When last we met with Simon the Sorcerer, he was traversing through a poorly-executed 3D excursion that was critically derided for having lousy graphics and a host of other gameplay problems. However, it looks like the titular hero has gone back to his roots for his fourth adventure, Simon the Sorcerer 4: Chaos Happens. This entry to the series returns to its point-and-click roots, complete with nice pre-rendered environments and simple gameplay that everyone should be able to grasp, regardless of their familiarity with adventure gaming.
Simon the Sorcerer 4 finds Simon returning through his wardrobe to stop an impostor who has taken his place in the land, causing all kinds of trouble. Therefore, it’s up to him to right the wrongs and clear his own name. The game keeps the sense of humor that the series has become known for, being very self-aware and often poking fun at itself for its fantasy-based universe. The puzzles are the bread and butter of any point-and click adventure game, and Simon the Sorcerer 4 delivers quite nicely. The game’s sense of humor carries through to the puzzles, which aren’t terribly difficult on the whole. However, if you find a particular puzzle to be holding you back, the game has a pretty good hint system that will give you a choice of three different hints depending on how much help you need, which is a good way for players to stay comfortably in the game regardless of their skill level.
