The Dallas Quest is a graphic adventure game based on the television soap opera Dallas. The game was programmed by James Garon for the TRS-80 Color Computer and published by Tandy Corporation in 1984. It was the second game in the “Animated Adventure” series, following The Sands of Egypt, and uses the same split-screen display. Datasoft published versions for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64 in the same year.
The player takes the role of a detective. After an initial sequence at Southfork Ranch, the setting moves to South America, and the game has little to do with the TV show.
Development
Lorimar Productions, the studio that produced Dallas, licensed the rights to its characters to Datasoft and provided a script by two “screenwriter’s assistants” for the show. James Garon adapted the script into a text adventure game, with graphics provided by professional artists.
Reception
A five star Your Commodore review praised the graphics as some of the best in the genre, though they “take a long time to be reproduced.” The reviewer disliked the sparse use of music and was not impressed with the music that does exist. Overall, it was called “one of the best games out on the CBM 64.”
Arnie Katz concluded a 1984 Electronic Games review with, “Once you get past the fact that Dallas Quest isn’t very closely tied to the show, it turns out to be somewhat entertaining and reasonably challenging.”
References
External links
- The Dallas Quest at Lemon 64
- The Dallas Quest at the official site for the TV series
Gamer24h Editor's Take
Dallas Quest has made quite a name for itself in the gaming world, captivating us with its distinctive atmosphere and compelling gameplay dynamics. Thanks to Datasoft's meticulous craftsmanship and Tandy, Datasoft, U.S. Gold's strong presentation, the high production quality is evident in every moment of the game. Masterfully blending Graphic adventure mechanics with modern standards, the game's fluid gameplay makes hours fly by unnoticed. All in all, the Gamer24h team stands firmly behind our rating. This is a unique journey you won't want to miss.