Simon the Sorcerer 4
(I don't know if there's already a thread about this game, tried searching but couldn't find any - my apologies if there is)
I really liked the first three games in the Simon the Sorcerer series so when I heard that a 4th game was going to be made a few years back I was delighted. I was a little disappointed that it wouldn't be created by the Woodroffes (apparently they were partly involved in the development - they are credited for 'additional design') but was happy to see a classic character return after the disappointing Simon 3D (if only they had been able to make it 2D as they originally wanted. ah well).
Anyway, a year or so goes by and I read that Simon 4 is released in Germany. At various points over the next year I keep checking for any sign of an English release but eventually forget about it until earlier this year when I hear it was released late last year in English. But I heard mixed things about it and forgot about it again (mainly due to concentrating on university work).
A week or so ago I bought the game when I saw it online for the very cheap price of £2.50! I bought it not expecting much but getting it for completeness sake (and the fact that it was very cheap!) but after playing it a fair bit over the last week I have to say I got a bargain.
The one major problem I have with the game came within seconds of starting it - Simon's (and, in the connecting sense, his brother's) voices. I was not prepared for the roguish, English character I fondly remembered to suddenly sound American. But there it was. It still grates on me occasionally but I can still play the game. But that's probably the only problem I have with the game.
It looks beautiful. The backgrounds look perfect and the character models are fantastic. The humour is spot on (though I've noticed a couple of 'lost in translation' moments but they are few & far between) and I absolutely love the numerous references to the previous Simon games and other adventure games. It is clear to me that this game was created by people who have played and liked the previous Simon games as well as other adventure games of the era. All in all I have to recommend this to fans of the series, especially if you can pick it up cheaply. I haven't even finished it yet and I'm already looking forward to Simon 5.
I really liked the first three games in the Simon the Sorcerer series so when I heard that a 4th game was going to be made a few years back I was delighted. I was a little disappointed that it wouldn't be created by the Woodroffes (apparently they were partly involved in the development - they are credited for 'additional design') but was happy to see a classic character return after the disappointing Simon 3D (if only they had been able to make it 2D as they originally wanted. ah well).
Anyway, a year or so goes by and I read that Simon 4 is released in Germany. At various points over the next year I keep checking for any sign of an English release but eventually forget about it until earlier this year when I hear it was released late last year in English. But I heard mixed things about it and forgot about it again (mainly due to concentrating on university work).
A week or so ago I bought the game when I saw it online for the very cheap price of £2.50! I bought it not expecting much but getting it for completeness sake (and the fact that it was very cheap!) but after playing it a fair bit over the last week I have to say I got a bargain.
The one major problem I have with the game came within seconds of starting it - Simon's (and, in the connecting sense, his brother's) voices. I was not prepared for the roguish, English character I fondly remembered to suddenly sound American. But there it was. It still grates on me occasionally but I can still play the game. But that's probably the only problem I have with the game.
It looks beautiful. The backgrounds look perfect and the character models are fantastic. The humour is spot on (though I've noticed a couple of 'lost in translation' moments but they are few & far between) and I absolutely love the numerous references to the previous Simon games and other adventure games. It is clear to me that this game was created by people who have played and liked the previous Simon games as well as other adventure games of the era. All in all I have to recommend this to fans of the series, especially if you can pick it up cheaply. I haven't even finished it yet and I'm already looking forward to Simon 5.
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But then I'm one of those that consider this "series" to be one of the rather good "also rans" in the grand scheme of things that somehow managed to garner a cult following, albeit a smaller one. Don't get me wrong, compared to LucasArts rip-offs like Flight Of The Amazon Queen this is Comedy Gold, but Simon was never anything else than a light-hearted spoof on fantasy cliches. And then turned into a series. And then a brand name digged up by a foreign company some odd five+ years old later to milk the last drop of what's left inside. Which wasn't all that much from the get-go.
Almost hurts me to admit this, as I like the Woodroffes and their games pretty much - sadly with the demise of Headfirst they're out of business now. That is, Simon himself isn't really. Working for another games company now. Still Call Of Cthulhu looks like the best Lovecraft game there has yet been. And luckily one I've yet to play!
I hate, yes, HATE Simon 4 with all my gut.
They ve changed everything, put it upsidedown.
Do you think that the Simon from part II, the one that was gonna leave the magic kingdom with Calypso tied up, and Alix kidnapped (and had to be blackmailed in order to cooperate) its the same one that in 4 wakes up from a dream and shouts: "My friends are in danger! i gotta save them!!!"????
And from there on it just get worse. I...i..i just cant tell you how bad i think it is.
Ughh i think im gonna throw up.
Damn you! i though it was all over! Now the memories are back...
Mommy make the bad game go away!!!
I thought the story was really bland (heck, even though Simon 3D can be a serious pain sometimes, the story was way better and fit better).
Oh, and I miss Sordid. And Runt. And the woodworms. And the Porkupine boy.
I haven't played any other adventure series to have lasted for more than 3 games so I can't comment beyond that...
The entire charm that the series had is gone - the humor is a complete miss most of the time and the characters are just ... off. Simon doesn't feel like Simon at all, and neither does the entire world he traverses. Most of the sarcastic, sneery comments and jokes are gone as well. It feels like a bad fan-made game, although it does have it's moments. I will probably get the fifth one as well - but to be honest that one seems to be even worse as far as the jokes and plot goes. It can't be THAT hard to come up with a decent fantasy spoof now...can it?
If there's one game I'd love to see remade or get the episodic treatment it's Simon The Sorcerer. It does for fantasy what Monkey Island did for pirates.
Edit: a game that seems to come close to the style, feel and humor that Simon had is Ceville I think - although I only played the demo so far. Did anyone complete that game?
I haven't tried the third or fourth game, but demo of fifth seemed to be decent. Nothing spectacular, but it was all right. My biggest beef was that there was no German subtitles, which would make playing a lot easier for non-Germans. I know bit of German, but occasionally for example Swampling's dialogue was difficult for me to follow.
I've looked at artwork and stuff for the 5th game but that's it so far. I'll probably still buy it eventually just because I'm a long-time fan, but I don't think I'll rush to get it the moment it's released. Might read a few reviews first, to be on the safe side.
Oh, look! Here comes Copy-And-Paste Man to save the day!
Simon 4 is just utterly horrible.
It was picked up by a German company and designed to neatly follow on from the German translations of the Simon the Sorcerer series.
It was then picked up by the lowest bidder to be translated into English. These people have obviously never played the series and wound up completely messing up all of the characters.
If you're a fan of the series you'll want literally to burn it after 2 minutes of playing it.
Here's the link ... http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/simonthesorcerer5
Odd name though, WTF!? O.o
It's a shame Adventure Soft didn't get the chance to make Simon 3 the way they wanted to. The original plan was to make it a really high quality 2D game. And even if you prefer 3D animation overall, surely you will still agree that detailed and properly-done 2D beats overly-simple and cheap 3D (which is what Simon 3D became unfortunately).
But actually, my real hope for Simon 5 is that they improve his character and bring back the rude, offensive Simon from the second game. Though I doubt they will quite to that extent. Some people didn't like Simon in the second game (although I think he had the best character design in that one, as he had so much personality).
From what I hear, the German version of Simon 4 wasn't that bad.
So all it would take is for them to actually put some effort into the English translation. You know, pay money to hire someone who actually knows what they're doing? Then I think you'll get your wish.
Either way, I've already decided not to expect too much of Simon 5. I might do what I did with Simon 4 - wait for it to go cheap on Amazon and then buy it from there. Oh, and read plenty of reviews of course!
Like I mentioned earlier, I wasn't too disappointed with Simon 4, but might have been if I'd bought a full price copy or not been prepared for the differences in the characters (random American accents included).
That's how I feel - £2.50 I paid for the game so I haven't lost anything by trying it.