Space Quest II

Space Quest II: Chapter II – Vohaul's Revenge
Developer(s)	Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)	Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)	Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy
Series	Space Quest
Engine	AGI
Platform(s)	DOS, Macintosh, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST
Release date(s)	November 14, 1987
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Space Quest II: Chapter II – Vohaul's Revenge, commonly known as Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge, is a graphic adventure game released on November 14, 1987 by Sierra On-Line. It was the sequel to Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter, again using Sierra's AGI game engine.

Plot

A comic is included in the manual to explain to the player what events have occurred since Space Quest I, when Roger became Hero of Xenon. The player also learns of the villain, Sludge Vohaul who was behind the original Sarien attack of the Arcada, and how he was driven mad.

Roger, despite his newfound status as hero, is transferred to the Xenon Orbital Station 4 and promoted to Head (and only) Janitor. All is quiet until he is abducted by Sludge Vohaul.

As Roger is being transported to the Labion labour mines as punishment for thwarting Sludge's original plan, the prison ship crash-lands in a nearby jungle upon the planet. He manages to escape his pursuers and the dangers of the Labion jungle and soon reaches Sludge's asteroid base. Once again, it is up to Roger alone to stop Vohaul's evil plan: to eradicate sentient life from Xenon by launching millions of cloned insurance salesmen at the planet!

In the end, before blowing up Vohaul's asteroid and saving the world, Roger is left in cryo sleep inside a capsule floating in space, setting up the sequel, Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon.

Reception

Space Quest II was well received by both critics and consumers. As Computer Gaming World noted, "Though the game is similar to the original Space Quest, the addition of more detailed animation, more difficult puzzles, an improved parser (hurrah!), and greater scope makes a good game even better." Some criticisms leveled at the game included some objects' unclear descriptions, and some puzzles which are hidden from the player.^[1] Macworld wrote that "as in the original game, Space Quest II succeeds with the humor of its animation and scripting".^[2]

Space Quest II was listed number four in Sierra's Top 5 Bestsellers. Therefore, it can be assumed Space Quest II sold over 100,000 copies, thus earning the coveted SPA (Software Publishers Association) Gold Medal.^[3]

Remake

Infamous Adventures announced in 2007 that they were remaking Space Quest II in the style of past VGA remakes. Although many people were unsure whether or not it was serious after announcing it on April Fool's Day and having a past record of twisted humour, screenshots and a demo were released accompanying the announcement. Infamous Adventures released their remake on New Year's Eve 2011, it featured full-voice pack and extended content. Their game is currently available for download at their website.^[4]

References