DOS

The Colonel's Bequest

To sum up, I think the fascinating and rich storyline will intrigue and compel most players to persevere through the many deaths that will befall them and the other occupants of Misty Acres. If you can avoid that swamp, evade that bloodied knife, dodge that chandelier and, of course, solve those perplexing mysteries, then you'll achieve super-sleuth status in the end.

Overall, The Colonel’s Bequest: a Laura Bow Mystery is a good game that gives hours of enjoyable gameplay. An intermediate level player can easily get 6 hours or more of gameplay in a single sitting. The game combines a great storyline, good gameplay, memorable music, and apt graphics.

Roberta Williams was always one for breaking new grounds and making what others thought impossible. In 1989, her new challenge was to make a detective game. That didn't seem like an easy task, since you couldn't really see how your average adventure gamer who doesn't have the intelligence of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot could enjoy trying to solve a mystery worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. One way to do that would have been to make solving the mystery much like another adventure game, with a bit of conversation, room searching and puzzles allowing you to follow a trail, and this concept has been explored rather successfully since then by games such as the Tex Murphy series or the Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes games. But that's not what Mrs. Williams wanted: she wanted a mystery set in a closed space, during a short time-frame, with few characters that you would have to question, follow, etc.

It's 1925 and Laura Bow sits on a bench in the university grounds studiously turning the pages of a book. Along comes her friend, Lillian, who invites Laura to accompany her to her Uncle Henri's estate for a family reunion. Laura is reluctant at first but when she hears that it's a 'creepy old place' that clinches it.

Der Ruhesitz des alten Colonel Dijon ist ein Landhaus auf einer kleinen Insel im südlichen Louisiana; umgeben von Sumpf, Wasser und Alligatoren. In einer schwülen Sommernacht im Jahre 1925 hat er seine Verwandten auf dem abgeschiedenen Anwesen versammelt. Das Desert ist noch nicht richtig verdaut, da eröffnet Colonel Dijon abends bei Tisch den Grund des Treffens: Er sei nicht mehr der Jüngste und fühle sein Ende kommen. Nach reiflicher Überlegung habe er beschlossen, daß sein beträchtliches Vermögen nach seinem Tode unter allen verwandten aufgeteilt wird. Sollte jemand vor seinem Ableben sterben, wird der Anteil für die überlebenden Verwandten entsprechend größer.