Space Quest III
| Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon | |
|---|---|
 Cover art by John Shaw | |
| Developer(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Designer(s) | Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy |
| Series | Space Quest |
| Engine | SCI0 |
| Platform(s) | DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari ST |
| Release date(s) | March 24, 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon is a 1989 graphic adventure game by Sierra On-Line, and the third game in the Space Quest series.
Plot
Roger Wilco's escape pod from the end of Space Quest II is floating in space until it is picked up by an automated garbage freighter. Finding a derelict spaceship amongst the freighter's garbage, Roger sets out to repair the Aluminum Mallard and leave the scow.
Roger visits a variety of locations, including a fast food restaurant called Monolith Burger and a desert planet called Phleebhut. At the latter, he encounters trouble, as Arnoid the Annihilator (an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like android terminator) hunts him for not paying for a whistle in Space Quest II (a continuity error in that the order form for the whistle clearly stated that it was in fact free). From information he picks up there and at Monolith Burger, Roger eventually discovers the sinister activities of a video game company known as ScumSoft, run by the "Pirates of Pestulon".
Pestulon, a small moon of the volcanic planet Ortega, is covered in soft, moss-like vegetation, and dotted with twisted tree-like growths throughout. Elmo Pug, the CEO of ScumSoft, has abducted the Two Guys from Andromeda and is forcing them to design awful games.
Roger manages to sneak into the supposedly impregnable ScumSoft building and rescue the two programmers. He is discovered, and must battle Pug in a game that combines giant Mecha-style combat with Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. After winning, Roger and the Two Guys escape. In the game's conclusion, Roger delivers the two game designers to Sierra On-Line's president, Ken Williams, on Earth.
Reception
UK magazine C&VG gave the ST version a score of 83%, calling it "enjoyable and addictive".[1]
In 1989, Dragon gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.[2] The Macintosh & PC/MS-DOS versions of the game were also given 4 out of 5 stars.[3] Compute! praised the game's graphics and sound card audio, stating that they were the best of the series.[4]Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review, noting improvements in the presentation and action sequences over its predecessors.[5] In 1989 the magazine gave it a Special Award for Achievement in Sound.[6]
In 2014, Space Quest III was featured in the debut episode of the retro gaming YouTube series Blast Backwards. Series director Aaron Steinke gives a fond recollection of the game calling it a "cult classic."[7]
References
- ↑ Campbell, Keith (September 1989). "Space Quest III". Computer and Video Games (94). p. 68.
- ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (September 1989). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (149): 78–79.
- ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (December 1991). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (176): 62.
- ↑ Guerra, Bob (November 1989). "Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon". Compute!: 134. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ↑ Lombardi, Chris (August 1989). "Review: Space Quest III". Computer Gaming World. pp. 36–37.
- ↑ "Game of the Year Awards". Computer Gaming World: 8. October 1989.
- ↑ Steinke, Aaron. "Blast Backwards - Space Quest III (PC)". mediaglitch.net. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
External links
- Space Quest III at MobyGames
- Space Quest III can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
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