Gold Rush!

Last updated

Gold Rush!
Gold Rush cover.jpg
Developer(s) Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s) Sierra On-Line
The Software Farm
Sunlight Games
Designer(s) Ken MacNeill
Doug MacNeill
Programmer(s) Ken MacNeill
Artist(s) Robert Eric Heitman
Doug MacNeill
Composer(s) Anita Scott
Engine AGI
Platform(s) Amiga, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, DOS, Apple II, Macintosh
Release1988
Genre(s) Adventure game
Mode(s) Single-player

Gold Rush! (later retitled California: Gold Rush!) [1] is a graphic adventure video game designed by Doug and Ken MacNeill and originally released by Sierra On-Line in 1988.

Contents

Gold Rush! is one of the last games that Sierra made with the AGI interface and is one of the most complicated. The rights to the game are currently owned and published by The Software Farm by its original developers the MacNeills. [1]

Gameplay

The game is set in 1848, just before the California Gold Rush. The player is Brooklyn newspaperman Jerrod Wilson, who soon receives word that he must go to Sacramento to meet his long-lost brother. After a few minutes of gameplay, word arrives that gold has been found in California, and it becomes much more difficult for Jerrod to settle his affairs in Brooklyn and find a way to Sacramento.

There are multiple paths which Jerrod can take to get to his brother. He can travel on a stagecoach, which is the cheapest path, and the only path that is always available to Jerrod, no matter how long he spends in Brooklyn. This path brings Jerrod into contact with Native Americans, unruly oxen, parching deserts, and the likelihood of a winter storm in the Sierra Nevada. He can also travel by ship to Panama, cross through treacherous swamps and jungles on foot, and then catch another ship to Sacramento. This route is more expensive than the others and also requires Jerrod to prepare carefully for many hazards of the tropical climate of Panama, from malaria to jungle ants to crocodiles. The third and most time-consuming path is to journey all the way around Cape Horn on a ship. This choice has its own perils, from storms to scurvy. On each route, Jerrod can perish at random by a disease for which there is not yet any cure, such as cholera, making it prudent for players to save their game whenever possible and in multiple slots. Once Jerrod arrives in Sacramento, the three routes converge and all of the puzzles are the same. In California, Jerrod must try to prospect for gold, avoid bandits, and locate his mysterious brother.

Copy protection

Gold Rush! uses words from the book California Gold: Story of the Rush to Riches by Lou and Phyllis Zauner, which came with the game as a form of copy protection. If the player fails to enter the correct word at a certain point during the game, their character is immediately arrested for claim jumping and hanged on the gallows, which is the same as the regular in-game punishment for claim jumping, being caught in someone's hotel room, or stealing.

Reception

In 1989, Dragon gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars. [2] Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review, noting it mixes historical simulation with Sierra's traditional adventure gameplay. [3] Compute! called Gold Rush "entertaining, somewhat educational, and a terrific escapade for first-time adventure game players", but warned that its simplicity might disappoint veteran gamers and that the graphics were inferior to that of some other Sierra adventures. [4]

In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Gold Rush! the 96th-best adventure game ever released. [5]

Reviews

Legacy

Collector's edition

The Software Farm released a collector's edition of California: Gold Rush! in a wooden box in 2000. They also released an economy pack with just the game in an envelope. [1]

Remake

German game developer Sunlight Games secured the rights and re-released the original version on July 25, 2014. [15] A remake with the name Gold Rush! Anniversary was released on November 7, 2014 for Microsoft Windows. [16] OS X and Linux versions were released later in November 2014. The ports for iOS and Android were released in March 2015. All graphics are pre-rendered, but all animations and characters are displayed in real-time 3D. The game's graphics are in high definition and the music was remade. All text from the original game was optimized with newly recorded voiceovers. The game can be controlled by a point-and-click control or with a parser (only Windows, Linux and Mac), which is similar to the old Sierra games which use the AGI interface. [17] Gold Rush! 2 was released in April 2017 as a sequel to Gold Rush! Anniversary. [18]

Sunlight Games has also released a Special Edition which is limited to 350 copies. The Special Edition comes in a box with a banderole, and the content of the box is similar to the old Sierra boxes is: a copy of the game on a DRM-free DVD, a poster, a card with the serial number, a printed making-of booklet, a printed booklet with concept drawings, and a golden-colored coin. Gold Rush! The Special Edition can only be ordered at Sunlight Games' online shop.

Adventure Gamers gave the remake 1½ stars out of 5. [19] Just Adventure gave the game a rating of B−. [17] 3rd-strike gave the game a 7.0. [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Fiendish Freddys Big Top o Fun</i> 1990 video game

Fiendish Freddy's Big Top o' Fun is a video game developed by Gray Matter under developer Chris Gray and published in 1990 by Mindscape. It originally appeared on the 16-bit Atari ST, IBM PC and Commodore Amiga, before later being converted to the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. The Commodore 64 version was included on cartridge bundled with the Commodore 64 Games System.

<i>Barbarian</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Barbarian is a 1987 platform game by Psygnosis. It was first developed for the Atari ST, and was ported to the Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. The Amiga port was released in 1987; the others were released in 1988. The cover artwork is by fantasy artist Roger Dean.

<i>Black Gold</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Black Gold is a business simulation game released in 1989 by reLINE Software.

<i>World Tour Golf</i> 1986 video game

World Tour Golf is a 1986 video game by Evan and Nicky Robinson, Paul Reiche III and published by Electronic Arts for Commodore 64, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and DOS.

<i>Mines of Titan</i> 1989 video game

Mines of Titan is a single-player role-playing video game, developed by Westwood Associates, and released by Infocom in 1989 for Apple II, Commodore 64 and MS-DOS.

<i>The Kristal</i> 1989 video game

The Kristal is an adventure game first released in 1989 for the Amiga computer. It was later released for the Atari ST and MS-DOS. It was developed by the UK-based company Fissionchip Software, and published in Europe by Addictive Games and in the US by Cinemaware. Unusually for a video game, the game is based on a play, The Kristal of Konos, written in 1976; the authors of the play worked together with the game developers and the play was never shown in theatres or on film before the game's release. A dialog introducing the setting recorded by Patrick Moore, who introduced both the game and play.

<i>Iron Lord</i> 1989 video game

Iron Lord is an adventure video game developed by Orou Mama and Ivan Jacot for the Atari ST and published by Ubi Soft in 1989. It was ported to the Amiga, Acorn Archimedes, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and MS-DOS.

<i>Overlord</i> (1994 video game) 1994 video game

Overlord is a combat flight simulator by Rowan Software. It was released in 1994 for Amiga and PC MS-DOS platforms.

<i>Dream Zone</i> 1988 video game

Dream Zone is an adventure game developed by JAM Software and published by Baudville. It was released in 1988 for the Apple II and Apple IIGS, followed by versions for MS-DOS, the Amiga, and the Atari ST.

<i>Pacific Islands</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Pacific Islands is a computer game published by Empire Interactive in 1992 for the MS-DOS, Amiga and Atari ST. It is the sequel to the 1987 video game, Team Yankee.

<i>Boulder Dash Construction Kit</i> 1986 video game

Boulder Dash Construction Kit is the fourth game in the Boulder Dash series. It published for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family in 1986 by Epyx. Ports were released for the Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and MS-DOS. The Spectrum version was rereleased as Boulder Dash IV: The Game. Boulder Dash Construction Kit includes new levels and a level editor.

<i>Spy vs. Spy III: Arctic Antics</i> 1986 video game

Spy vs. Spy III: Arctic Antics is the third game in the Spy vs. Spy series. The game was developed by First Star Software.

<i>Ports of Call</i> (video game) 1987 computer game

Ports of Call is a 1986 business simulation game developed by German duo Rolf-Dieter Klein and Martin Ulrich, and published by Aegis Interactive Entertainment. It was initially released for AmigaOS. After a subsequent early release for DOS it was also made available to a number of different platforms over the years, including Windows, iOS, Android and as a browser game.

<i>TV Sports: Football</i> 1988 video game

TV Sports: Football is a 1988 video game by Cinemaware for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and TurboGrafx-16.

<i>Joe Blade</i> 1987 video game

Joe Blade is a game published by Interceptor Micros on their Players budget label for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987. It reached the top of the UK game charts, replacing Renegade. In Germany, the game peaked at number 7. It was later ported to the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Atari 8-bit, MSX, Amiga and ST and a sequel, Joe Blade 2, was published in 1988. Another sequel, Joe Blade 3, was released in 1989.

<i>Heavy Metal</i> (1988 video game) 1988 video game

Heavy Metal is a 1988 video game published by Access Software.

<i>Gold of the Americas: The Conquest of the New World</i> 1989 video game

Gold of the Americas: The Conquest of the New World is a 1989 video game published by Strategic Studies Group.

<i>Free D.C!</i> 1991 video game

Free D.C! is a 1991 video game published by Cineplay Interactive.

<i>Global Effect</i> 1992 video game

Global Effect is a 1992 video game published by EA/Millennium Interactive.

<i>Méwilo</i> 1987 video game

Méwilo is a 1987 French adventure video game by Coktel Vision.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Software Farm – California Gold Rush". Archived from the original on December 12, 2011.
  2. Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (May 1989). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (145): 44–53.
  3. Chaut, Michael (April 1989), "'Californy' or Bust", Computer Gaming World , no. 58, pp. 59–60
  4. Guerra, Bob (August 1989). "Gold Rush". Compute!. p. 73. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  5. AG Staff (December 30, 2011). "Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games". Adventure Gamers . Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  6. "Gold Rush review from the Games Machine 20 (Jul 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack".
  7. "Kultboy.com - DIE Kult-Seite über die alten Spiele-Magazine und Retro-Games!". www.kultboy.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  8. "Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (67 1989)".
  9. "Kultpower Archiv: Komplettscan Powerplay 4/1989".
  10. "Gold Rush review from Zzap 51 (Jul 1989) - Amiga Magazine Rack".
  11. "Commodore User Magazine Issue 70". July 1989.
  12. "Amiga Computing Magazine Issue 016". September 1989.
  13. "Amiga Format". archive.org.[ dead link ]
  14. "Australian Commodore and Amiga Review, the - Volume 6 Issue 10 (1989-10)(Saturday Magazine)(AU)". October 1989.
  15. "Gold Rush! Classic". Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  16. "Gold Rush: Der Sierra-Klassiker bekommt ein Remake" (in German). December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Houser, Jeffry (November 18, 2014). "Gold Rush! Anniversary Review". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  18. "Gold Rush!" . Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  19. Ehrenhofler, Courtney (January 16, 2015). "Gold Rush! Anniversary review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  20. Bart (December 13, 2014). "Gold Rush Anniversary – Review". 3D strike. Retrieved February 5, 2015.