King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones

The Good
In 1999 the whole adventure gaming world was blessed with a fantastic, easy to use game creation kit namely Adventure Game Studio . By the will of Chris Jones finally all those people who craved for a new never-to-be-released Sierra’s or Lucas Arts’ adventure had an opportunity to create something of their own. Even the author of this review didn’t miss the chance to do one. But some folks saw this as a perfect way to reacquaint those who missed the EGA era of graphic adventures with immortal classics. Such as the kiddie fairy tale game King’s Quest 2.

For me it was like a game that came straight from the heaven. You see, as a gamer I was born during the golden age of VGA adventures. EGA games that preceded them were lost for me for awhile. Some years later I’ve been trying hard and long to overcome my initial negative reaction to a limited 16 color palette and a horrifying parser. Ultimately I failed and abandon all attempts to appreciate the first ones in the streak of Sierra’s masterpieces. The only such games I finished were Space Quest 2 and Space Quest 3 and even those required much effort on my part to endure.

So what it has to do with the remake of KQ2? Plain and simple, it makes the original game accessible, applies a wonderful, loved and trusted Sierra’s point-n-click interface and adds the breathtaking 256 colors eye-candies. All-in-all pushes the game on whole lotta a new level. For the sake of research I’ve actually brought myself to completing the original KQ2, and as it turns out that the remake surpasses its original even in the matter of content and creativity as well!

There are actually two levels on which this game should be evaluated. The first one is how it compares to the other amateur games made with AGS and especially the first Tierra’s offering – remake of the King’s Quest I. In that regard I can only say that KQ2 remake provides the most professional, faithful and qualitive experience to the date. The remake of KQ1 was like trying grounds for the new team, the amateurish quality of which was evident nearly everywhere from uninspired blurry backgrounds. There are many other games created with AGS that beat KQ1 fair and square in every department. But what really hurt the game the most in my opinion is that it followed the original much too faithfully, as a result we’ve got a shallow and boring scavenger hunt in the end, which the first game (if we would forget about it’s innovativeness and originality for a moment) essentially was. The KQ2 on the other hand did everything just right. Beautiful artwork, professionally written music, engaging close-ups, everything is top-notch in this game. But most importantly it uses the original storyline just as a canvas for the whole new kind of experience inspired by the later Sierra’s games. This brings to the second level of comparison I mentioned earlier. Just how this game compares to the Sierra’s own games it tries to mimic.

What can I say? As much as I want to preserve the cult status behind the King’s Quest series the truth is that they have always lacked depth the adventures of such caliber require. We have been already successfully shown what can be achieved for that matter in Quest For Glory series (the fourth part especially) and Gabriel Knight series also of Sierra’s fame by the way. The remake of King’s Quest 2 takes the last route, the route of interesting sidestories and characters full of depth and mystery. The freak beauty of the vampire couple, the mysterious figure of The Father, the little girl Possum turned into a dark mistress, the noble Mermen, the horrifying werewolf monks – everything and everyone in this game shouts class right in your face. I particularly liked the tests of the Air guardian. Those tests unmistakably show how the game medium must be actually used. My point is that, above everything else, gaming is about making a choice and facing the consequences a moment later. Obviously the folks at AGDI utterly comprehend that.

The game actually manages to elevate the series on the much higher level outranking every other “real” King’s Quest (except for the sixth, maybe, but it did still come very close).

And I want to finish the good section of this review with these four words. clears his throat AND IT’S BLOODY FREE!!!

The Bad
Well, there were no particular problems I’ve experienced with this game. The terrible voice acting is very much expected in the freeware game and it can be very easily turned off. What else? Maybe some of the close-ups were a bit messy, but mind you they’re “messy” only in comparison to commercial games.

Also I would like to say that AGDI clearly has resources and talent enough to make an adventure of their own without any restrictions imposed by the old classics. Unfortunately AGDI and its commercial alternative Himalaya Studios still feel secure behind the Sierra old’n’dusty back. Al Emmo, the only commercial game the studio has released so far (August 2007) is still nothing more than a simple tribute to a beloved developer. I earnestly hope that in future we will see more of unique games from such a promising team.

The Bottom Line
Apart from that everything is great in KQ2 remake, it was a nice and touching experience from the beginning to the end. It's about the best freeware adventure game you might found around the net.

So if you've ever wondered what does “adventure” stands for in the genre title, few hours of this great, beautiful and immersive game will make it clear for you in a blink of an eye, right from the start. And when you complete it, watch out for the remake of Quest For Glory II: Trials By Fire. Considering what these guys did with KQ I say we’re in for a high class and tasty treat.