Smart-mouthed comedy adventure
The Simon the Sorcerer series is a pretty decent set of smart-mouthed comic adventures that play out a little like the Monkey Island games but without quite reaching the same dizzy heights. The series follows the adventures of Simon, a teenager turned wizard who embarks on a series of adventures which see him facing off against Sordid, an evil sorcerer. This fourth entry in the series is not the greatest one, so casual players can happily skip this one, leaving it for die hard fans alone. The story here finds Simon's mind being transported into an alternate dimension, where he finds himself required to save the world. Things are made more complex by the appearance of an evil version of Simon, and the foundations are thus laid for an epic and comic adventure. In gameplay terms, this is a traditional point-and-click adventure, exploring various environments, occasionally switching characters and solving numerous inventory-based puzzles. For the most part, this is a pretty decent, if unremarkable, adventure. It's got nice enough visuals, which are certainly full of personality and detail, with some well drawn environments and characters. The story too is quite engaging, with the usual array of quick wit and smart-mouthed comments that will have Discworld fans chuckling, although the dialogue is notably not as sharp as before, which is disappointing. The puzzles too are well done and implemented, feeling like a natural part of the game without feeling too tacked on and overall, this is a solid adventure, but one which is unlikely to linger with you.
