Simon the Sorcerer

The Simon the Sorcerer franchise is a series of point-and-click adventure games created by Adventure Soft. The series takes its name from the main character, a sarcastic, British teenager who is unwillingly cast into a magical world. The games have a comedy and fantasy theme, and are often compared to the Monkey Island games in terms of style and humor.

The first game, Simon the Sorcerer, was released on 2 January 1993 for DOS and Amiga platforms. You take control of Simon as he follows his dog Chippy into a cupboard, transporting him into a world of magic and fantasy. He discovers that he was brought to their world to rescue Calypso from the evil Sordid. Simon is voiced by Chris Barrie, well known for his role in the TV series Red Dwarf.

Two years later in 1995 the sequel Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe was released. We follow the sorcerer as he finds himself once again transported away, landing outside Calypo's Magic Shop. He learns that he must find some mucasade to enable his return journey back. This time Brian Bowles provides the voice acting for Simon.

There was a seven year gap until the third game on 13 April 2002, Simon the Sorcerer 3D. The game was originally intended to be a high-quality 2D adventure, however publishers were unwilling to pick up a 2D title, and so the developers switched to a 3D graphics instead. Due to very long development times, the graphics look dated by the time the game was released. It was going to be published by Hasbro Interactive, however they deserted the project at the last moment due to bankruptcy. The game received poor reviews, and was too regarded by fans as a poor entry.

The license to the series was later handed to Playlogic Entertainment, a German developer. They created Simon the Sorcerer 4: Chaos Happens which was released in Germany on February 23 2007, and in Europe on March 31 2008. Due to localization the game suffered from poor English voice acting, however the high quality pre-rendered graphics kept the game looking good. A fifth game is set to be released in 2009, following Simon's adventures in space.