King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones

The Good
Tierra (now AGD Interactive) enlisted some talented artists, musicians, designers and scripters for this pleasant remake of an almost 25 year-old classic. Combining elements from the original with new subplots and characters, Tierra helps breath new life into the ailing franchise, which, despite its landmark status as one of the most revered series of all time, hasn't seen a new entry in a decade. The visual style is an at-times charming re-creation of the 1990s SCIV style from King's Quests 5 and 6, providing added sentimental value. It's also a delight to hear original King Graham voice actor Josh Mandel reprising his role once more.

The Bad
The new King's Quest 2 was hyped as an answer to King's Quest 6, widely considered to be the best entry in the series. Despite plot additions, graphical revisions, and an elaborate 3D intro sequence, KQ2 fails to live up to KQ6's dialog and story depth. Interactivity is sparse, and the source material is still a bit too weak to even base a contemporary game on.

While the new entry is certainly a graphical improvement over the decades-old original, the graphics are perplexingly stuck in the early 90s. The game runs optimally in 320x240, a resolution that's not even supported on some video card/monitor setups. Yes, I understand the limitations of the engine, but I also understand that they weren't pushed.

Given that King's Quest is one of my favorite series, that I can practically play through each one in my head, and that I played this entry again only a couple months ago, I can say with certainty now that the puzzles and subplots are quite unmemorable.

The Bottom Line
King's Quest enthusiasts have been clamoring for a new entry in the series, and this will undoubtedly hit the spot for 99% of those who are still nostalgic all these years later. Those still hoping for something to push the series into the new generation won't find anything particularly exciting here. That said, this is a painstaking work of nostalgic art that any classic adventure enthusiast would thoroughly enjoy.