Just (Free) Adventures
Space Quest: The Lost Chapter

Author: Vonster D Monster
Download Size: 807 KB
Number of Screens: 253
Approximate Playing Time: 9 Hours

By Adam Rodman

Did you know that every Just (Free) Adventure review begins with an italicized paragraph in which the reviewer gets to rant? A whole paragraph! Can you imagine what I could rant about in one whole freakin' paragraph?

Click here to visit the official Space Quest: The Lost Chapter Website
Click here to download Space Quest: The Lost Chapter (it's only 807 KB!)

I really wanted to love Space Quest: The Lost Chapter. I truly, honestly, really with sugar, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and a cherry on top did. I've been a Space Quest fan since I was nine (which is really sort of sad, but also sort of sweet, dontcha think?), and the cancellation of Space Quest 7 was a serious disappointment for me. Thus, I needed buckets (though I actually used a clever milk-jug/funnel/rubber band contraption) to collect the saliva shed over a Space Quest fan-made game that promised to be just as big as any that Sierra produced. But I didn't love Space Quest: The Lost Chapter. In fact, I was overly disappointed--not because The Lost Chapter is a bad game, but because it could've been so much more.

The Lost Chapter takes place in between the events of Space Quest 2 and Space Quest 3. Basically, this space hero/janitor/all-around great guy dude named Roger Wilco is floating in an escape pod when a mysterious shockwave forces the pod to crash-land on a jungle planet. Roger, after finding his hair has mysteriously changed color (from brown to blonde--and no, he didn't dye it!), must find a way off of the planet. Though the story may cause a little deja vu for Space Questarians (the "stranded on a jungle planet and must find an escape path" was sorta the plot of Space Quest 2), it's still a pretty good story. Vonster D Monster has done an especially good job in recreating the sarcastic tone of the Space Quest series. Scott Murphy couldn't have done a better (and for those of you reading this review, Scott Murphy is one of the two progenitors of the Space Quest series and not a random person I named, such as Joe Schmirshkahoven) job!

Mr. D Monster (if that is his/her real name) also deserves credit for his/her brilliant use of Sierra's AGI engine. I wouldn't have thought that AGI could be made to look better (not that it looks good), but compare a shot of Space Quest 2 to The Lost Chapter. Wowsa! Yes, the graphics are severely dated, but what are you gonna expect from a 15-year-old engine? Gameplay is like every other Sierra AGI game. The arrow keys make Roger walk around, and a text parser takes all input (i.e., EAT MOLD or DANCE). Puzzles are mainly inventory-based, and since all of the other Space Quest games had Roger stuffing and removing huge objects from his pockets (and I know that sounds wrong), it's a nice throwback to the series. There are also some mind-boggling, insanely difficult puzzles (and you know a writer mean business when he uses two adverbs in the description of one noun!). The squid maze comes to mind. Music is obviously limited to the tooting and doodling of the IBM internal speaker, meaning the main theme sort of sounds like, "Toot to doo doo doo da dee deedle doo." But hey, that's the most the engine can support, so any music is welcome.

Sure, The Lost Chapter sounds perfect, but there are some serious issues that detract from its funability rating (for more information on the funability scale, please consult your local library). The game world of The Lost Chapter is big. Really big. Too big. There are far too many places (especially on the planet) that have no importance to the game--you just have to walk through them. Finding all of the inventory objects (especially in AGI, which has the one-of-a-kind ability to make a bikini-clad model look like a mailbox) is a major pain in the donkey's hoof. Obviously, this increases the play time of the game, and it sure doesn't increase the time in a good way. And there's the aforementioned squid puzzle, quite possibly the most annoying, time-consuming, and restorable (and by restorable, I of course mean that you have to restore the game a lot because of the dying and the hurting and the maiming) puzzle ever placed in an adventure game.

But don't get me wrong! The Lost Chapter is a wonderful game. It is, by far, the best and most expansive fan-made adventure I've ever played--it's as big, if not bigger, than Space Quest 2. If you've ever played a Sierra adventure (and enjoyed it), The Lost Chapter is a must-play.

Story: A
Graphics: A
Music/Sound Effects: B
Gameplay/Puzzles: B-

Final Grade: B

If you want to see a sequel to The Lost Chapter (and I certainly do!) throw Mr. D Monster a line (that's not only sailor-talk for saving someone who has been thrown overboard, it's also JA-speak for sending an e-mail) and tell him that you demand a sequel or else you'll burn down his house, hang him from his toenails, and beat him with an organic stick of celery. Or ask really nicely, it's your choice.