From 7th Level
This review was first published in WindowWatch
You loved Monty Python and the Holy Grail, did you? You've always wanted to live the thrills and excitement of going through the plague village, help burn a witch, defeat the Black Knight and all those other fun moments from the movie? Well now, here is your chance.
Eric Idle has joined forces with 7th Level to produce this game. There are ten locations, each based on one of the major locations from the film. There are also several additional games within the game which add to the fun. A number of the best known and loved video clips from the movie are included in this game.
Rule one, read the manual. It's short, has good game information and is one of the more entertaining manuals that come with a game.
You travel from location to location in the game. In each location, there are a large number of clickable spots though finding them may well be difficult. Many, many of them will do different things at different times. In fact, the key to playing this game is patience. You may have to do something a number of times before you get the desired result. This is fun however, because many of the places give you different results each time you click there.
In each location, you have to find the swallow and shoot it, find the special item (found by clicking your way through the dialogues and finding all the clickable areas of the scene), and eventually place a special item on the scene. I say eventually because you'll pretty much have to gather the objects from their hiding places before it's worthwhile trying to learn where to put them.
I admire how the game uses real scenes from the movie for backdrops. The video sequences have been nicely done frequently using the footage from the original film to fill in what is happening. As you place the special items, video sequences will be shown. You may then enjoy them again by looking at the Book of the Game. A special treat in the game is when it is showing the sequence of 'how can you tell she's a witch.' There is a board in the background which shows the logical argument as it progresses, and is great fun to watch.
Drop Dead. As the bodies fall, you need to pack the grave as best you can. Bodies will keep falling faster, and the occasional one isn't quite dead yet, which makes moving it around more challenging.
Knights in Kombat. As King Arthur, you must defeat the Black Knight. As the Black Knight, you have to kill the King. It's your choice which opponent to be, though you will have to win as King Arthur to move on in the game.
Burn the Witch. You need to watch the sequence in which the witches burn and repeat the sequence yourself. Or fail and have one witch die when you do.
Catch the Cow. Those naughty Frenchmen are throwing cows at your party. You need to prevent your men from getting squished by clicking on them to turn them to the right.
Spank the Virgin. If you are good enough at this game, you get a special nude bonus round. The title of the game is pretty self-explanatory.
Adults only, please. Nudity and rude language naturally enough abound. Spank the Virgin is one example of how this game may offend some.
As far as game play goes, it can be frustrating. You have to find the set of ten special objects and where to place them. Some things are fairly obvious, others aren't at all. There are a large number of places to click and there seems to be no rhyme or reason behind why you eventually get the special object.
I wouldn't put this game in any normal category. It's not really quite what people think of as interactive movie, nor adventure game, nor arcade game, but it does have all those elements within it. The game doesn't really have puzzles with clues, as an adventure game would but parts of it will remind you of one.
But if you enjoy Monty Python madness, well this game should fill the bill nicely. It has the video clips of the best parts of the movie, and lots of unexpected things happen as you explore each screen. Some new dialogue has been added, and the last video in the game is an animation that wasn't used in the original film.