Classic playthrough: "Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance"!

Classic time!

Ernie Eaglebeak is back in Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance, a new adventure after he saved the world in his first game. Ernie has returned to Sorcerer's University where professor Otto Tickingclock instructs him to research that mysterious McGuffin Ernie had been chasing in his previous adventure, the Sorcerer's Appliance, and find out about its origins.

Same old Legend Entertainment interface style...

It's basically a text adventure, only with added pictures to show the scenes. You have a list of all possible verbs you can use, a list of all objects both in sight as well as in your inventory, and a description of what's going on. You can click on the verbs and items to select them, but I found it quicker to just type them into the text parser. Once again there's a time element, so you have to make sure to do what needs to be done before time runs out and you reach a dead-end or game-over. So, once again as well, saving and restoring are two of the most used verbs in the Spellcasting series...

The women are still scantily dressed...

Trouble is, there is so much to see and do, and every time you type a command, time progresses five minutes, so in the end it's basically a question of discovering the perfect run. Written by Steve Meretzky, there's truly a comedic fantasy novel's worth of descriptions and dialogues in this game. The sheer amount of information is overwhelming when compared to the modern, more succinct adventure games with more obvious goals and clues.

Crazy students...

Matters are complicated even more by the university's hazing rituals. To be accepted in the fraternity, you need to perform specific tasks each day. Not only that, you also have to attend your classes. As a form of copy protection, your schedule is included in the game's documentation, as well as a blueprint of the sewage system; not looking forward to exploring that one, to be honest...

So, after one hour of playing, now I need to attach a fake moustache on a roof statue, investigate the appliance, and attend three magic classes today... What can go wrong?

You can find the Spellcasting games on Steam and on GOG!

A tricky finale on "Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls"!

A puzzle for those paying attention...

After visiting all the islands in Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls, I found my way to Fort Blackhand. Getting inside was quite easy, because it was the exact same scenario as the VR training session back at the university. Once inside, though, I faced a tricky puzzle where I had to open up three consecutive gates, but there were only two people to lift them up. I had a feeling the clue was the obvoius painting hanging on the wall, but it took me a while to figure it out. Once again, in hindsight, brilliant.

Voldem- I mean evil stepdad vanquished!

Then I found myself face to face with my nemesis, the guy who stole the Sorcerer's Appliance and all its accessories on the islands, none other than the guy who had locked me up at the start of the game! I already knew he had a peculiar interest in my nextdoor neighbor Lola, but that he'd go this far... This finale took many reloads, because even though I had an idea what to do, suddenly I only had limited time to do it, and I just couldn't figure out how to go about it in only three moves. Here again, the answer turned out quite logical if you paid attention, and after slightly more than ten hours of total game time, everything turned out okay in the end!

And the House Cup goes to...

I must say, this game was a weird combination of absolute fun and total frustration, with loads of saved games and lots of restores. But it has many hilarious situations, and a narrator that constantly breaks the fourth wall. This is quite the adventure game legacy, and I wonder what its sequels will be like.

But first it's back to some newer games! First one I'll only write one blog post about, a non-traditional game about a code machine and a book catalogue, more of a narrative puzzle game than a true adventure. After that it's on to a more extensive one, a more classic adventure game about ghosts and possessing people.

You can find the Spellcasting games on Steam and on GOG!

Island hopping in "Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls"

Life of Ernie...

After escaping from home and spending time at Sorcerer University, Ernie Eaglebeak was the only person left to chase after the thieves of the Sorcerer's Appliance, an object of great magic power. The magical surfboard I swiped from my professor's office wasn't able to take me just anywhere on the map; it could only cover that much distance. So I set course to the nearest island.

A severe game of "Who Is It?"

After I reached the Island of Lost Soles, my next objective was very clear, though I didn't quite know what it would get me exactly. Eighty people had been turned into objects, and only by figuring out their names could I cast a spell on them and change them back. Each name had something to do with the object they had been turned into. This was like solving a huge crossword puzzle in the style of Return to the Obra Dinn and The Roottrees Are Dead. It was quite fun to do, though there were lots of names I had never heard of. Thankfully, once in a while a nymph would come flying by, asking whether I'd seen this or that person. That usually gave a new name to try out all over the place, and in hindsight, I usually saw why it was chosen.

I prefer the women of Themyscira...

Solving this puzzle finally got me a key, but to what I knew not. So with nothing left to do, it was on to the next island. This one was perhaps even more schizo, but frankly easier to solve. Time went backwards here, and instead of typing in commands on what Ernie should do, I had to type commands of what the descriptions told me Ernie had just done. Otherwise the space-time continuüm would rip him apart. That still happened quite often, though... I also learned that saving your game here wasn't that handy. Once I returned, I only got a description of the room I was in, and no longer of what had happened just before. So I had no idea which command I was supposed to type, since I couldn't remember the circumstances...

"You know what I'd really like? A cheeseburger."

But eventually I found my way out, and started to realize that all these places have pedestals that once housed accessories to the Sorcerer's Appliance. They had all been stolen, it seemed! But all these places also had a new spell to offer, so I realized I was beefing up for some final showdown, no doubt. I visited some other places on the map, like an island full of warrior women wanting to do some special "training" with Ernie (so I had to dress up as a woman to escape; and I didn't get a spell on this island, by the way, so I hope I didn't miss it and am now en route towards a dead end!), a busy restaurant where a shark first ate my spellbox (but then I ate the shark...) and the Island of the Gods, where I had to clean up a garbage dump for some reason.

I think I blasted away his cousin in "The Dig"...

During my 9,5 hour (so far!) journey I learned that the thief apparently went to Fort Blackwand, so that will probably be my final destination. Before I could set foot on land, however, a leviathan showed up blocking the way. Now, how to get rid of this fella...

You can find the Spellcasting games on Steam and on GOG!

Classic playthrough: "Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls"

New game!

I've never played a game by Legend Entertainment before. I didn't even know this company existed until I read about it in The Guide To Classic Graphic Adventures. It's part of why I started doing classic playthroughs for this blog; I definitely wanted to finally fill that gap in my knowledge. And so that particular personal quest starts with Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls. A game that probably wouldn't see the light of day in our current times. I mean, just look at that cover; this is Porky's or Revenge of the Nerds except with magic. We're definitely not in that 80s frame of mind anymore...

Such an overwhelming UI...

I'm Ernie Eaglebeak. Suffering a violent stepfather, it's my intention to enroll into Sorcerer University, learn some cool spells, whoop his ass, and finally win the heart of my nextdoor girl of my dreams, Lola Tigerbelly. And perhaps those of several others as well, since I'm basically a horny teenager, it seems. The game starts with me locked up in a room, and I need to escape. After some time has passed, a buddy of my stepdad shows up and carries me off to work for him. Game over. 

Finally arrived at Sorcerers University!

This game is a melange of user interfaces. It's a text adventure, but it does have graphics as well, even with some small animations now and then. It's not only a text parser game, because it also supports a point 'n click interface where you can choose the necessary verbs and hotspots from on-screen lists with your mouse. But it's pretty overwhelming, because there are over one hundred different verbs to choose from, and the hotspot list not only includes everything there is to see in a particular location, but also your entire inventory. I often forgot whether I was already carrying an object with me or not.

This university is huge and I have no idea what to do!

It took me a whole hour to finally escape not only my room but also my street - where stepdad's buddy would still grab me - and reach chapter two where I suddenly find myself at the Sorcerer University. I had to restore and even restart several times because that guy kept showing up and dragging me with him. Apparently there's an in-game clock with fixed events at set times, and every action you perform takes five minutes. So my strategy is basically just exploring, trying out stuff, restoring when necessary, until I've figured out what it is I'm supposed to do and then go back to the start of the chapter for  a quick and efficient playthrough.  

The plot has thickened!

It took me another two and a half hours to figure out what I'm supposed to do at that university, since the place is huge and there's lots to see and do. I found a kind of magic-VR-room to practice spells, located some frat houses and brought a girl back to my room (to keep her safe from the other boys, I promise!), had to deal with a professor's wife coming on to me (what is it with the women in this game...) and discovered a maze which actually wasn't that hard to navigate for a change. Then suddenly the university is attacked, a very special magical object stolen, and I find myself all alone. With a modified surfboard in hand I'm supposed to travel elsewhere, I guess, but I haven't figured out yet where. I had a feeling this was going to be a difficult game, but it still blows the mind...

You can find the Spellcasting games on Steam and on GOG!