User Reviews (1 - 11 of 15)

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Disappointed

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game will NOT run under Windows XP or 2000. The box states it is compatible, but the reality is blackouts and screen freezes with audio antics. Glad I didn't spend any more than I did.

Great game from a great man!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I bought it when it first came out and raced to complete it with all the others who had bought it. It has great characters and interesting puzzles to solve. While it is true that it does not run on Windows 2000/XP, it runs just fine under MS Virtual PC (now free from MS) with Win 98 installed. I still go back and play it again from time to time. I wish we had more games from Mr. Adams. He went too soon.

SP2 workaround extended

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

There is a less drastic way of getting the videos to work under service pack 2.

Simply get a copy of iccvid.dll from XP Service Pack 1 (Often on the original windows disk, it just needs uncompressing) and drop it into the games root directory (The same directory as ST.exe is in).

This means you do not have to mess around with windows system DLLs. The game checks the current directory when it loads up before it checks the system32 directory for the file, hence it loads the SP1 version for the game, and all your other programs use the safer SP2 version.

Hope this helps.

SP2 fix - a workaround

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just wanted to say that I loved this game when it first came out, and I just now found my copy if it from ages ago, and I am starting ot play it again.

I ran into the same SP2 incompatability problem, but I did a little research (about 5 minutes) and found that if you replace iccvid.dll in C:\windows\system32 with the one found on a sp1 machine (or extract it from the install cd) then it'll work without a problem.

No videos, wanted to play it so bad too.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I didn't want to pay full price for this game so I waited....then it finally came out in stores again....with a strategy guide bundled. So it was the same price as before. I waited more. Never saw it in stores again. Finally I ordered it for dirt cheap the other day. I installed it and found the same issue another user reported. None of the avi files in the game play. Kind of ruins it. Accordin to the other review you have to uninstall XPSP2 and go back to SP1. Not gonna happen. Oh well. Btw, I'm a huge Douglas Adams fan and have read all of the Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently books.

Dear Simon And Schuster

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: June 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I loved this game for it's content, plot, lack of sensibility. It truly lived up to what I would expect from DNA. The problem that I ran into is with the videos during gameplay. I get this nice, full screen view of black with audio. The video just isn't there. While I normally frown on using walkthroughs, it makes it necessary since most of the puzzles are answered in the videos. Top that off with the fact that you cannot even see the puzzle you have to complete at the end of the game, since it too is a black screen. My first instinct was to reinstall, and run under compatability wizard. That failed miserably. My next step was to check for patches, and to my surprise, nobody is supporting the game. My final step was to run through the blogs to see if any talented hacker had reverse engineered the game (very against the EULA, but since nobody sees fit to support it, I don't much care if they make a profit. A fixed problem is a fixed problem.) Every blog I found had users with the same issue that could only be resolved by downgrading windows! Let's just think about that one for a moment. I'm gonna sacrifice my computer's security by downgrading (but is anything that involves getting rid of microsoft really a downgrade?) from sp2 to sp1. NOT! Somebody needs to redo the game, patch it up so that it is finally playable on an up to date system. Since it is Simon and Schuster's name on the cover, it should be them, but I'm having a hard time finding the person to talk to that can fix the issue (even after burying my inquiry in soft peat for three months).
To wrap it up, it's a great game that won't work on XP sp2. GOOD JOB SImon and Schuster, I'll go back to ignoring the "xp compatable" sticker on the cd case.

Doesn't run on a modern machine

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: July 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game, evidently, is designed for an older operating system (Win 95/98). Though the package claims it will work on Win2k for instance, it doesn't. The website for the game is defunct. The patches can't be downloaded. It's sad. Douglas Adams is such a beloved author, why don't they care about this game?

Quirky and fun but difficult

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've heard it said elsewhere that "those with a logical mind will hate this game, since it's based on the skewed logic and warped humour of Douglas Adams".

I have a logical mind, but also enjoy Adams' humour. The difficulty comes with meeting the two of them together in a computer game, where you have to think like he does to solve some of the problems. If you ever wanted to know what it might feel like to be a character in an Adams novel, here's your chance. The surrealistic nature of some of the puzzles in this game made them extremely difficult, and I did resort to a walkthrough frequently.

It didn't help that I think there are several story-related glitches in the game. There are a couple of places where you can find yourself stuck - that is, if you do a certain thing before taking adequate notes, or solve puzzle A before puzzle B, you can find yourself unable to solve a subsequent puzzle. This was extremely annoying because sometimes I would know what I needed to do but be unable to do it. In a couple of places this required me to restart the game from a very early save. There were also several puzzles where there were several obvious possible ways of obtaining an item but the game required you to find only one, much more obscure way - always an annoyance of mine in adventure games.

The system whereby you type what you want to say to the various 'bots on the ship harks back to the old text-based adventures, rather than the more usual dialogue trees that we see nowadays in adventure game. It will also remind you of how annoying these can be - you can be saying the right thing but in the wrong way and the game will not respond. Also, to obtain several key items you have to call in one of the 'bots to get it for you, even though the 'bot isn't normally seen in that area.

The game is non-linear. Without spoiling too much, the aim is to collect a number of items scattered throughout the ship in order to regain control of its central intelligence unit and be able to pilot yourself home. Most of these can be collected in any order so if one puzzle is causing you grief you can work on another. Note that some locations around the ship have multiple uses and play a role in more than one puzzle.

The graphics look pretty good - slightly dated now but still quite lush. The voice acting is good (including Adams himself, and Monty Pythons Terry Jones & John Cleese) and although some speeches go on for a long time you can usually skip listening to the whole speech, and the full text appears in a dialogue window.

The version of the game I played came on 3 CDs in a jewel case, although the game installs fully onto your hard drive. There was no manual, although I understand the initial packaging came with a manual that described some of the controls and the original box had a diagram on it that helps solve one of the puzzles (although the same image can be found hidden in the game).

I found it fun to walk around another Adams-designed starship, but at the same time frustrating to have to apply Adams-style absurdist logic to solve a lot of the puzzles.

Favorite among the many games I've played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've played lots of games (all the Myst series, all the Monkey Island series, 7th guest, etc etc etc): this one remains my favorite. The puzzles are satisfyingly difficult, the characters goofily absurd (in goofiness I'd compare it to Monkey Island)....the parrot in particular has become a permanent part of our family's vocabulary. My teen son and nephews played this and did well with little or no help, too, which surprised me because it is challenging. DEFINITELY worth the money, especially since the whole family will love it AND it is entertaining, not violent. (PS: Don't forget to keep the robots "tuned up"!)

goofy but good.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: March 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a fun game, a bit goofy, but that's Douglass Addams. It seems so goofy at times that it doesn't seem like your in space at all, but on a clown barge. Who cares. The characters are quirky and have personality, not "personality" and what I like most is that I can say anything I want to them, for example; flirt to the reseptionist(who looks like a toaster)or threaten her, or tell the broom to go clean the toilet. Or just ask stupid questions to the other beings on the ship. It is a funny and smart game. The bomb is especially funny. You must watch Monty Python to know the answer though.

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