THIS TOOK ME 3 YEARS TO BEAT WITHOUT A WALKTHROUGH! That being said, your quick review of this game is pretty darn accurate. The parts that required you to have the manual and the submarine navigating through the glaciers were sooo difficult and unintuitive. I was pretty young and lots of time on my hands so I actually did finish this game... eventually. Very rewarding to have it done as it was so arduous. The earing that the one night stand dropped was my first huge hold up that took many extra plays to finally even realize I needed to stumble on to progress in the game. Thanks for the review!
I've gotta say, I'm really glad I found your channel. This was another one that I played back in the early '90s, and it's great to see you breaking out these old chestnuts. Good or bad, they remind me of my own time spent with all these games. I think I made it pretty far into this, but I'm not sure that I ever finished it. I don't know if you've ever done them or not, but I'd love to see you review and discuss the Police Quest series. And as always, keep up the great work!
It's interesting to hear from people that played this back in the day. The prevailing notion is that nobody seems to have made it very far and that says something about the game lol. I do applaud them for trying something different though and there were some good ideas. Also, thank you for the kind words. I definitely want to visit Police Quest at some point!
I played this as a kid and I vaguely remember peace-ing out once I got to the submarine piloting section (and I have NO idea how I made it that far in the first place)
well yeah, we played through this and any other Sierra games without a hintbook at the time, but it was understood it should take a year or more to figure out. Games were meant to take hours and hours of time to figure out the parser solutions, it is what made them fun and so much more immersive than console games. We literally purchased all Sierra games as they came out from Kings Quest 2 on and spent ages solving them, but you talked with your siblings and compared notes and slowly figured them out.
CPR = Copy Protection Ritual for this game. Loving the channel. My cousin and I were partners when we played through Sierra games - if you haven't, KIng's Quest III is one of the best of the lot. :D
But remember to grab a manual for KQ III -- the magic in that game is required and verbatim from the manual is the way to get things done. (Again, copy protection -- but with an immersive element.) Police Quest I has the same -- do things exactly by the book, or we can prove you're playing without a book kind of Copy Protection. LOL.
The CPR thing was a form of copy protection; it ensured you had the manual which was unlikely unless you bought the game. Scanners weren’t very popular back then. There’s a lot of procedural copy protection in this game unfortunately.
Heh, I didn't realize that was their copy protection - thanks for sharing. I had heard of some similar things, like various codes or something... or the 747 physical note from Dr. Jones in StarTropics, but that's definitely one of the more creative ones.
@@FridayNightArcade Reminds me a lot of the police procedure you had to follow in Police Quest of checking your car every time you went out on patrol. If you didn't do a proper walk-around...OOPS! your car broke down! Just like in real life! :D
Keep up the excellent reviews! I'm a fan of a lot of retro game reviewers, and you are one of my favorites. You don't try to emulate anyone else's style and your reviews contain both interesting facts about the games and developers as well as actual gameplay review. Keep it up! :-D
That's incredibly kind of you to say, Norman. Thank you - seriously. It means a lot to know people are genuinely enjoying the show. I'll admit my first few videos were a bit of an homage to AVGN but after that I've tried to do my own way of glorifying some of these great old games and it means the world when folks reach out like you did - so thank you. - A
I owned it when I was growing up, had to buy it as I was a Police Quest fan and this is written by the same guy. I never made it out of the sub, then gave up. The writer does like his tedium - in Police Quest if you didn't do your walk around the squad car you would be awarded with a flat tire and have to restore...
Both the CPR and the submarine controls were intended as copyright protection schemes, which is why you basically can't get through them without the manual (or a walkthrough).
Played this bad boy back in the day. I don't recall not getting help or how many months it took me to beat it...years? LOL As a kid it was super cool, imagination and youth remove all the rough parts of the game. I found it very fun and I felt grown up playing it.
I was a little dude and I couldn't get past the earring part it's haunted my self esteem until now. Thank you. My soul can finally rest in peace. *You receive Useless Earring and Useless Baggage* * Shower of light *
I played this game growing up with nothing but the instruction manual - I loved it for all the reasons you listed and got irritated it for the same reasons you listed. I restarted this game so many damn times lol
Give both EcoQuests a try, it’s a really good introduction for your kids into the old genre. They love the cartoon graphics and silliness of this one. I had a good time growing up In the 80s and 90s with Sierra text adventures. Also give ‘Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood’ a try, awesome quests and artwork.
I wonder if there are saved games you can download for Iceman. I can't get past the mission that requires you to operate the submarine. I've tried for a long time too.
Have you tried A Tale of Two Kingdoms and Heroines Quest? Both are on steam. ATOTK has an indie game price tag and is a Kings Quest fantasy point and click which if came out in the 1990s you’d think it’s a Sierra game it’s that good and polished with the same hand drawn art style. They made a Quest for Glory game point and click too Heroines Quest which is actually free. It’s another full length same hand drawn art style you’d swear it was a Sierra game too. Definitely worth checking out since I’ve seen other Sierra point and click reviews on your channel as well as games like Shadowgate.
Yeah I didn't know about lookin in the Earring... that's as far as I got but I put many hours into the game and I still think about it after all these years, that's why I'm hear (with internet) looking into it
Oh no - you're not being too hard on this game. I spent good money on it back when it first came out, and felt ripped off because there was no entertainment value. It's like the first Police Quest gone bad.
I am one of the few that actually beat this game as well and man, what a tedious experience it felt. The attention to detail and the knowledge of military protocols is sharply handled and nothing short of amazing to see but in execution, not the most fun or engaging to take part in. Also, screw that dreadful car chase finale, I died so many times over that crappy section, you literally have to play with the game speed to get through it to the end. Didn't bother 100% it at all. Even with help from a walkthrough, it still required luck, perfect timing, and having an innocuous item to get through a section.
Wow what a disappointment of a game. Sorry it didn't work out for you. I never had a computer so I missed out. Excellent video Aaron, loved the Seinfeld reference too, nice touch.
That DITHERING, it's hurting my eyes! Space Quest III used dithering here and there to good effect, but THIS, it's almost nothing BUT dithering, horrible.
I've played this game in ma late teens and I hate it to date... for all the reasons you mentioned in the review. This game could be the poster child for "everything wrong with Sierra text parser adventures of the 80s".
I must be the only one in the world that sees the value and fun of text parsers and wish theyd come back in a modern way, point and click ruined Sierra
This is the type of game that I am happy they no longer make. I love gaming, every genre, sub-genre, and off beat title, but adventure games like this were just the height of tedium and they pale in general to adventure titles that are made today (my opinion). That's not to say I don't care for titles that are a bit more cerebral, this game in particular was too much. Snatchers for the Sega CD, now that is a good game well beyond it's years and is my favorite. Return of the Dragon is also a very good game. Side note- What the Hell is going on with your advertisements? Tjis stuff is supposed to be target advertising and right now its some stupid make up commercial for 3 year olds (if I had a daughter...she is not wearing that stuff until she is 40).
Every time he says the word "tedious" ... DRINK!!
THIS TOOK ME 3 YEARS TO BEAT WITHOUT A WALKTHROUGH! That being said, your quick review of this game is pretty darn accurate. The parts that required you to have the manual and the submarine navigating through the glaciers were sooo difficult and unintuitive. I was pretty young and lots of time on my hands so I actually did finish this game... eventually. Very rewarding to have it done as it was so arduous. The earing that the one night stand dropped was my first huge hold up that took many extra plays to finally even realize I needed to stumble on to progress in the game. Thanks for the review!
You are a trooper if you finished this one! Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, that earring is almost impossible to find. Like they made *one pixel* to blink??
I've gotta say, I'm really glad I found your channel. This was another one that I played back in the early '90s, and it's great to see you breaking out these old chestnuts. Good or bad, they remind me of my own time spent with all these games. I think I made it pretty far into this, but I'm not sure that I ever finished it.
I don't know if you've ever done them or not, but I'd love to see you review and discuss the Police Quest series. And as always, keep up the great work!
It's interesting to hear from people that played this back in the day. The prevailing notion is that nobody seems to have made it very far and that says something about the game lol. I do applaud them for trying something different though and there were some good ideas.
Also, thank you for the kind words. I definitely want to visit Police Quest at some point!
I played this as a kid and I vaguely remember peace-ing out once I got to the submarine piloting section (and I have NO idea how I made it that far in the first place)
well yeah, we played through this and any other Sierra games without a hintbook at the time, but it was understood it should take a year or more to figure out. Games were meant to take hours and hours of time to figure out the parser solutions, it is what made them fun and so much more immersive than console games. We literally purchased all Sierra games as they came out from Kings Quest 2 on and spent ages solving them, but you talked with your siblings and compared notes and slowly figured them out.
CPR = Copy Protection Ritual for this game. Loving the channel. My cousin and I were partners when we played through Sierra games - if you haven't, KIng's Quest III is one of the best of the lot. :D
But remember to grab a manual for KQ III -- the magic in that game is required and verbatim from the manual is the way to get things done. (Again, copy protection -- but with an immersive element.)
Police Quest I has the same -- do things exactly by the book, or we can prove you're playing without a book kind of Copy Protection. LOL.
YES! KEEP BRINGING THE REVIEWS!
The CPR thing was a form of copy protection; it ensured you had the manual which was unlikely unless you bought the game. Scanners weren’t very popular back then. There’s a lot of procedural copy protection in this game unfortunately.
Heh, I didn't realize that was their copy protection - thanks for sharing. I had heard of some similar things, like various codes or something... or the 747 physical note from Dr. Jones in StarTropics, but that's definitely one of the more creative ones.
@@FridayNightArcade Reminds me a lot of the police procedure you had to follow in Police Quest of checking your car every time you went out on patrol. If you didn't do a proper walk-around...OOPS! your car broke down!
Just like in real life! :D
It is photocopy friendly, so the copy protection is "eh". :)
Keep up the excellent reviews! I'm a fan of a lot of retro game reviewers, and you are one of my favorites. You don't try to emulate anyone else's style and your reviews contain both interesting facts about the games and developers as well as actual gameplay review. Keep it up! :-D
That's incredibly kind of you to say, Norman. Thank you - seriously. It means a lot to know people are genuinely enjoying the show. I'll admit my first few videos were a bit of an homage to AVGN but after that I've tried to do my own way of glorifying some of these great old games and it means the world when folks reach out like you did - so thank you. - A
I owned it when I was growing up, had to buy it as I was a Police Quest fan and this is written by the same guy. I never made it out of the sub, then gave up. The writer does like his tedium - in Police Quest if you didn't do your walk around the squad car you would be awarded with a flat tire and have to restore...
That CPR segment sounds like more creative copyright protection from Sierra
Both the CPR and the submarine controls were intended as copyright protection schemes, which is why you basically can't get through them without the manual (or a walkthrough).
Played this bad boy back in the day. I don't recall not getting help or how many months it took me to beat it...years? LOL As a kid it was super cool, imagination and youth remove all the rough parts of the game. I found it very fun and I felt grown up playing it.
I was a little dude and I couldn't get past the earring part it's haunted my self esteem until now.
Thank you. My soul can finally rest in peace.
*You receive Useless Earring and Useless Baggage*
* Shower of light *
Nice! I played this game when I was younger. I did not get very far though...
That man has the likeness of William Shatner holding a phaser..
I played this game growing up with nothing but the instruction manual - I loved it for all the reasons you listed and got irritated it for the same reasons you listed. I restarted this game so many damn times lol
Give both EcoQuests a try, it’s a really good introduction for your kids into the old genre. They love the cartoon graphics and silliness of this one. I had a good time growing up In the 80s and 90s with Sierra text adventures. Also give ‘Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood’ a try, awesome quests and artwork.
Thanks for the suggestions!
That beginning part must be copy protection.
Okay, never mind. The entire game is copy protection.
Lol!
I wonder if there are saved games you can download for Iceman. I can't get past the mission that requires you to operate the submarine. I've tried for a long time too.
This game deserves more credit than it gets. Hard but fun.
i was about 9 or 10 when i got this game and it took me probably 3 yr to finish it... i loved it lol
Have you tried A Tale of Two Kingdoms and Heroines Quest? Both are on steam. ATOTK has an indie game price tag and is a Kings Quest fantasy point and click which if came out in the 1990s you’d think it’s a Sierra game it’s that good and polished with the same hand drawn art style. They made a Quest for Glory game point and click too Heroines Quest which is actually free. It’s another full length same hand drawn art style you’d swear it was a Sierra game too. Definitely worth checking out since I’ve seen other Sierra point and click reviews on your channel as well as games like Shadowgate.
This was one Sierra game I wanted to play but never got to play. Lol. Glad I missed out
yeah, it has some cool looking areas if you're into those graphics but you can definitely skip this one lol
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣@ "...play a mean joke on a friend" 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
My brother got me this as a gift once. I never figured out what to do after the sex scene.
Yeah I didn't know about lookin in the Earring... that's as far as I got but I put many hours into the game and I still think about it after all these years, that's why I'm hear (with internet) looking into it
After the sex scene, make yourself a sandwich and see if SportsCenter is still on. *Zing!* .... Sorry lol... I'll show myself out now.
You won already, turn off the computer 😆
@@FhargaZ LOL
When I was young I never passed the submarine.
thanks for the video.
It's a game from a different time, when players used to play the same game for months.
True. We played Space Quest III for an entire summer before we made it to the end.
Agree 100% you about this game. Beautiful graphics, but otherwise TEDIOUS! Great channel!
Thanks for checking out the show!
FNA you should do Day of the Tentacle and The Dig
Never got past the submarine
Oh no - you're not being too hard on this game. I spent good money on it back when it first came out, and felt ripped off because there was no entertainment value. It's like the first Police Quest gone bad.
I am one of the few that actually beat this game as well and man, what a tedious experience it felt. The attention to detail and the knowledge of military protocols is sharply handled and nothing short of amazing to see but in execution, not the most fun or engaging to take part in. Also, screw that dreadful car chase finale, I died so many times over that crappy section, you literally have to play with the game speed to get through it to the end. Didn't bother 100% it at all. Even with help from a walkthrough, it still required luck, perfect timing, and having an innocuous item to get through a section.
100% agreed - it was a cool idea but just not fun to play through at all. Not as much as it should have been anyway.
We played it on our Atari ST, also with a walkthrough.. 🤣
I love these vids
Hey thanks!
Wow what a disappointment of a game. Sorry it didn't work out for you. I never had a computer so I missed out. Excellent video Aaron, loved the Seinfeld reference too, nice touch.
Very cool
Do leisure suit Larry please
That DITHERING, it's hurting my eyes! Space Quest III used dithering here and there to good effect, but THIS, it's almost nothing BUT dithering, horrible.
me and my brother beat this without a guide, sheeeiiittt
Do captain skyhawk
Never heard of this
OHHHHH YAHHH!
Leisure suit larry sequel
I've played this game in ma late teens and I hate it to date... for all the reasons you mentioned in the review.
This game could be the poster child for "everything wrong with Sierra text parser adventures of the 80s".
Grab phone. *you pick your phone up* Smash like button *you successfully smash your phone to pieces*
Exit game.
😎
I must be the only one in the world that sees the value and fun of text parsers and wish theyd come back in a modern way, point and click ruined Sierra
This is the type of game that I am happy they no longer make. I love gaming, every genre, sub-genre, and off beat title, but adventure games like this were just the height of tedium and they pale in general to adventure titles that are made today (my opinion). That's not to say I don't care for titles that are a bit more cerebral, this game in particular was too much. Snatchers for the Sega CD, now that is a good game well beyond it's years and is my favorite. Return of the Dragon is also a very good game.
Side note-
What the Hell is going on with your advertisements? Tjis stuff is supposed to be target advertising and right now its some stupid make up commercial for 3 year olds (if I had a daughter...she is not wearing that stuff until she is 40).
One of the most frustrating Sierra games
Too many dithering yack
I know it's shit, but it's MY shit.
Don’t insult late night Skinemax movies.
I bought it as a kid and was too difficult to play. it was disappointing.
Imagine buying the digital version of this and NOT having the guide to read as you go along? Just one more reason why digital sucks!!
How about you Imagining them including the manual in digital form when you buy it? ;-) Everything is going digital, time to accept it.
First