Space Quest V: The Next Mutation

Video Game
1993
T

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Roger Wilco, the buffoonish space janitor, is now a cadet at StarCon Academy, and it's not long before a freak accident sends Roger's test scores through the roof, landing him a position as ... Read allRoger Wilco, the buffoonish space janitor, is now a cadet at StarCon Academy, and it's not long before a freak accident sends Roger's test scores through the roof, landing him a position as the captain of a starship! How appropriate-he gets a garbage scow. Before long, Roger and ... Read allRoger Wilco, the buffoonish space janitor, is now a cadet at StarCon Academy, and it's not long before a freak accident sends Roger's test scores through the roof, landing him a position as the captain of a starship! How appropriate-he gets a garbage scow. Before long, Roger and his crew get mixed up in someone else's sketchy dealings that now threaten the entire gala... Read all

Director
- Mark Crowe
Writer
- Mark Crowe

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

116

YOUR RATING

Director
- Mark Crowe
Writer
- Mark Crowe

1User review

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos3

User reviews1

7.8116

Featured reviews

9dr_foreman

This Game Rocks my Socks

"Space Quest V" is not very popular among Space Quest fans. They cite the following arguments for disliking it:

1. Only one of the series's two original designers worked on it.

2. It's a very direct spoof of "Star Trek."

Color me crazy, but I don't really care about either of these concerns. Sure, it's a direct spoof of Star Trek - so what? Actually, many of the Trek jokes are quite funny. Besides, the much-loved original Space Quest is a very direct spoof of "Star Wars: A New Hope." So where's the problem here?

In my heretical opinion, this is in fact one of the very best "adventure" games designed by Sierra. The puzzles are challenging but somewhat logical - a reasonably intelligent person can work through them without getting a severe headache (unlike, say, the dense and obscure Space Quests II and IV). And the graphics are, for their time, quite funky and cool; the game's got a fun visual style.

Unusually for the Space Quest series, the hero, Roger Wilco, becomes a space captain and is given command of his own ship (this also happens in "Space Quest III," another great game.) I like this development. Frankly, I always thought it was a bit dumb that Roger was eternally a janitor in the other games - it's gratifying that he finally gets some respect here. Of course, his ship is just a garbage scow, so his status as a downtrodden everyman is still sustained.

One of the highlights of the game is the amusing cast of characters that crews Roger's ship, which includes chief engineer Cliffy (who is sort of like a disgruntled, mentally disturbed version of Scotty) and Droole, an extremely lazy helmsman with no mouth. Hey, they make me laugh...

Of all the Space Quest games, I think this one remains the most playable for a modern audience. It has a fairly linear, well-developed plot (as opposed to the earlier games, which meandered more), and the graphics hold up well. Anyway, I just wanted to review this game here so, somewhere on the Internet, it can get the props it deserves, instead of the usual slagging-off on shaky grounds.

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Unlike the previous four games in the series, this game was designed by Mark Crowe alone.

Goofs
Beatrice Wankmeister's hair is shorter than in the hologram which Roger's son showed him in the end of the previous game Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers (1991). This can be explained by that the hologram was made in Beatrice's later years.

Quotes
Roger Wilco: CAPTAIN'S LOG SCS SXCALIBUR, STARDATE 2709.67 FLEET ADMIRAL ROGER WILCO COMMANDING: The Excalibur is on course to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several ships in the uncharted region of space known as the "Menudo Triangle." I no doubt have been selected for this mission due to my great achievements as a military leader and matchless diplomatic skills.
Roger Wilco: I go forward with total confidence in my ship and my crew, yet I am vaguely uneasy... I cannot put memories of traveling to the future and meeting my son out of my mind. Each night my dreams are haunted by the image of the woman he said would one day be my wife. I know she's out there... Somewhere...
Roger Wilco: But that's not important right now. The fate of trillions rides on the decisions I may have to make in the next several hours. As Captain of the Star Confederacy's proudest flagship I must follow the Supreme Guideline: To Boldly go where no man has... No, no, no! To Bravely traverse where no creature has traversed... Hmm... That's not it. Aww... Skip it.
[Then Roger Wilco shows up sitting in his chair]
Hologram Assistant: Admiral! Strike ships coming in at point three-five!
[the spaceship is under attack and the Alert screen flashes]
Roger Wilco: Shields up! Battle stations! Lock weapons!
Hologram Assistant: Neutron beams locked. Proton torpedos armed.
Roger Wilco: Tactical, fire neutron beams! Helm, hard to port!
[Then the ship gets him from a fire blaster. Suddenly Captain Quirk interrupts the holodeck program and appears on the video phone]
Captain Quirk: Cadet Wilco! What in the name of the seventh star cluster are you doing in the bridge simulator? Get your sorry carcass out of there and get back to class where you belong, Space Cadet! And if I catch you in there again without permission, I'll have you tossed out of the Academy so fast you'll get warp disorientation!
[Then the message Simulation Terminated shows up and the Holodeck spaceship is shut down. The door opens and Roger climbs out of the Spaceship Simulator. The rodents runs away]
Narrator: His illusions of spacefaring grandeur cruelly shattered by Captain Quirk, Roger Wilco exits from the bridge simulator into the hallways of the Star Confederacy Space Academy, where he has enrolled himself in an attempt to realize his life-long dream of becoming a Starship Captain. The last several months have not been easy for our hero, what with having to juggle time between skipping classes, snoozing through lectures, and spending long moments considering the implications of actually opening a textbook.
Narrator: But our fearless former sanitation engineer has stumbled resolutely past these obstacles, pursuing his goal with unwavering determination; blissfully unaware that fate was about to hurl another spitball in his direction.
[Roger Wilco walks out of the Spaceship Simulator room]