The Return of King
Graham – The Silver Lining

It
may be nostalgia that tings my excitement as I launched the first
chapter of The Silver Lining, a fan-made sequel to
the King’s
Quest series. The Silver Lining has
been a controversial game over the years; with permission being granted
and yanked a few times by the intellectual property owner. Vivendi,
the current owner, has once again granted approval for The
Silver Lining to be finished and released. That’s good
news for King’s Quest fans.

If you’ve never
heard of King’s Quest, then I have to wonder
how you ended up at this site, reading this article. But just in case,
I’ll give you the short version. Graham was a knight who became
King of Daventry after going on a treasure hunt for a magic mirror
that tells the future, a chest that is always full of gold, and a
shield that protects the bearer from danger. After becoming king,
Graham goes on another adventure to find a wife, Valanice. They have
twins–Alexander and Rosella–and each one has an adventure or two
of his/her own, picking up a love interest along the way–Camissa
and Edgar respectively.

The
Silver Lining picks up sometime after the
final King’s Quest game. Edgar and Rosella
are about to be wed when disaster strikes. An unknown assailant puts
a magic spell on Graham’s two kids, thus starting the new adventure.
It is up to Graham to put on his iconic hat and travel the Green Isles
to find a cure.

The Nostalgia Factor

It’s been a long
time since I played a King’s Quest game. Everything
seemed so familiar, but strangely different. That is due in part to
everything being rendered in 3D. The creators took great pains to
plan their shots and camera movements in cut scenes, which you’ll
see a lot of in this chapter. At times the game is cinematic. The
beginning starts out with a voiceless opening scene, which pans across
the entrance to the Green Isles castle from King’s
Quest 6. It’s a great start to hit the nostalgia
bug.

The
characters at the wedding are familiar enough that I remember them,
but different enough that I don’t know which character is which.
Maybe if the memory wasn’t so distant I could pluck it from
my brain. Fans of the past games, especially KQ6,
will have a treat exploring the Green Isles in 3D.

The Bad

Unfortunately, the first
chapter is more exposition than game. There is only one thing I’d
call a puzzle; otherwise it’s just walking from one cut scene
to the next, like an interactive story. It’s nice to explore
and it’s nice to talk to people, but I was left wondering where
the rest was.

The
start cut scene, while beautifully done, left some plot points to
be desired. Why are Rosella and Edgar getting married at the Green
Isles instead of in Daventry (Rosella’s Home) or Tamir (Edgar’s
home)? Since the opening scene had no voice, I had to guess whose
wedding I was watching. After the villain weaves his magical spell,
Rosella and Alexander are placed side by side in the same bed, holding
hands. It was a creepy decision. I was able to put those issues aside
in order to focus on exploring the Green Isles as Graham, which is
very cool.

Mysteries Left Unsolved

At one point while exploring,
the camera pans on an image of Pegasus, the flying horse. Is this
left in for Nostalgia purposes? Is it a throwback to King’s
Quest 2, where Graham meets a winged horse, or a reference
to King’s Quest 6, where Alexander rides one? Or will it come
into play later in this story? We just don’t know yet.

It’s
hard to give a full review of the first part of a five-part game.
Who is this strange wizard man that cursed Graham’s children,
and why did he do it? Will Graham be able to break the curse and save
the day? I have some guesses, but I think we’ll have to wait
for part two. Please don’t keep us waiting.

System Requirements:

• Windows XP, Vista or
  7
• 1GHz Intel or AMD Processor
• 512 MB RAM (1GB recommended
  for Vista and 7)
• 100% DirectX compatible
  video card with 256 MB video RAM
• DirectX 9.0c+