Space Quest 6: Roger Wilco in the Spinal Frontier

The Good
The humor. Period. This is almost certainly the funniest SQ game released, and almost every text box read by Gary Owens is hysterical. Their radio commercial jingle for "Soylent Clear" is an absolute classic. ("Less people too, like me and you, and less reprocessed waste!") There's nary a sci-fi movie (or game) made which isn't lampooned. And, unlike previous adventures, this is a rather lengthy game.

The Bad
The gameplay just didn't feel like Space Quest. The puzzles were way too convoluted for my taste, often with very little payoff. We're talking some on the level of Monkey Island 2, with you having to spend two days, solving a half-dozen puzzles (each with multiple steps), just to turn a lousy dial or something. (which, in turn, is just part of a bigger puzzle) The cartoony graphics sometimes worked really well, and sometimes fell flat.

The Bottom Line
If you can find it for cheap, it's worth picking up JUST for the humor. It's a shame this couldn't be made into a movie; it's far funnier than Spaceballs or any other parody.

The Good
Well there were great moments in this game that made me laugh so hard. (Mr souent commerical) (First Beam Down) (Boot Liquor) (Stoge Fighter 3) (The rejection note from Ken Williams) The opening sequence was classic Space Quest. (Note to future designer of SQ. Should you be so blessed as to be able to do another sequal please keep Gary Owen, without him this game would have been a total mistake.)

The Bad
First of all The game was much shorter than a normal adventure game. I finished the game this weekend (started sat finished sun) (note that I cheated a little on some of the puzzels so it didnt take as long as it should, but even still there wasnt that much in the game) Basicly there was only 4 locations that the game took place in. (Pollysorbate 60, Deepship 86, sorbi's planet and then a surprisingly short period inside santago). I was very surprised that this game was over so soon. But also I though that the lines with Santago & Roger were horrible. I found myself clicking through the dialogue just so we could get back to the laughs. The ending with roger and santago was a great example of how they went off track in this game. I have loved the Space Quest series. I hold this game very dear to my heart because it was one of the first great adventure games that I ever played (SQ3). SQ6 didnt feel like a space quest though. It almost felt like that the orginal makers of SQ left after writing the Polysorbate 60 lines and then someone else took over to quickly finish the game so it could be sold. It is sad that Sq6 isnt as funny as the others. I hope that someone will give this series another try but I fear that the end has come. And if it has then SQ6 was a terrible way to go. :-(

The Bottom Line
No where near as funny as the other Space Quest's. I recommed only to experienced Sq players that havent played it yet. BUT not to players that have never tried any of the others. I would hate to give people the impression that all of the other SQ's are just like 6.

The Good
I honestly like this game. It is definitely the funniest game in the series and one of the most humorous games of all time -- up there with Monkey Island 2 and 3 and Zork: Grand Inquisitor. The graphics are highly effective and, they evoke the proper feeling. The puzzles are definitely some of the series's most challenging and are highly involved; I found this to be a plus, although others may agree.

The Bad
Now, I like the involved puzzles, but a few are quite difficult. While many people complain about the homing beacon puzzle, it is really not all that hard if you concentrate. The puzzles that really gave me problems were the hookah hose problem and some of the puzzles inside Steller's body. Again, like Space Quest IV, there is a strange timing issue in the sickbay when you try to read the results of the DNA test. Disable your CPU's internal cache from the BIOS config and move speed all the way up and detail all the way down. Remember to turn the cache on again when you are finished (don't try this in Windows--trust me).

The Bottom Line
In my opinion, a great game. It has a good story, complex, involving puzzles, and hilarious dialogue and narration. One of personal favorites, I would like for it to get the attention it deserves.