Spellcasting 1+2+3

Steve was the creator of some of the legendary Infocom's greatest test adventures in the '80s - A Mind Forever Voyaging, Planetfall, Leather Goddesses of Phobos and, with Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Steve's games were known for their humor, strong plots and great puzzles. After Infocom's demise Steve formed Legend Entertainment with some other Infocom veterans, and they had a great run with games like Timequest, Eric the Unready (also on GOG) and this series, which was probably their most popular. Spellcasting 101 - 103 are in the vein of Leather Goddesses or Leisure Suit Larry, with lightly risque humor (there is a more graphic "naughty" mode) and imaginative puzzles - you're a student wizard at spellcasting college dealing with college stuff - dealing with professors, joining a frat and trying to meet girls. Mostly meet girls. I'm sure these are playable on IA but this is worth the $6 for two reasons - these games are perfect for playing offline on trains, planes etc and...Steve deserves your money. Hoping to see the rest of the Legend library on GOG soon.

The Spellcasting Series is three classic text adventure games by the legendary Steve Meretzky. The games cover the first three years of protagonist Ernie Eaglebeak's undergraduate run at Sorcerer University, and related shenanigans. A fourth game was planned but was never made, as the aging text adventure genre was put out to pasture. Modern audiences will see these titles as 'Harry Potter: The R-Rated College Years,' and that works as a basic descriptor. Ernie is a promising student of magic who just wants to become a sorcerer, but to the surprise of none, he gets pulled into circumstances which call upon him to save the day with his magic and his wits. And, incidentally, he has sex with a lot of gorgeous women. Or he doesn't - the games can be left in 'Nice Mode,' and the sex scenes are replaced with hilariously tongue-in-cheek, family-friendly activities. The world of Peloria will remind many of Discworld, with more nudity. It's a realm which has both sea monsters and shopping malls, and Meretzky uses this setting for maximum satirical value. '101' is the closest the series comes to classic fantasy, featuring a world-traveling tale full of dragons, amazons and gods. It's very episodic, with most of the islands centered around a distinct theme or gimmick that the player has to figure out. I love the puzzle variety and it shows that Peloria is a delightfully strange little world. '201' is more structured, where Ernie has to fulfill a difficult hazing task by the end of each day for his fraternity. As it takes place almost entirely on-campus, it has the most collegiate feel to it. '301' is basically a beer-soaked beach comedy in adventure game form, taking place at Spring Break. The tacky resort setting is a great change of pace, and Ernie's lovably lame fraternity brothers add a nice little sense of camaraderie to the mix. The set is an easy recommendation at so low a price. And kudos to GOG for the scans of all the delightful inserts and hintbooks.

This one's a weird one ... I kinda liked it from the first scene, but then I found out that the clock is tickin'. Adventure games are my priority because I like to snoop around and that is strictly forbidden here, at least if you want to finish the game properly. Too bad. The interface is OK, because you can play the game either by selecting words offered on your left (and believe me there are a lot of combinations) or you can type them or mix it with both. So that one is OK too. The thing that is not OK is the thing that you don't know what to do at times (of course, there is always a walkthrough). The game is funny with lots of jokes and the story is great (reminds me of Larry in typing mode). All kinds of silly quests and A LOT OF WOMEN ! The more you dive in, the more you get sucked in by the story. For all of you who want a great story, you can start spellcasting. And, of course ... turn on NAUGHTY MODE !

One of my favorite text adventures I played over the years. Glad to see it on GOG now!! This is great, all the classic MS-Dos games I played long ago are coming back!