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by Alexander Tait May 18, 2002

Escape from Dimension Q Walkthrough (Headbone Interactive, 1996)

Escape from Dimension Q is an interesting little title from the makers of the Elroy series (Elroy Goes Bugzerk and Elroy Hits the Pavement) and the first of a proposed series. As far as I am aware, no more titles were made in the Iz and Auggie series. This series was intended for a little older demographic: 10 years and older. The game was designed with a large degree of variability, both in what actions occur and puzzle arrangement. This makes a single walkthrough for this game difficult. The game revolves around the disappearance of 5 Decentralized Intelligence Agency (DIA) agents in another dimension, Dimension Q. The two central characters, Iz and Auggie, are recruited to try to recover the five agents as well as the XT-10 probe. In order to win the game, it is not essential that all agents are found, but the more that are found, the more of the launch code is revealed. I solved this with four agents first time around without difficulty. The graphics are zany, avant-garde cartoons that form a backdrop of humor that flavors this whole game. The sound is very good, particularly the voice acting. The non-speech sound consists of typical cartoon effects. The game has an unusual save feature. You log in to the game under a name each time you wish to play. Then, resuming your game is a little complicated: you must choose the game map and select which section you were up to. Therefore, the game doesn’t save exactly where you were when you last played but at the beginning of the level you were at. This is a minor annoyance because the levels are very small. Each level can be replayed easily if you somehow fail to solve the puzzle required. There are multiple paths depending on which agents you save and which puzzles you solve. Because of the game design, it is not always clear that you’ve missed saving one of the agents. It wasn’t until I’d saved agents two and three that I’d missed Agent one. The puzzles are, for the most part, run of the mill ones, though a couple were novel and interesting. None take a great deal of effort, though may take a couple of attempts if they are timed. Hints are available on the disk and some puzzles can be bypassed altogether. The game is very short and will be finished in a day by a dedicated gamer. It took me about a week of casual play and I found it quite enjoyable. The game has a nice family-accessible story but can be enjoyed by adults as well. The game was completely stable-at no time did it freeze or crash. As is common to many games from this time or before, the install is bare minimum, running almost completely from the disk, excepting the particular configuration of your game, which was stored on the hard drive.

Introduction

Iz and Auggie are one audition from a record deal with Screech Records. Isaac, their former mentor and musical genius, went missing leaving each a musical legacy. At the audition, Auggie shorts out and the record deal is blown. Suddenly, two goons from the DIA appear and send Iz and Auggie to Dimension Q to recover the five missing agents. Being a robot, Auggie is the DIA’s last hope.

Dimension Q

Auggie and Iz jump into the portal to Dimension Q. Immediately, Auggie receives a message from the DIA but can’t unscramble it. You must help him by ordering the message using the icon. The solution is below:

The DIA send a photograph of a woman they must find but, of course, it is also scrambled. You must move the pieces, similar to any slider puzzle, to form this picture:

An important tidbit is also revealed: you must find pop fizz to function properly in Dimension Q. Suddenly, the Qubic Pentameter guards arrive.

Qubic Pentameters

The Qubic Pentameter guards attempt to arrest you but you flee just in time. In order to make a safe escape, you must play a strategy game with an overhead map and decoys. If you don’t make it, you will be captured and sent to the prison (see the Escape! section). This is a lot of fun. I’m sure there are numerous solutions for every variation but one for mine is the following:

-Release decoy 1. Go right, straight, and right again. You buy some invisible pills. Go straight and right . You meet some strange creatures that look like the aliens off Sesame Street. Get the key. The decoy is found.

-Release decoy 2. Go left twice. You reach a teleportation booth. Click on the platform to teleport to the other booth. Go right. The second decoy is found.

-Release decoy 3. Go straight three times. Iz bowls the barrels out of the way. Go left. Street urchins turn up and spray Iz and Auggie with goo. They arrive at the transmitter, use the key, and switch the electric barrier off. They go through and secure the Qubic Pentameters in the compound.

All About Dimension Q

Iz and Auggie stumble upon a vending machine. Auggie gets fish and chips. Iz suddenly realizes there are Q chips in the machine. They examine the chip and go into a café. They must do a number of tasks to reconstitute an agent. The solution is below:

Click on “initiate sequence”. Choose pineapple from the smorgasbord. Agent 1 is reconstituted! He tells them find Cosmo LaRue. Auggie digitizes Agent 1 and gets his part of the XT-10 launch code. They go outside and get pop fizz from the vendor.

[If you were captured:

Escape?

Iz and Auggie are placed in a cell. Other prisoners come over to them and introduce themselves and share pop fizz. They reveal the lock is opened with a sound code: the first six notes of “Happy Birthday”. Click on G G A G C B. The door is opened and they are free. They receive another DIA message-the drink was pop fizz, fortunately. The message advises them to find Cosmo LaRue.]

Cosmo LaRue

Auggie searches his database but finds no reference to LaRue. Auggie starts to recall his time in Dimension C, when they suddenly observe a poster being placed up on the wall: Cosmo LaRue is at the OPC.

They go to the OPC, but his secretary isn’t very friendly. They enter his office and tell Cosmo they are from Screech Records. Auggie goes crazy and attacks Cosmo. The secretary enters the office and saves her boss. Agent 1 was wrong about the probe. The Probes are the biggest recording sensation.

They are expelled from the building. They step into some goo-Agent 2! Auggie constructs him-Agent 2 is a pigeon! His part of the code is encoded further. The solution lies in inserting the word parts (in yellow) at the bottom of the screen in to the text of the message. Unfortunately, these are highly variable from game to game. You will get the idea from my examples. The first solution:

Do the same with the second message. Here’s the solution:

Auggie gets the launch code.

The Tape

Auggie and Iz receive another DIA transmission. The fabric of space-time is eroding. They only have two hours left. Iz gets Auggie to play a demo tape of the Probes. The Probes have stolen their song! They decide to try to work out where the recording was made by isolating background noises from the tape and compare them to a map of the area. The first two sounds are always near to or underneath the location. The third and fifth noises are reverb and reversed, respectively. Once you identify all the sounds, press the play button above. You should be able to work out where the recording took place from the sounds.

For me, the recording was at the Dark Room. Iz and Auggie go there and find a sign mentioning the Opulent Theater. They leave.

The Brain Fry 400 Sound Contest

They arrive at the theater and attempt to hide in the back. The spotlight suddenly comes on them: they’ve been chosen as contestants on a gameshow! The grand prize is a lava lamp-Agent 3! The current champion is Umberto Echo, with a score of four. You must beat Umberto Echo by guessing what the sound bites are in reverse! Variously, the correct answers are:

-Stradivarius.

-Laughing.

-Cosmonauts heard something weird.

-Teeth.

-Lion.

-Pork and popcorn do mix.

-Digging.

-Italian remake of the Barber of Seville.

-Street drill.

-Bungees are not for the weak hearted.

-A balloon.

-Razor.

-Like taking inflatable candy from a baby.

-Arrow

-Bus terminal.

Sooner or later, you will win. They have saved Agent 3. Auggie gets Agent 3’s launch code. The Probes come on stage. After the show, Iz and Auggie go backstage and confront the Probes. Their song is Iz and Auggie’s in reverse. The Probes reveal Cosmo LaRue gave them the song. So, he was involved after all-he’s an interdimensional crook! Iz and Auggie decide they’ll need help from one of the band members.

Who Can You Trust?

Watch the video interview with the band. Choose Ezra Expound. Auggie tells Ezra he may need his services later, and gives him a Pageboy to keep in contact.

The Bug

They leave in search of Cosmo LaRue. Auggie reveals he placed a bug on Cosmo’s secretary’s shoe. They activate the spy camera but the reception is affected when Cosmo switches on a scrambler. You have five minutes to unscramble the picture by swapping squares of the image. There are two possible pictures you could be given. Mine looked like this when complete:

Foolishly, as all arch-villains do, Cosmo reveals his plan and the site of his secret compound: 11 Netherworld Lane. The XT-10 is there!

Cosmo’s Compound

They arrive at the gate to Cosmo’s Compound-impenetrable to any of Auggie’s attempts but Iz kicks it down without taking a break. There is more goo on the floor inside. It’s Agent 4 but subatomic lint is mixed in with his chemical makeup. Iz must clear a path through the glass tube filter to filter the lint. This is a random puzzle. The bet way is to work from the bottom up. Here’s my solution:

The information from Agent 4’s chip is stored in Auggie’s database.

Trapped!

Suddenly, Iz and Auggie fall down a manhole and are trapped. Cosmo reveals he has had Isaac prisoner ever since his disappearance-Isaac is Agent 5! Water begins to pour into the room where Iz is. Auggie seeks to switch it off. You must place the pieces correctly to save her. Here’s one solution (again there are several for every puzzle combination):

Just in time, Iz is saved…but not for long. Iz and Auggie vow to rescue Isaac. Voices come from above. They climb up to the room. Isaac is in the XT-10. Quickly, they use the Pageboy.

Help!

Ezra turns up and promptly phones the Elite Qubic Pentameter Security Guard and tells them to bring the dogs. They promptly arrive and seize Cosmo. Now: to launch the probe. Iz and Auggie receive another message from the DIA-there is only five minutes to launch the XT-10.

XT-10 Probe

Iz asks Auggie to bring up all four (or however many you’ve collected) codes. Iz checks on Isaac (Agent 5) and gets the fifth launch code from him. Reading through the five parts requires some puzzle solving. The final answer is to do the following in this order:

-Put the yellow wire into hole B and turn switch 4.

-Put the blue wire into hole D and turn switch 2.

-Put the purple wire into hole C and turn switch 3.

-Put the red wire into hole A and turn switch 5.

-Put the green wire into hole E and turn switch 1.

Click on “launch probe”. SUCCESS! Iz and Auggie escape home with all five agents.

Back in Normal

The game concludes back home. Iz and Auggie are soon back to playing music-this time with record deal. The DIA debrief follows, tying up loose ends. They’ve done so well that they are awarded another assignment. As they start to protest, Isaac suddenly disappears…leaving it open for a sequel.

REQUIREMENTS (PC)        REQUIREMENTS (MAC)    TESTED SYSTEM

33 MHz 486 processor               25 MHz 68040 processor           Athlon 600 MHz processor

WIN 3.1                                   System 7                                   WIN 98SE

8 MB RAM                              8 MB RAM                              192 MB RAM

640x480, 256 display                  640x480, 256 display                  800x600, 16 bit display

2x CD-ROM                             2x CD-ROM                             52x CD-ROM

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