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Sierra How are the Sierra Conquests games?

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Hey all. I'm looking for old adventure games to play with my nephew, and he's currently very into (kiddie-friendly, not Malory) the Arthurian legens, so I thought Conquests of Camelot might be a good game. It's one of the few SoL games that I didn't play back in the day though, so I'm not sure if it's a good pick for a kid just shy of 9 (he's very smart, but he's still 8 years old if you know what I mean). As a reference point, KQVII was a pretty good fit for him in terms of difficulty. Would Conquests be too hard? Also, is it any good? No point in giving him a shit game.

And I know it's EGA, that's not a problem. QFG1 is his favorite game. No blood of mine is going to be a graphicswhore.

Thanks for the input guys!
 

Unkillable Cat

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I never played the Conquest games, but IIRC the Conquest of the Longbow game is VGA and without the parser and focuses on Robin Hood. No idea on the difficulty, but at least the interface will be friendlier.
 

Skunkpew

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I'd say Conquests of Camelot is one of the most difficult adventure games Sierra made. It might seem odd, but it reminds me most of Police Quest 1, with so much emphasis on doing protocol-type things to really try and bring out the theme, in this case worshipping at the right time, giving proper homage at the right times to characters, and that sort of thing. Even though you need to be doing this stuff, unlike Police Quest 1, you don't automatically get the game over screen if you forget to do something, so you could be several hours in and realize you missed something. There's also no indication at all that you should do these things or that you even can do these things, although maybe the manual would give some hints in this regard. So it's an unforgiving experience over all. It's also parser based, so that ups the challenge even more. However it's also one of the few things I've seen/played/or read that nails the Arthurian theme so completely. It makes me want to go and read Le Morte D'Arthur.

Conquests of the Longbow I remember being very fun. Just a classic Sierra adventure game done well. I keep meaning to replay it. I'd say it's closer to a better fit for a kid to play and matches in difficulty and appearance games like KQ5 and KQ6. Though there are also minigames that can be challenging/frustrating, but if I recall you can adjust the difficulty level for these.
 

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Camelot is alright. It mixes the Arthurian mythos with other ones and it comes out a bit odd as a result. It has a couple of rage inducing mini games. I never remember the game much. It suffers from Codename Iceman syndrome, where it sometimes feels like every other puzzle is a disguised copy protection call. It's not too bad all in all though and definitely better than Iceman. Not my favourite Sierra game.

Longbow is great though. It also does some mixing (in this case, the usual Robin Hood fare with a heavy dose of druidic lore). The game has multiple ways to solve puzzles and a LOT of C&C. Most of it won't be obvious until very late in the game, but almost every little thing you do or don't do in the game eventually factors into the ending. It also suffers from a lot of copy protection calls but some of the other puzzles are quite clever. Most minigames can be skipped entirely (though I think not if you want a perfect score), but they're not too bad or intrusive to begin wtih. I love the game, it's one of Sierra's most unique adventures.
 

SerratedBiz

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I second (third? fourth?) Conquests of the Longbow over Camelot. Camelot suffers from the oldschool obscure puzzles, as commented earlier, and although I had a lot of fun with it I never finished it in my childhood for this very reason.

On the other hand, Longbow is just as enjoyable and, although challenging, is a lot less obtuse about critical items and plot encounters. It's definitely one of my favorite games from the Sierra adventures era and I must've been barely a year younger than your nephew when I tried it.

ETA: Copy protection used to be a problem back in the day since it consisted of 'look in your manual for critical game info'. Nowadays, at least the abandonware versions have scanned versions of everything.
 

Lambonius

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Camelot is definitely an 80s style hard adventure game, but it's not obscenely obscure either. It just absolutely requires you to read the manual and be familiar with the Arthurian lore to be able to get the most out of it. If you have the manual, and read it, and are familiar with the 80s adventure game convention of requiring the player to look at outside sources for puzzle hints/solutions, it's really not THAT bad. It's one of the best Sierra games in terms of tone, though--it really draws you into its world in a way some of the later VGA games fail to do.
 

SCO

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All was said in the topic. I have to underline that Camelot really is a 80's adventure with no mercy. For example you can get into deadends because you lost all your money to a thief IIRC.

In longbow on the other hand part of the goal is to find all the ways to give your money away ;)
Also one is parser dependent the other ain't. There are better parser games to give a young children. You could try some of the less raunchy legend entertainment games for example, like gateway.

If the kid is only really into arthur's legend and not so much adventures you could play that king arthur wargame RPG (more like rts) thing.
 

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Pepper's Adventures in Time was teh best. :love:

(It's really only good for Americans though.)
 

SerratedBiz

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Pepper's Adventures in Time was teh best.

(It's really only good for Americans though.)

Not really true, I enjoyed it a lot growing up. Can't say it made me particularly erudite on the topic of the American independence but you can get into the story nevertheless.

On the topic of Sierra On-Line games for kids, what about Eco Quest: The Search for Cetus?

I remember Ecoquest as being very kid-friendly, both in theme and difficulty. Puzzles weren't hard, the topic is relatively educational (save the world from pollution and all that). The second one is more of the same.

It just absolutely requires you to read the manual and be familiar with the Arthurian lore to be able to get the most out of it. If you have the manual, and read it, and are familiar with the 80s adventure game convention of requiring the player to look at outside sources for puzzle hints/solutions, it's really not THAT bad.

Just what kind of 9 year old are we talking about here?
 

tuluse

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King Arthur: The role-playing wargame is quite good.

It might be a touch overwhelming for someone with no experience with strategy games, as you have lots of stuff to manage right off the bat. It's basically a Total War game where you play as Arthur and have to unite England. There is a 2-axis alignment system, magic, and text adventure quests you go on.
 

Lambonius

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Just what kind of 9 year old are we talking about here?

Well, OP said he'd be playing it WITH his nephew, not that he'd be giving it to the kid to play by himself. I assumed that meant that he'd be helping him through the more obscure parts.
 
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Thanks to one and all for the responses. Seems like Camelot might be a bit much for my nephew, but it does sound like it's right up my alley; I will give it a try shortly. Will likely follow it up with Longbow.

Part of the reason I was hoping Camelot would be a good fit was due to it being parser-based. I know the text-parser was one of the chief reasons he enjoyed QFG (and any game that requires typing is a much easier sell to my sister). Can anyone recommend any other kid-friendly adventure games with a text-parser? A historical or high-fantasy setting is a plus.


Why not Myst? Teach him logical reasoning, observation and trial and error.
Outside of the art-design, I was never a huge fan of Myst. In fairness, I haven't looked at the game in close to 20 years, but I remember thinking it was some boring ass shit (and it had some cringe-worthy FMV iirc). Was I just being young and dumb? Is Myst worth another gander?


King Arthur: The role-playing wargame is quite good.

It might be a touch overwhelming for someone with no experience with strategy games, as you have lots of stuff to manage right off the bat. It's basically a Total War game where you play as Arthur and have to unite England. There is a 2-axis alignment system, magic, and text adventure quests you go on.

My sister would skin me alive if I tried to get my nephew playing this, but your post did remind me that I bought this on a Steam sale for $2.50 and never played it. From your description, it sounds like big fun; I will have to give it a whirl.


Just what kind of 9 year old are we talking about here?

Well, OP said he'd be playing it WITH his nephew, not that he'd be giving it to the kid to play by himself. I assumed that meant that he'd be helping him through the more obscure parts.

Yeah we tend to play games together.. We generally get about 4-6hours of game-time together in a week.
 

SerratedBiz

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Well, if he enjoyed QfG1, the obvious choice is QfG2. The original one is still parser-based, while the recent remake combines point-and-click with an optional text parser.

The Space Quests until 4, IIRC, are parser games and a lot of fun if you can get into the setting. I guess you can call it a sci-fi comedy adventure series.

The two first Police Quests, OTOH, are modern day and pretty serious what with all the criminal elements, drugs, murders, etc. I had a blast with them as a kid back in the day, though.

I never played the text-based King Quests so I can't vouch for them.

Eric the Unready has an unusual take on the thing by laying out all the verbs and nouns in lists on your screen along with a small window for visual representation. You can click on them or type them down to interact. It's a fantasy setting, sort of QfG meets Space Quest (but only as far as setting goes; it's an adventure game through and through).
 

tuluse

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Why not Myst? Teach him logical reasoning, observation and trial and error.
Outside of the art-design, I was never a huge fan of Myst. In fairness, I haven't looked at the game in close to 20 years, but I remember thinking it was some boring ass shit (and it had some cringe-worthy FMV iirc). Was I just being young and dumb? Is Myst worth another gander?
Myst is all about discovery. You really have to get in the mind set of figuring out this alien world and how it works. Finding clues and scraps of info.

King Arthur: The role-playing wargame is quite good.

It might be a touch overwhelming for someone with no experience with strategy games, as you have lots of stuff to manage right off the bat. It's basically a Total War game where you play as Arthur and have to unite England. There is a 2-axis alignment system, magic, and text adventure quests you go on.

My sister would skin me alive if I tried to get my nephew playing this, but your post did remind me that I bought this on a Steam sale for $2.50 and never played it. From your description, it sounds like big fun; I will have to give it a whirl.
Time to be the cool uncle who lets his nephew play disallowed games at his house ;)

In all seriousness though, limits aren't always bad. Can't help too much with the parser suggestions though, was always a LucasArts fan.
 

Crooked Bee

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Myst(-likes) are my one true love, but they require a fair bit of patience that younger players tend to lack. If you do go for it though, I would start with Riven; it's better-designed and the world is more fleshed out iirc.

As far as more recent Myst-likes are concerned, Ether One is good and fairly accessible, and ASA - A Space Adventure is absolutely great if less accessible (but you should probably wait until its enhanced edition comes to Steam, which should happen soon).

Eric the Unready has an unusual take on the thing by laying out all the verbs and nouns in lists on your screen along with a small window for visual representation.

Eric the Unready's jokes and puzzle solutions are fairly mature though! :)

However, Legend Entertainment's games are a good suggestion. Timequest and Gateway are both great, and I also enjoyed Shannara a lot when I was little. Callahan's is fantastic, but I'm not sure a young person can really get into it.
 

Infinitron

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What's wrong with good old Monkey Island? From a kid's perspective, LucasArts' old verb system is almost like a parser. Put the words together into sentences.
 

tuluse

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Myst(-likes) are my one true love, but they require a fair bit of patience that younger players tend to lack. If you do go for it though, I would start with Riven; it's better-designed and the world is more fleshed out iirc.
Riven is also significantly more difficult.

Also, I think they're making a RealRiven Masterpiece Edition doubleplus good soon?
 

Crooked Bee

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Also, I think they're making a RealRiven Masterpiece Edition doubleplus good soon?

They are? Pretty cool if so.

I guess Riven might be more difficult, yeah. I don't really recall how difficult the original Myst is anymore.
 

tuluse

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They are? Pretty cool if so.

I guess Riven might be more difficult, yeah. I don't really recall how difficult the original Myst is anymore.
I swore I read about, but now I can't find anything.

Maybe I dreamt the whole thing.
 

SCO

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QFG 2 / remake is a good suggestion. Optional parser, good game. The furry subtext will probably just pass him by or be noticed and dismissed as perverted older person stuff.


:negative:

However, Legend Entertainment's games are a good suggestion. Timequest and Gateway are both great, and I also enjoyed Shannara a lot when I was little. Callahan's is fantastic, but I'm not sure a young person can really get into it.
Don't forget superhero league of hoboken although that is funnier with at least some rpg history /NY history experience for being a highly entertaining adventure disguised as a rpg. Most of the jokes on this will go over the head of a 9 year old though being mostly place/time specific.
 

SCO

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Mmmm, how about king of the pass even? A slightly less retarded debased version of the celtic-like tribal king making idea of the Arthur myth. Pure point and click too, so he can play and die alone.
 

Sceptic

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Thanks to one and all for the responses. Seems like Camelot might be a bit much for my nephew, but it does sound like it's right up my alley; I will give it a try shortly. Will likely follow it up with Longbow.
Just try it out with him and see if he likes it, you can always move to something else if he doesn't.

Can anyone recommend any other kid-friendly adventure games with a text-parser? A historical or high-fantasy setting is a plus.
Infocom is the way to go then. You have both an Arthur game, and Shogun (based on Clavell's novel). I think they also had a 3rd game in that vein and using the same engine (they're like the Legend games, text with some still graphics; though you can turn off the graphics and simply play them as the old Infocom games) but I can't remember what it was. A Mind Forever Voyaging is more or less kid-friendly, but it's not historical/fantasy and it's quite serious in tone. Parser, but quite easy as a game. Stay the hell away from the Meretzky games otherwise! Your sister WILL skin you alive if she sees you showing him Leather Goddesses of Phobos (though it IS a great game). The original Zork trilogy might work - fantasy and parser, nothing too adult in there IIRC. Enchanter trilogy is harder, not sure whether this level of difficulty (Spellbreaker is HARD) would qualify as kid-friendly. IIRC Wishbringer was another good introductory Infocom game. Moving on to Legend, as Ms Bee suggested Gateway and Timequest should work - Timequest has a lot of pseudo-historical stuff in it, it's a great non-linear game, excellent parser (you can turn off the list of verbs/nouns that Seerated mentioned, I usually play without the lists). Eric The Unready might have too many "adult" jokes for your sister's liking. Stay the hell away from Meretzky's Spellcasting series! I think this covers most of the good old commercial text adventures.

Sierra's games have some good ones, but again beware the lewd jokes. Space Quest have a bit of that but they should be ok for a kid (mostly). King's Quest are alright but the parser (especially in the early ones) is poor, though he might enjoy the fairytale pot-pourri that Roberta had fun throwing together. The rest of the QFG series would be my recommendation; if it has to be parsers then definitely QFG2 original, at the very least.

Outside of the art-design, I was never a huge fan of Myst. In fairness, I haven't looked at the game in close to 20 years, but I remember thinking it was some boring ass shit (and it had some cringe-worthy FMV iirc). Was I just being young and dumb? Is Myst worth another gander?
If all you took from Myst was the FMV then yes you were young and dumb :P It's a slow paced game for sure but that's personally something I like. Exploration and puzzles are great. Riven is harder and supposedly better, but I like the first game the most.

Of course if you move into point and click then the list gets MUCH longer.
 

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