ACG is privileged to have an opportunity to interview Carsten Strehse, Creative Director at The Games Company's in-house development studio Silver Style Entertainment, about the latest Simon the Sorcerer sequel. In the interview, Strehse speaks about his thoughts on the long running series, the evolution of Simon as a beloved character, why he favors the new 3D style for the sequel, and the fine art of crafting the humor for a game that bears the whimsical title, Simon the Sorcerer 5: Who'd Even Want Contact?
Strategy Informer writes: "Adventure games are funny old things. Or perhaps that should read: 'adventure games were funny old things', because you'll find it difficult to chuckle at the bum notes that underpin Simon the Sorcerer 5's script. But despite those faltering gags and - at times truly terrible - voice acting, there is still much to love about Simon's latest jaunt, and a return visit to his world of fairytale spoof and pop culture reference overload winds up surprisingly entertaining – despite the odds."
Game-Debate:
All in all, Simon the Sorcerer 5: Who'd even want contact?! is a solid point and click adventure game. The 3D character models do look strange against 2D backgrounds, and the voice work is somewhat off, but if you can overlook these flaws (which can be partially achieved by turning off the audio and switching to text dialogue) this is a pleasant experience with enough swipes at fantasy and sci-fi to keep fans of both genres entertained. The puzzles randomly jump between the ridiculously easy to the ridiculously confusing but over the course of the game this evens out and adventure enthusiasts will no doubt enjoy the occasional challenges. One other thing worth mentioning is that at around eight hours long, some may find the game a bit short. If you're new to point and click games I wouldn't say this is the very best one to try first, but if you're a veteran of adventure games or a fan of the Simon the Sorcerer series you might want to add Who'd even want contact?! to your games inventory. A free hint to get you started: to get the best out of the game, you should combine it with your PC. You can solve the other puzzles on your own.
Those who can remember the old days of gaming (1993 DOS and Amiga) will remember the beginnings of Simon the Sorcerer and his misadventures. The fourth title in the series was released almost three years ago (the English version two years ago) and now we have the fifth from The Games Company. It is another point-and-click adventure in which Simon finds himself in a spot of trouble and you need to explore, collect and combine items in order to solve things and get his life back to normal.
