<!--
	Title: Simon the Sorcerer
	Author: Paul Shaffer
	Source: QuestBusters, #110
	Date: 1994
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

<div class="article-sidebar-box float-right" style="border: 4px double; border-radius: 1em;">
<span class="bold larger">Type</span> Animated adventure<br>
<span class="bold larger">System</span> IBM & IBM CDROM Required 640K, 10 MB hard disk, DOS 5.0+,
	VGA, mouse Supports Supports SoundBlaster, Roland MT-32 & LAPC, Ad
	Lib Recommended: 386+ and Sound card<br>
<span class="bold larger">Planned ports</span> none
</div>

<p class="article-dropcap">Simon is a twelve-year old with an
attitude. On his birthday he finds a dog at his door with a mysterious
book in irs mouth. Forgetting about the book, Simon rerums to his daily
routines and his amateur magic act The dog has not forgotten, however, and
leads Simon back to where he left the book in the attic.</p>

When Simon opens the book, a portal appears. His dog quickly enters,
and Simon follows. He quickly discovers that he has been chosen to help rescue a
captured wizard in a fantasy world completely different from his own. Here
begins the game.

Activision recently decided to make another go of their "Infocom" line of
products. After a dismal attempt to revive the *Leather Goddess* storyline a few
years ago, *Return to Zork* finally hit the stores last year. *Return to Zork* was an
incredible improvement over *Leather Goddesses II* (the CD and ReelMagic
versions being the best), but still lacked some of the old Infocom magic in
This Reviewer's opinion (Note: that opinion is not the same as the editor's).
Upon initially seeing the Infocom label attached to *Simon the Sorcerer* I was
completely surprised to see the graphic approach to the game being much closer
to a LucasArts project than *Return to Zork*. I approached with caution
I am happy to say that I was quite delighted with *Simon the Sorcerer*. It has
been a long time since I enjoyed any Infocom product produced by Activision,
but I did have fun with this one.

The game is somewhat slow in starting, and there is the usual repetition of acts
until you get the feel of the parser. But if you persevere past the first few hours,
the game really opens up.

## Highly interactive

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/questbusters-simon-review/simon-screen-shot.jpg" alt="A very dark Simon the Sorcerer screen shot">

One important thing to realize is that things change in this game, depending on
what you discover and with whom you talk: it's an interactive world, not just a
collection of interactive puzzles attached to a plot. If you've talked to someone
once and used all your options, you may come across something new elsewhere
that will create new text options if you return to that same character. Also, just
about every character has a purpose — it took me forever to realize that Gollum
could provide more than comic relief.

My one criticism of the old Infocom was that most of their stories always
happened in deserted places where you couldn't have much interaction. Simon is
rich with interaction. Its sense of humor tends to be somewhat silly at times, but
maintains a light, magical feel. Most puzzles are logical and were made
difficult only by my early attempts to figure out how to use inventory items
correctly. The ending was particularly enjoyable, and that is usually what
creates the best experience for me: a satisfactory conlusion after a lot of effort.

As I said, the look of the game is very much akin to *Secret of Monkey Island* or
*Indiana Jones* by LucasArts. The top two-thirds of the screen shows the
animation window where your character walks around picking up things and
talking to characters. The bottom third of the screen is divided in half. The left half
is your selection of verbs: Walk to, Talk to and ten more. You combine your verb
selection with an object on the screen or in your inventory. The cursor identifies
objects on the screen as you move it over the object. The other pan of the screen is
your inventory, displaying all objects in icon form.

## Another pretty interface

The Automap and Save/Restore feature has an interesting twist: they're both located in your
inventory. You carry a map that, when examined, displays an overhead view of
the land. As you discover new places, the map is enhanced with graphic icons
that depict those spots. If you click on those locations you are automatically
taken there. Note that new locations aren't added for everywhere you go, only
major landmarks. The Save/Restore feature is found on your postcard. If you
"use" your postcard, it gives you your control selections that include saving,
restoring adjusting text speed, turning sound on and off, and quitting. You have
at least a dozen save slots, and the docs give you instructions for how to save
more than that if you need it.

Music is pleasant; sound effects, average. The background scenes are
vivid and rich with color. Animations are simple but smooth and well-done.

There are a lot of little touches. If you don't move Simon for a while, he'll pull
a Walkman out of his robe and listen to the music, tapping to the beat and
waiting for you to get on with things. Backgrounds have flowing water,
creatures moving about and subtle movements. The plot doesn't allow you
to make unrecoverable errors, and I was rarely killed.

## Complaints?

Most of my mine dissolved after I found I could speed the text up from the
control menu. The repetitious interaction with the street trader was driving
me crazy with how slow it took to switch from each speech selection. Also,
the text tended to be cramped and difficult to read at times, particularly
when it would be overlaid against some conflicting background colors.<br>
**Conclusions:** This is a fantasy, so you can't evaluate it too closely. I mean, why
would a wizard from another dimension really choose a twelve year-old to save
his hide? (The explanation given was that anybody more mature would be
under suspicion by the bad guy as a threat.) Also, I don't know any twelve
year-olds who talk the way Simon does or would be as intelligent. But this is
entertainment, and you lose the fun if you look too close. Simon was a great
enjoyment. If you can get past the initial hurdles, it has a lot to offer for the cost
(low compared to similar titles out there). I'm looking forward to a sequel.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate<br>
**Company:** Activition<br>
**Price:** $49.95<br>
**QuestBusters price:** $45
