The Colonel's Bequest - Details

Details

This is one of the few Sierra games which is more character-driven than puzzle-driven. Although solving puzzles is crucial for obtaining a high score, discovering information about the characters' backgrounds and their relationships with each other is more important to the game. In fact, it is possible to get to the end of the game without solving any puzzles. It is also possible to complete the game without discovering many important details about the characters—or even being certain of the identity of the murderer.

There is no obvious point system in the game, although some actions are recorded and scored at the end of the game. At the very end, the game will give the player some hints and things missed in order to achieve a higher score the next time, hinting that the game is intended to be replayed.

Characters make plans to be in certain places at certain times and may be followed. Characters may get annoyed with Laura if they catch her snooping on them or asking too many questions, although this is obvious only in dialogue, and the plot is not affected.

Although death lurks around every corner Laura Bow is almost never endangered by the mysterious villain because she is unrelated to the Dijon family. In typical Sierra adventure game fashion, most, but by no means all, deaths experienced by the player occur by accident or misadventure, such as falling off a balcony, being crushed by a falling chandelier, tripping down a dark staircase, or being attacked by alligators. The player may, however, be killed by the murderer in the later phases of the game. In two cases, the murderer's arm reaches out at specific locations and snatches Laura away. In another case, the murderer appears in the darkness and strangles Laura to her death. One of the more notable non-accidental deaths occurs when the player simply attempts to shower; the murderer stabs Laura in a reference to the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho.

The unusual title is due to Sierra's long-standing tradition at the time of including "Quest" in the title of nearly every graphical adventure they published (a bequest is a legacy or gift handed down to someone in a will). Other "quest" games include King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Quest for Glory (which was originally titled Hero's Quest), Conquests of Camelot and Conquests of the Longbow, and Goblins Quest 3 (originally titled Goblins 3).