (Note: it was released in 1989)  When the game ended I felt that I had experienced something special.  If I had to rate games on just that emotion alone then this game would be in my top 3 games of all time!  I played this game over and over again just to try to recapture that feeling.

I have lots of fond memories of this game. I am sure that many others do too.


The Bad
...Well, when I read the other review of this game I felt that he had a point. When you look at this game from the point of view of today, then it looks very different. I imagine that it would be hard for a person to pick up this title and play it today. The graphics are over 12 years old, some of the action is predictable, and generally it would feel old. But that is what it is. I doubt that new gamers of today would find this title as enjoyable as I did 11 years ago, but that is the way of things.

The Bottom Line
Give this game a shot, but remember it's 12 years old. Don't expect it to be fresh and original.

The Good
Unlike other reviewers, I have a lasting affection for this game. "The Colonel's Bequest" is built around the kitschy, mid-1920s atmosphere of an Agatha Christie novel. The unusual structure and limited locations place emphasis on plotline rather than discovery, and this seems to be one of the things that annoys people about it. As things progress, though, as the guests at the mansion start dropping, as the rooms become deserted and you're wandering around with an ever-decreasing circle of suspects, the game comes into its own. The (surviving) flaky characters become more real, and the dark, windblown island becomes an eerie wasteland.

The Bad
Take away the atmosphere and structure and you're left with typical Roberta Williams; lightly drawn cliches for characters, bad jokes, and moments of frustration as the difficulty level periodically soars. The take-it-or-leave it Sierra mentality also shows through, with several highly logical actions being made impossible.

The Bottom Line
The Colonel's Bequest doesn't have the near-universal appeal of, say, Hero's Quest 1. People who are even slightly irritated by Sierra humor or Roberta Williams will probably dislike this game intensely. Having said that, if you accept the game's faults and compromises, if, in other words, you achieve the necessary suspension of disbelief, you may find great enjoyment in an old, Southern murder tale.