A Slightly Lumpy Magical Tour

Sierra On-line’s latest episode of its epic “King’s Quest” series has an overspiced recipe: a little Jonathan Swift, a healthy splash of Brothers Grimm, a dash of Lewis Carroll and a pinch of Scherazade. The $80 result: “King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow.”

Prince Alexander of Daventry met his true love, Princess Cassima, in the previous “King’s Quest” episode and now must rescue her from imprisonment in her homeland, the Land of the Green Isles. We meet the prince as he confronts the fact that he hasn’t got a clue as to where she lives. He knows only the name of her country, not where it is. Kinda like getting a phone number without the area code. Good luck, dude.

After months of moping around the old homestead, he gets the brilliant idea of checking in with the castle’s magic mirror. With the stars to guide him, he takes off and shipwrecks on the beach of, you guessed it, his beloved’s front yard.

Elements of almost every fairy tale and children’s genre are blended together into a slightly lumpy but pleasant mass. You’ll find something from all the favorites: magic, genies, mystical potions, mazes, etc.

“Quest VI” is no small achievement. It has a beautiful series of background scenes; the story is just strong enough to carry you through to the happy ending, and the characters are engaging. But the game isn’t particularly innovative or advanced, and there’s better animation on other, less expensive, games. This “everything but the kitchen sink” approach just doesn’t justify the price.

King’s Quest VI

Rating: ***

IBM and compatibles, Tandy; 640K RAM; hard disk. List: $79.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.