View source for Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Short description|1996 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell
|image = Jonny_Quest_Roswell_Cover.jpg
|caption = Cover art
|developer = [[Virgin Interactive|Virgin Sound and Vision]]
|publisher = Virgin Sound and Vision
|designer =
|released = August 1996
|genre = [[Adventure game|Adventure]]
|modes = [[Single-player]]
|platforms = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Windows 3.x]], [[Mac OS]]
}}
'''''Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell''''' is a computer game released by [[Virgin Interactive|Virgin Sound and Vision]] for the series ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' in August 1996.<ref name="marketing">{{cite magazine|last=Benezra |first=Karen |title=Hut, Mills join Quest. |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=37 |issue=5 |publisher=VNU eMedia, Inc. |date=1996-01-29}}</ref><ref name="morningreview">{{cite journal |last=Bueno |first=Tony |title=ELECTRONIC ADVENTURES |date=1996-11-01 |journal=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|page=3C |publisher=The Dallas Morning News Company}}</ref>
==Gameplay==
Gameplay consists of clicking areas on images of locations—whether the Serengeti plains or Manhattan—to navigate paths in search of the objects.<ref name="morningreview"/> Occasionally, players encounter [[mini game]]s, such as the task of guiding a [[diving bell]] away from rocks or shooting rats with a slingshot. Though characters appear on screen, there is no dynamic movement save for mini games.<ref name="morningreview"/> Allowing access to personal and government files at two points in the game, ''Roswell'' contains a vehicle guide to ''Real Adventures'' and several in-universe e-mails.<ref name="qfroswell">{{cite web|title=Cover-Up at Roswell |url=http://questfan.com/Page/Cover-Up_At_Roswell |work=QuestFan |accessdate=24 June 2007}}</ref> These communications range from dossiers on the Quest team to a demand from a restaurant owner that Race reimburse him for damages caused when the bodyguard mistook a busboy for a criminal mastermind.<ref name="qfroswell"/>
==Plot==
{{More plot|date=June 2008}}
The Quests are hindered by Jeremiah Surd and the [[Men in black|Men in Black]] of General Tyler, who plan to misuse the technology.<ref name="morningreview"/>
==Development==
Virgin created the game on a budget of $1 million, initially titling it ''Escape from Quest World.''<ref name="hollywoodreporterroswell">{{cite journal|last=Hettrick |first=Scott |title=Turner lets Virgin put spin on new Quest CD-ROM, $1 mil marked for game based on toon |date=1996-03-18 |journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |publisher=BPI Communications, Inc. }}</ref> Developers recycled fifty minutes of footage and art from six season one episodes to construct a new story concerning alien artifacts and an alien's liberation from an [[autopsy]] at [[The Pentagon]].<ref name="palmreview">{{cite journal|title=HELP JONNY QUEST SAVE THE WORLD |date=1996-10-05 |journal=The Palm Beach Post|page=3D |publisher=Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.}}</ref><ref name="virgin">{{cite journal|title=Virgin Sound and Vision inks licensing agreement with Turner New Media; VSV brings Hanna-Barbera's The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest into computer age with CD-ROM |date=1996-03-18 |journal=[[Business Wire]] |publisher=[[Gale Group]]}}</ref> Virgin handled all marketing, sales, and distribution, while Turner helped cross-promote the game.<ref name="hollywoodreporterroswell"/> Turner New Media announced that Virgin's "non-violent adventure games suitable for pre-teen girls and boys, fits...our vision of what family entertainment should be."<ref name="virgin"/> Virgin designed certain segments in [[stereoscopy|3D]] and included special Chromatek plastic viewing glasses with game copies. Footage voices were dubbed over by Michael Banyaer as Hadji, Charles Howerton as Dr. Quest, and the season two cast. Virgin hoped the game would provide 20–25 hours of game play for adults and 80-100 for children.<ref name="hollywoodreporterroswell"/>
==Reception==
The game's music featured a "high-intensity orchestral sound" prone to [[Monophony|monotony]].<ref name="morningreview"/> One reviewer cited a lack of [[replay value]] and different modes of difficulty as weaknesses, but concluded that ''Roswell'' offered "good entertainment and variety".<ref name="morningreview"/> Critics were divided over the puzzles' difficulty, naming it both "ingenious" and "elementary".<ref name="morningreview"/><ref name="ajroswell">{{cite journal|title=VISIONS OF COMPUTER GAMES SWIM IN THEIR HEADS |date=1996-12-21 |journal=[[Albuquerque Journal]] |page=7 |publisher=Albuquerque Journal}}</ref> Peter Scisco of ComputerLife wrote that his kids had difficulty with the small mouse cursors, and criticized some of the puzzles for relying on "reflexes, not logical thinking."<ref name="computerliferoswell">{{cite journal |first=Peter |last=Scisco |title=Junior Sleuths on the Loose: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell |date=1996-12-21 |journal=ComputerLife |volume=4 |issue=3 |page=113}}</ref> FamilyPC's testers agreed that the early puzzles were difficult but offered a sense of achievement.<ref name="familypcroswell">{{cite journal |title=Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell |date=June 1997 |journal=FamilyPC |volume=4 |issue=6 |page=72}}</ref> Entertainment Weekly's reviewer found the challenges too easy, considering them unimaginative "Pac-Man rip-offs and dopey jigsaws," and rated the game B+.<ref name="ewroswell">{{cite magazine |first=Kipp |last=Cheng |title=JONNY QUEST: CRISIS AT AREA 51 |date=1996-10-04 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=347}}</ref> Scisco appreciated the nonviolent content and the inclusion of Jessie's strong female character, but named the extraterrestrial story "too familiar".<ref name="computerliferoswell"/> The [[Sydney Morning Herald]] warned against buying the game for children "scared easily by baddies," but recommended it for children who would enjoy mental challenges.<ref name="sydneyroswell">{{cite journal|title=Cyberchild |date=1997-02-25 |journal=Sydney Morning Herald - Computers |page=6 |publisher=[[Fairfax Media]]}}</ref> A critic for [[USA Today]] warned that players who aren't fans of the show may find waiting through the many video clips and cut scenes tedious.<ref name="usatodayroswell">{{cite journal |first=Porterfield |last=Deborah |title=Here's help for wading through the plethora of CD-ROM games on the market |date=1996-12-16 |journal=[[USA Today]] |publisher=[[Gannett Co.]]}}</ref> A reviewer for the [[Daily News (New York)|New York Daily News]] wrote that [[New York City]] was depicted as "teeming with gangs of wilding youths and set in a bleak, roach-infested urban blight of a stereotype most New Yorkers might find grossly exaggerated; maybe even insulting."<ref name="nydailynewsreview">{{cite journal|title=A CD-ROM(P) on grungy side |date=1996-12-22 |journal=Daily News (New York) Business P. 48 |publisher=Daily News, L.P.}}</ref> The reviewer considered some of the puzzles too difficult for children, but forecast teenage enjoyment.<ref name="nydailynewsreview"/> Though he enjoyed using the game's three-dimensional glasses, he suffered a headache after quitting the game.<ref name="nydailynewsreview"/> After navigating the first few puzzles, a critic for [[The Age]] asked, "Who said this was just for kids?"<ref name="theage">{{cite journal|title=Quest CD combines fun and learning; reviews - home |date=1997-02-11 |journal=The Age - Computers |page=11 |publisher=Fairfax Media}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
*{{moby game|id=/jonny-quest-the-real-adventures-cover-up-at-roswell}}
{{Jonny Quest}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonny Quest: Cover-Up at Roswell}}
[[Category:1996 video games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Jonny Quest]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Video games about alien visitations]]
[[Category:Video games based on Hanna-Barbera series and characters]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Windows games]]