Overall most helpful review

Posted on: February 18, 2017

ColBashar

Games: 333 Reviews: 8

The Best and Worst of Sierra Adventures

I want to love the Colonel's Bequest. I really, really want to love it. It has a darker, more mature theme than King's Quest but still exhibits humour and whimsy. If you're okay with CGI graphics and Adlib sounds, the atmosphere is evocative and, in my opinion, captures an Agatha Christie novel better than some of the games with her name. The characters, while intentionally cliche, mesh well and I genuinely wanted to know more about their relationships. The game also featured a layer of complexity that wouldn't be replicated until The Last Express. Events progressed in time blocks, which would be triggered by certain actions. If you missed a conversation or point of interest then too bad, the game kept going. Some events will even change slightly depending on the order you do things. There are two endings and your score is actually reflective of how thorough an investigator you've been by examining evidence and doing things like checking for fingerprints. Unfortunately, the complexity that makes the Colonel's Bequest so interesting is also its achilles' heel. Because actions may only be available during some time blocks, it's possible progress the clock before you finish everything you need to complete the story. This will enter you into a fail state without any warning. I wandered the map for hours, clicking on everything, trying every inventory interaction I could think of before I finally quit of frustration. I never finished Colonel's Bequest and only saw the ending by watching HerCrabbiness' excellent Let's Play on YouTube. Do I recommend the game? Yes. But know what you're getting in to. This isn't your typical Sierra Adventure Game. As long as you keep a walkthrough handy and don't mind backtracking, though, it can be rewarding. I want to give this 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up for nostalgia's sake.

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Posted on: February 19, 2017

weatherglass

Verified owner

Games: 340 Reviews: 2

Finally on GOG!

Finally! I've been waiting for this game to be re-released for years. This lesser-known gem was a favorite of mine as a kid. It's a Sierra game from 1989, and if you've played any classic Sierra titles, you already have an idea of what's in store: a text parser interface, frequent (and frequently amusing) death, a need to pick up everything possible, the chance to shoot yourself in the foot and not know it until half the game has passed, a good ending and a bad one. I can't remember if there's a maze or one of Sierra's infuriating staircases. What's great about this game is the atmosphere. It's set in a grand but decaying mansion in a bayou, at night, in 1925. You're an outsider to the family and its secrets, and not an entirely welcome visitor. As time ticks by, people begin to die and the island feels ever more claustrophobic and paranoia-inducing. You can't leave. People stop speaking to you. Others will talk, but they stop making sense. Between the Spanish moss and the secret passages and the crocodiles and the flapper dresses and the stranglings, I have a visceral memory of the game, which I can't have played since the early 90's. If you like classic adventure games, this one is well worth your time.

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Posted on: February 26, 2017

Visnes

Games: 218 Reviews: 1

One of the best adventure games ever

The Colonel's Bequest is a murder mystery that puts you in the shoes of Laura Bow a young women who goes with her friend Lillian to visit her Uncles estate in the south. Murders start happening and you have to use your guile and wit to solve them. In this game you type what you want to do, like in the first King's Quest. The graphics are really good considering how old it is. The story, while a little predictable at times, is still really good, and in my view one of Roberta Williams' best. Well worth the money if you like Agatha Christie type murder mysteries. When you play it, I would actually suggest having a notepad so you can type inn what happens where. At the end of the game you get a rating of how good of a detective you've been, and it'll tell you if you missed anything special, so it's got replayability in that sense. TL;DR great game at a great value, buy it if you like Agatha Christie mysteries.

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Posted on: February 27, 2018

CharlieLima79

Verified owner

Games: 636 Reviews: 149

A flawed, but interesting adventure game

'The Colonel's Bequest' is a Roberta Williams adventure game heavily inspired by the literary works of Agatha Christie, especially 'And Then There Were None'. If you are a fan of Agatha Christie's work, chances are you'll enjoy the premise of 'TCB'. 'TCB' is unlike other Sierra adventure games at the time. Playing as Laura Bow, you mostly observe and question other characters in the game, but you largely get ignored. Your observations and questions were added to your notes, which you cannot refer to during the game for some reason. The more you observe and the more people you question, the more likely you can work out the mystery. Yet, 'TCB' is an event-driven game, rather than one driven by a narrative, mission or objectives. Even with newly acquired information on hand, the full story will not be revealed to you until the end, much like a mystery novel. The game progresses when you have visited a certain location or have completed certain tasks, triggering new events or the next act. As the player, this means you won't get to observe other characters' actions or interactions because the opportunity to do so would have passed by that time. This game mechanic or design decision has its good and bad points. If you have lots of time and enjoys roleplaying as a detective, 'TCB' will offer a lot of replayability as you try to catch every furtive and/or suspicious actions and conversations. On the other hand, this can make the narrative confusing, seemingly empty, and directionless because you as the player may end up missing important information, and not know what to do next in the game as things happen around you. 'TCB' presents itself as an interactive play. You are both the audience and a participant (as Laura Bow), kind of like taking part in a murder mystery game. While an Agatha Christie novel reveals to its readers all that they need to know, or that the hosts of the murder mystery games present their guests with all pertinent clues to solve the murder, 'TCB' allows important clues to be missed. At the end, you can replay the game to try to find those missing clues, but you would have known the outcome by that time. Therefore, you are expected to be the right place as the right time, which you -- whether you are an audience member or a participant -- cannot possibly the very first time. Because of that, I personally find 'TCB' best enjoyed when played using a walkthrough, so I get to observe and experience all the game has to offer. The game seems to want you to be both the audience and participant, but doesn't allow you to be either really well. Still, it was admirable for Roberta Williams to try something different with an adventure game. Although 'TCB' misses in some parts of the execution, it is still an interesting, and at times entertaining, game.

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Posted on: February 18, 2017

horvendile

Games: 52 Reviews: 1

Dated but atmospheric and replayable

Note: I have not played the GoG version. My four star rating is certainly influenced by some nostalgia, but I maintain that this is a rather fine game, albeit one that plays a bit differently from many other adventure games. There are puzzles but the game is not primarily puzzle-driven. It’s more… observation-driven. You explore, listen to conversations, have conversations, you investigate, but to some considerable extent you are a bystander in the events that unfold. Don’t let that hold you off though. The ‘20s atmosphere is pretty well carried out and the EGA graphics perfectly serviceable. The text interpreter is decent and, crucially, it pauses the game. And if you don’t only want to get to the end of the game – which is fairly easy – but also want to find out its secrets, then there are some puzzles you must solve. This way the game has actual replay value. As in practically all old Sierra titles your own death is frequent, though this time not game-destroyingly so. Still, be sure to keep saving. And sometimes you have to really get all the clues and items before leaving a room or it’ll be too late. The pace is slow, which makes it feel somewhat like an old movie. In fact, and not surprisingly, the gameplay is not entirely dissimilar from Gabriel Knight 3. I’d say this game is well worth playing, and not only for nostalgia. You’ll soon forget the dated graphics and want to explore the island and find all the secrets. Oh, and if you do see the flying statue easter egg, congratulations!

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