Pepper's Adventures in Time (PC)

This vacation is actually turning out pretty well and I managed to finish the third game within a month. Unfortunatelly, I didn't enjoy Pepper's Adventures in Time all that much and I was really expecting a lot more from a Sierra title. Actually to say that I was disappointed is an understatement. This is without a doubt one of the worst and most boring adventure games I have ever played and I couldn't wait to finish it.

Pepper's Adventures in Time

A strange chain of events leads to evil Unlce Fred accidentally hurling Pepper and her mutt into Philadelphia of the past. To her horror she finds out that the hard-working pioneers of the past have given up their daily work and turned into a bunch of lazy hippies who would rather play frisbee in the town square than perform their historical duties. Benjamin Franklin, having distributed a manifesto on Personal Mellowness, now spends all his time in a hot-tub of his own design, wearing love beads and promoting life of irresponsibility. It’s up to Pepper to get him back to his senses, complete his famous suicidal kite-flying experiment, rescue her dog and put a stop to evil Uncle Fred and his ancestors who have usurped history. It sure sounds like an interesting concept, the graphics look nice, the game seems to have all the elements of a Sierra classic, so why such harsh words?

The good

As I said, the game certainly has an interesting concept since it involves time travel, the graphics and art design are amazing even for today's standard, the animations look gorgeous, the game plays smooth and without bugs, it features all of the most popular elements that were present in adventure games from the early 90s, it's full of interesting historical characters, puzzles, minigames and even has a plethora of factual historical tidbits that you can learn through playing the game. Wow! That actually sounds like a pretty damn good game! I mean, it does feature everything you would expect in a true classic, right? Yes, but unfortunately it is also a perfect example of how a checklist of features is not enough to make a good game. It actually makes it all the more disappointing that none of the positive features could save Pepper's Adventure in Time from complete and utter failure.

The bad

The art designers seem to be the only ones who knew what they were doing when making this game.

The game really feels like it was put together by someone who had a checklist of features that were popular in adventure games from the 90s, and then just added these things into the game without actually understanding what was so entertaining about them in the first place. I can literally imagine the lead designer going: "Well, time travel seems to be popular, so lets make Pepper travel through time!" - That's great! Who doesn't like a good time travel story? However, throughout the whole game you are stuck in this small area that doesn't even look all that different from a present day villiage. The plot is unimaginative and the tasks you need to do are boring.

"Oh, I know! The game needs some interesting historical characters!" - Yes, that is a great idea, mr. Lead Designer! Unfortunately, all the characters in the game behave like lazy hippies and everyone keeps saying the same thing, over and over and over again. I mean, why does every single line have to involve how the Pughs (uncle Fred's ancestors) are slimy and evil? Why does every person who I talk to respond with their own variant of: "Oh leave me alone... Can't you see I am a lazy hippy?"

"Here is an idea! Let's add some puzzles in the game! Adventure games have puzzles after all!" - Yes they do sir, but why are 99% of puzzles so easy that even a retard could solve them, while the other 1% make no sense whatsoever?! You want an example? Well, there are these two guards who won't let me pass unless I bring them some food. There is also some fat guy who keeps offering food. Why can't I take some food from him? It is the most logical thing to do after all! Here is another example. There is this window on the second floor that I need to hit with something in order to wake up the lady inside the building. So I try picking up some rocks that are drawn on the ground all over the area, but I am not allowed to do that. Why the hell not?! I try to throw some marbles that I have in my inventory, but I can't do that either! It turns out, that I have to pick up small stones in an alley. Try picking them up anywhere else and you are screwed. Now that is just ridiculous, because if you can't pick up rocks in 9/10 maps, you will assume that there must be another solution to the problem - especially considering how small the area you are stuck in really is. And don't tell me there are no small rocks on a dusty path in 9/10 maps you visit!

Not even Ben Franklin can save this game...

"Why don't we add some minigames, just to spice things up?" - Great idea, mr. Lead Designer! But the minigames you chose have an auto solution option and the whole thing is so badly designed that if you press anywhere except inside the minigame window your whole progress will be lost! I tried solving the minigame puzzle 6 times, and every single time I accidentally pressed outside the border, resulting in resetting the minigame! This is extremely frustrating, especially when you are getting close to solving it. So, in the end I was forced to use the auto solution option out of pure frustration! 

Conclusion

I could go on with complaining about lame jokes and many other bad design decisions, but I don't feel like I have to. It doesn't help things either that the game has no conclusion and is hinting at the sequel that never came. All in all, one of the worst adventure games I have ever played, and I wished I haven't wasted my time on it. 

Final score: 4/10

Pepper's Adventures in Time (1993) PC Complete Playthrough