A good game with solid attributes.
I was pleasantly surprised with this game. It takes full advantage of my 3Dfx card and has pretty good graphics. I have to say that I've seen better, like in Quake, but they did a nice job with it. The characters also seem a bit stiff, but there is plenty of humor to go around.
The game itself starts out a bit slow. You are walked through a relatively safe area and are asked to solve almost mindless puzzles. I did find myself almost bored before the game finally got moving. Now that it has I don't see signs of it slowing down. I think the slow pace in the beginning is an attempt to get you familiar with the game before they throw lots of difficult puzzles at you. Lets just say that I'm damn glad I stuck with the game. It has provided me hours of both torment and intrigue. I've sworn at myself many times since starting the game, mostly in arguments about missing an important piece of a puzzle.
I am anxiously waiting to get back to the game. I've been playing for around 12 hours so far, and I haven't lost interest yet. The best part is my fiance is also playing the game and he is pretty far behind me. Part of the reason I like this game is I enjoy playing a game where intellect and intelligence play a big part in how fast you get through.
All in all, I've been extremely happy with King's Quest VIII. It has already provided me with hours of entertainment, and even more while I watch my fiance make the same mistakes I did. It seems like a pretty even playing field between women and men, but strength has nothing to do with who is going to finish this game first.
You may find yourself annoyed with the characters speech in the game. It's all old english and very thee and thou. I happen to find it kind of charming. However, if the speech puts you off you may want to look a little closer into the game. The creators seem to have added some quirks into the game for their own amusement. In fact take a good look at the graveyard and you'll see what I mean. Kudos to the Sierra staff. I had a good chuckle in the graveyard. They did a bang up job with this one.
So far it has been entertaining and enjoyable. I can't give you much of a comparison to the other King's Quest games, because I never played them. This is my first but I would definitely go out of my way to play another. My best comparison is to Tomb Raider (I and II) and I have had just about as much fun with this as I had with the first Tomb Raider. The second one was disappointing.
So, go gaming and have fun with it. I think this is a good game with solid attributes. Just give it a chance. It grows on you, I know it grew on me. I'm off to find the rest of the Mask of Eternity now, chow.