King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!

(Sierra On-Line, 1990)

Sierra was determined to make the first ever adventure with 256 colors (a big deal in 1990). In truth, Mean Streets (1989) beat them to it...oops. Roberta Williams and Sierra On-Line, however, had numerous artists on their side, whose hand-drawn visions were scanned and incorporated throughout KQ5. This isn't to say the game wasn't without serious flaws, however. One : drive space concerns led to less hi-res screens possible, therefore not many areas to explore, and a very short game. Two : KQ's penchant for reliving fairy tales was far less effective, with not enough pixie-dust-magic evident in the areas explored (the "endless desert" was particularly dull). Then, yes, there's KQ5's premiere use of, as I often call it, the critically aflamed icon interface, where the few actions possible in the game were reduced to 3 or four action "icons," shown at the top of the screen. Click, click, click...game over! If it wasn't for its often spectacular hand-drawn artwork, and the return of Mark Seibert (for some impressive background music), the game would be a serious thumbs-down. However, These two elements, including a sneak peek at the story to King's Quest VI, pull KQV up a notch...

Rating : Small Crater.

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