Simon the Sorcerer 3D

aka: Szymek Czarodziej
Moby ID: 6401
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Description official descriptions

Continuing the series after seven years, Simon the Sorcerer 3D marks the return of the young spellcaster. The game is a direct sequel to Simon the Sorcerer 2, and starts precisely where the second game ended: Simon is imprisoned in Sordid's body... At the beginning of the game, the evil wizard Sordid is free again. He is now selling a mind-changing cola and you must stop him, and this time, unlike in the first two games, also save the world.

Many familiar characters from the two previous games are back, and so is Simon himself with his red cloak (and not the violet clothes from the first game). The classic adventure gameplay is based mainly on wacky puzzles, like the first two games, but the game is now entirely rendered in a 3D world. There are some action sequences, less linearity in the plot, and Simon can die. Besides, some puzzles can only be solved in a 3D environment and require extensive exploration.

Spellings

  • 魔法师西蒙3D - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (Windows version)

33 People (22 developers, 11 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 62% (based on 22 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.8 out of 5 (based on 27 ratings with 6 reviews)

Hey, babe, why don't you and me ...

The Good
I have mixed feelings about this game. Simon the Sorcerer 3D is a Windows adventure that acts like an action arcade wannabe. Everything about it screams "console" - from the keyboard-only interface to the "LifePad" restoration points. But, I don't think it was ever released for any console platform. The mouse is supported only for some of the menu operations and those, too, are arcade-like.

The star of this show is, of course, Simon whose off-the-wall comments and unconventional thinking are brought out well in this game. Simon 3D was rated by the ELSPA as 11+ for good reason. The humour is "tongue-in-cheek" and mostly adult in nature, full of sexual innuendos typical of a young male's adolescent mind. Most of the content will go right over the heads of younger players. As an adult, I found the jokes hilarious! Simon was somewhat subtle in his approach and never rude. I was never offended - in fact, it was a refreshing change.

The story has a good plot with many twists and turns, and I'd consider the true "adventure" aspects really good. Puzzles are situation-oriented (do or find this to do or get that) and they're layered rather deeply, so be prepared. The situations are funny and different - some really bizarre (which I understand is typical of this series). Some hints are contained within conversations, so it was helpful to be able to turn Subtitles on for that reason.

The game is divided into six Chapters each with its own in-game map. Hop into one of the strategically placed telephone booths to travel around. This really helps because some of the world maps are really huge.

Yes, there are some "arcade" puzzles. Simon must learn to run away from danger, perform a balancing act on a tightrope, throw some darts, and pick up things using a special yoyo. None of those are particularly hard if you can master the keyboard controls. You can reassign the keyboard keys to suit your own style. (See more comments on the interface below.)

The voice acting is excellent. The music is wonderfully orchestrated and appropriate. There are 42 save game slots - plenty. The manual was well written and easy to understand.

The Bad
Adding "3D" to a game's title seems to signify "new and improved", but that's not true in this case. If Simon 3D had been released several years prior, I might have had a different opinion entirely. Its delay resulted in a game that was outdated when it was finally released. The "3D" technology it advertised was no longer considered innovative, but rather a bad representation of older technology.

The graphics of the environment as well as the characters are blocky and pixelated. Changing the resolution doesn't accomplish more than making the on-screen text and map smaller. For me, the shifts in scene views and "looking through Simon's eyes" were disorienting and unnecessary for gameplay. In addition, parts of the game were too dark while some were too bright. Gamma corrections within the game options are a good feature, but why should I need change the setting more than once?

There's a pretty hefty learning curve especially for anybody accustomed to mouse-driven games. The keyboard-only interface is awkward and could easily have been made more "user friendly." While there is no jumping involved, there are several parts where you must crouch down or run very fast to accomplish the needed task.

Using the keyboard for movement is terrible - mainly because the diagonal keys are not supported. Turning a corner, for instance, is harder than it needs to be because you can only move forward, back, left and right. (Spoiler here - running away from a rolling boulder is not a biggie, but turning 2 blasted corners while you're running is a pain in the behind!)

I didn't like wandering around wondering what to do in the big, wide world with nothing happening. If it weren't for Simon's sense of humor, the travel map and some good hints, I would've quit out of frustration a long time before the end.

The Bottom Line
This is my first "Simon the Sorcerer" game, so I can't compare it to its predecessors. The comedy and the intricately laced puzzles kept me playing, and it really was quite a lot of fun. And it's not short. It will keep you busy for a good long while.

Simon fans will enjoy this for nostalgic reasons, because Simon is still his old whacky self. On the whole, the adventure aspects are diverse and different and you'll definitely need your thinking cap on. If you can get over the weird interface and the not-so-good graphics, you'll find yourself laughing your way through this odd and challenging adventure.

Windows · by Jeanne (75956) · 2003

"He's back, and this time he's in 3d"...

The Good
After being one of the most delayed and long-awaited games in gaming history (Still didn't take as long as Duke Nukem Forever is taking, but onwards...), Simon 3d ACTUALLY came out. Was it worth the wait?... Hell, yes!

Continuing from the cliffhanger set up in the last game, Simon is soon restored to his body and back to his "good" old mean-spirited, adolescent and teenage self, and with Chris Barrie's voice back, too! Simon is instructed how to get around by his new fairy godmother ("Don't I just point and click?" -Simon). The humor and basic adventure game elements are still the same, and the spoofs and innuendos remain (THANKFULLY!), but adapted to 3d. Later on, Simon becomes an actual sorcerer, but ends up being relegated to "fashion magic", basically meaning he can only change the color of his cloak...but this is a fun waste of time, and an advantage of having the 3d graphics.

By the way, yes, you can die in this game, but you are just restored to right before your death...you even NEED to die at one point. But this is worth it...for the games longer length, as this Simon game takes more than a weekend to finish.

The Bad
The designers at Aventuresoft got a little bit overwhelmed with the advantages they had in 3d...and didn't even think about putting mouse look in! This makes a few of the puzzles in the game just plain difficult and frustrating, such as the menacing run from a falling boulder.

The game was unfortunately delayed too long, and was out of date by the time it came out in many ways. However, it also felt rushed...there were a few deadly and damn irritating bugs, so download the patch before hand. The ending of Simon 3d felt quick and a little rushed, but with the [SPOILER]cliffhanger last scene involving Simon's evil little "clone"[/END SPOILER] there had better be a Simon 4!...I hope...

The Bottom Line
Continues the proud tradition of fun Simon the Sorcerer games...now, let's just hope it isn't the last one...

Windows · by Mr. Me (28) · 2003

Offensive piece of trash

The Good
It functions, at least!

The Bad
This game was clearly written by a hopeless bunch of disgruntled, belligerent, intolerant misfits everyone used to laugh at. Not to mention racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic... how this game scraped an 11+ rating is absolutely baffling! Even if it wasn't, it looks bad. Remember this was two years before Half-Life 2. The blocky models and blurry textures are hard on the eyes.

The Bottom Line
I hate this game... I really do. This is, hands down, my most hated game of all time!

Windows · by Frank Tiberius (2) · 2023

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Trivia

In November 2000, the game went gold and press copies were sent to various magazines. I played that version and various reviews appeared. A few weeks later, the word was out that publisher Hasbro's QA department was not pleased with the game (especially the graphics) and developer Headfirst lost its publisher.

The search lasted until 2002 when AdventureSoft picked up the game and released it with small improvements. In an interview on Quandary, Andrew Brazier, assistant Designer at Headfirst, responded to all the critics saying it was their first step into 3D, which was very hard, but necessary to get funds as (in his own words) "2D is pretty much dead now".

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Unicorn Lynx.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Sciere, game nostalgia, Kola256.

Game added May 17, 2002. Last modified March 21, 2024.