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Space Quest II was released in November of 1987, the first sequel to the popular game Space Quest, Chapter I: The Sarien Encounter.

Not unlike the first game, we find our friend and semi-hero Roger Wilco working as a Sanitation Specialist on Xenon Orbital Station 4. (No good deed goes unpunished in Roger’s world.) When Space Quest II opens it finds you, Roger, actually working for a change, sweeping surfaces and cleaning crevices outside the Orbital Station. The adventure begins with you being paged on your nifty wrist mounted chronometer / telecommunicator / horoscope dispenser. You, as Roger, are ordered inside by your boss to come in and clean the most recently arrived shuttle. Apparently, someone on the last trip did not enjoy an optimum level shuttle flight experience and expelled their latest meal. Roger, of course, must go inside and clean up the mess. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to see it, and to those who may have wanted to, sorry. Really? You wanted to see it?)

Well, you as Roger follow your orders and enter the station, but not before letting yet another broom float away. (Not again! You’ll be hearing about this one too.) Once inside, you must remove your spacesuit and switch into your normal uniform. While there you check out your locker and its contents. In most adventure games, take anything that isn’t plasma-welded down It’s amazing how much stuff you can hide away in those wonderfully stretchy (not mention slimming) expando-pockets. Load ’em up. Once ready, it’s time to head to the shuttle bay. When you arrive and enter the shuttle to locate the formerly confined used meal you are surprised by someone who does not wish you well. You are knocked unconscious, taken hostage and transported to a secret lair of an evil villain. All evil villains have secret lairs. They’re so cool! This one is the work of Sludge Vohaul and his henchmen.

The first order of business is for you to meet the bloated visage that is Sludge Vohaul. As is common with evil geniuses, he details his plans for you. After he delights in letting you know of your apparent destiny you are transported down to the planet of Labion where you take a ride with two of Vohaul’s goons to begin your life sentence of hard labor in his apparently lucrative orium mine. Meanwhile, he continues with his plan to infest your home planet with cloned life insurance salesmen. Yikes! He’s a bad man.

Surprisingly, along the way as your two guards bicker about something, the little transport vehicle runs out of fuel and crashes to the ground from just above the tree line. A surprising stroke of good luck has you using them as landing cushions. Once again, you’re free to go about finding a way to save your butt. It’s time to check out the scene and get moving before anyone else shows up. Meanwhile, the clock’s ticking away and you need to save your planet from a fate worse than death, and it won’t be easy!