King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder

This is one of the most memorable and quotable computer games ever. I grew up on the King's Quest, Space Quest, and Hero's Quest (AKA Quest For Glory) classic series by Sierra entertainment. Kings Quest V is undoubtedly one of the funniest ones too. The lengthy portion of the game involving searching through the desert is pretty tiresome (and pretty reminiscent of Quest for Glory 2) but it pays off hilariously upon discovering the encampment full of arabs with Mexican accents! "Who are you??!?" asks a sleepy arab, seconds before he ruthlessly stabs you. Cedric the Owl provides the most amusement as the annoying owl who follows you around, keenly pointing out "Watch out for that cliff, Graham!" AFTER you've fallen off the side. You CAN get your revenge on Cedric though later in the game on Harpy island where you carry the wounded Cedric to safety... there's the option to tumble off a cliff with him still in your hands. A pretty cheesy, but a very humorous and classic computer game.

The story: You're King Graham (hero from King's Quest 1 and 2) the ruler of the kingdom of Daventry. Whilst on a walk your castle gets stolen with the rest of your family by an evil wizard named Mordac. It turns out that Mordac is the brother of Mannanan (evil wizard from King's Quest 3) who was turned into a cat by your son Prince Alexander (Gwydion the hero from King's Quest 3) and wants Alexander to return his brother to his original form. Fortunately with the help of the old wizard Crispin and his pet owl Cedric, Graham is transported to the kingdowm of Serenia where he must overcome great challenges to locate Mordac and free his family.

The 5th game in the now legendary King's Quest saga was probably its greatest in terms of graphical achievement and storyline. It saw the return of the original King's Quest hero Graham (who had taken a back seat to his children Alexander/Gwydion in King's Quest 3 and Rosella in King's Quest 4) and featured a great variety of locations - deserts, mountains, towns, forests, seas etc. The graphics were the most advanced of any King's Quest game thus far and the new icon control system replaced the old text based command system of the previous 4 games.

The biggest downside to the game however (and it has been already mentioned) was the lack of any real fairy tale inspired quests, with the writers instead favouring their own inventions. Although this may have leant some originality to the game it somewhat hampered the puzzle-solving as there was often a lack of order and logic in solving some of the problems (this existed in earlier games as well, but by those being primarily based on fairy tales it helped lend an idea to players on how to go about solving the puzzles).

Still it was a thoroughly game for its time and probably represented the series at its height (though it would quickly come crashing down). Definitely recommended for old adventure game fans.

This fifth installment of the King's Quest Series marked the franchise shift from floppy disks (although you can still purchase KQ5 in that format) to CD-ROM. While this switch promulgated a new frontier for graphics, video, sound, and gameplay, it was not without its faux pas.

The plot of KQ5 is much in line with its four predecessors, that being rooted in the fantasy tale of the Royal Family of Daventry. When out on a stroll one day, King Graham comes back just in time to see his castle whooshed away by the evil wizard Mordack. Armed only (initially) with an old wand and a travelling partner (Cedric the Owl), Graham sets out to rescue his family and reclaim his home.

When not bugging up or screwing you over (I'll get to that in a minute), this is an incredibly fun adventure game that will have you puzzling through a multitude of scenarios using the traditional knapsack-method of adventuring (pick up an object, use it later). Plus, unlike the Myst series, King's Quest is much more low-key and silly, basing its puzzle scenarios on old fairy tales, animals, or funny puns, as well as allowing you (the player) to interact with many people/things in your environment. It is difficult to master (especially in the labyrinth-like desert and the final "end boss" task), but ultimately quite fulfilling in the quest.

Here is the big problem, though: There are too many scenarios in which the player can miss something at the beginning of the game (and something quite inconspicuous at that), then play for hours, only to discover that they have to start almost anew again. For example, there is a gameplay element in KQ5 involving Graham saving a rat from a cat. Unless the scenario plays out perfectly at the perfect time, there is absolutely no way to finish the game. While I had that knowledge coming into the gaming experience (pretty much just playing for nostalgia's sake), I can't imagine how frustrating it would be for the first-time player.

Also, the infamous "heap space" error may make the ending of the game rather torturous for you instead of thrilling. At the apex of the final puzzle/battle, your computer may give you an error regarding "not enough heap space" (I still don't know what that is!!). It may happen, it may not...it's just a frustrating crapshoot.

Thus, while with all my heart I wanted to give this classic game an overall five-star review, I just could not. In terms of overall "fun", it is easily a 5, but add in the no-win scenarios and glitches and the frustration begins to build up. However, if you (like I was) are nostalgic for the "good old days" of PC gaming, by all means come back to this gem. I was able to get things up and running easily on my Windows Vista operating system.

I grew up on the old / previous King's Quest games, I was 11 when the original came out in black and white. I was a fan immediately, I can blame the old Atari game Adventure for my liking of adventure games and RPG's. So once 1990 rolled around and this game came out I was super excited of course after already having beat all the previous four games multiple times. I unfortunately had to wait until Christmas 91 to get it. I played this non-stop until I beat it. Back then when you have only the Sierra help line to call for clues or friends who possibly are farther in the game then you for help it was mostly figuring out all of it yourself which I did pretty much for 90% of the game. I think it took me about 6 months to beat the game after all that trial and error but that's what made these games fun was figuring it out all by yourself.

I thought I was going to hate the new point and click interface but I really liked how it smoothed the game out. The typing interface in the old games can get really old. The owl could be annoying but that's a small complaint for such a great game in a great series. King's Quest games 1 thru 6 are all great adventures and each one getting better than the previous one. I think they obviously peaked with games 5 & 6.

I have to be honest if I could go back in time and relive the greatness that was the 80s and 90s I would do it in a sec. Sure technology was more in it's infant stages but to me it was more pure fun. This game is so old to give you an idea of inflation today gas prices were around 90 cents to a dollar per gallon around the time this game came out. When King's Quest 4 came out I remember gas was around 75 cents per gallon. It sure was a simpler time but we had a great time living in it.

This might be the worst game of all time. It is much easier than any other KG Game and you will finish it in like 2 hours. I liked Kings Quest 6 But this is really bad. the storyline is weak and there is a lack of Gameplay.