Cover-Up At Roswell

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In 1996, Virgin Media released a PC game called Cover-Up At Roswell based on the first season designs for The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. The game used footage from six shows -- The Darkest Fathoms, In the Realm of the Condor, Ndovu's Last Journey, Manhattan Maneater, Return of the Anasazi, and Alien in Washington -- to piece together a new story. An e-mail in the game foreshadows The Secret of the MOAI. Interestingly, the game features a complete guide to all Quest vehicles not found in other media, and provides a map of the Quest Compound. It makes full use of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest merchandising graphics and fonts. At the time, Virgin Media's games were aimed at providing action-packed, educational adventures for kids, which largely mirrored the original mission of the show. Voices are provided by season two actors except for Hadji and Dr. Quest, who are voiced by his season one counterpart Michael Benyaer and presumably Peter Renaday respectively. Cover-Up At Roswell features most of the colorized official art produced for the series in the credits sequence.

Gameplay

Scenes from locations in each episode, including the Quest Compound, are shown to the player with sprites of Jonny, Jessie, or Hadji in the foreground. Players click entrances or objects to move forward or interact with items in the search for several alien artifacts. Jonny is equipped with three tools to help him in his search, including the Tracking Device artifact radar, a GPS unit, and a homing beacon locater for finding Dr. Quest. Players must often complete mini games through the journey, such as driving a jeep across the African savanna or aligning figurines to open a Mesoamerican passage. Help tips are provided for every stage, narrated by the female Questworld voice (actor B.J. Ward) comparable to EVA from the Command & Conquer series. In certain areas or after particular events, the characters will talk amongst themselves to provide hints concerning what to do next. At times, the player must use equipment to make traveling choices or locate objects.

Equipment

Questworld's Operating System lists equipment details (in addition to the Vehicles listing).

  • Global Positioning Unit - Through a satellite uplink, this device pinpoints your exact position. It displays your location on the earth's surface (latitude and longitude) as well as the direction you are facing (north, south, east, west, etc.).
  • Tracker - A portable unit which can locate an object by scanning for the wavelength of its radiation. To calculate the object's exact position (latitude and longitude), the user must move the cross hairs over the object's location on the map. Note that the circle indicates distance from the object.
  • Homing Device - A portable unit which pinpoints the location of the person wearing the homing beacon. First, calculate the distance from that person by moving the slider until the white lights start to flash the colored code sequence. Next, copy the encrypted code signal on the colored code transmission buttons. When the signal has been successfully decoded, an arrow will indicate the subject's position.
  • Digital Notepad - A pocket-sized computer that can connect via remote with another computer network. Comes with a tablet interface.
  • Echo-Locator - A device which uses sonar technology to display obstacles in your path. Can be used to navigate in the dark. To use, pres the sonar transmission button. The colored lights indicate your distance from obstacles in front of you, behind you, to your left and to your right.

Plot

Manual Teaser

The manual describes the plot thusly:

In an isolated area of Nevada exists AREA 51, a huge tract of land with underground facilities for top secret U.F.O. research. Recently, several rumors have circulated in regard to the nature of this research, most prominently that the government is trying to use alien technologies to create weapons of mass destruction.

Assigned to guard the secretes of Area 51 are the MEN IN BLACK, a battalion of combat-ready "enforcers" who are under the supreme authority of GENERAL TYLER. Several former MEN IN BLACK have recently been indicted on Federal tampering charges, but this hardly seems to have affected their ruthless policies. They are widely considered to be the most dangerous of all government agencies.

General Tyler, with his humorously scrawled-over nameplate

Like his subordinates, GENERAL TYLER is not to be taken lightly. Openly criticized by many in military circles as a "rogue lifer," TYLER Is recognized by the Pentagon brass as an extremely effective "silencer." Along with his MEN IN BLACK, he has kept the lid on many a classified operation. He was recently placed in charge of SuNaPhen, an embryonic agency designed to investigate supernatural phenomena. Many individuals who have questioned his authority have disappeared without a trace. TYLER has little tolerance for civilians, in particular RACE BANNON, whom he refers to a "loose cannon."

GENERAL TYLER'S hatred for BANNON is second only to that of DR. JEREMIAH SURD, an evil genius whose deteriorating physical condition has left him relegated to a wheelchair. He blames the QUEST TEAM, and BANNON in particular, for his misfortunes and will stop at nothing to destroy them all. it is a safe bet that most QUEST adventures will involve overcoming SURD and his loyal subordinates. His recent acquisition of a portable QUESTWORLD SYSTEM allows him access to the world of cyberspace, a fantasy land where his physical imitations do not interere with his fanatical obsessions. SURD takes full advantage of QUESTWORLD'S ability to bend reality, prompting the QUEST TEAM to adopt a "trust no one" policy.

When a bank of highly sensitive government monitors pick up a "U.F.O. that is entering Earth's atmosphere, GENERAL TYLER is immediately notified. After the "U.F.O." crashes near the remote town of Roswell, New Mexico, it soon becomes evident that it is actually an alien spaceship. Furthermore, it jettisons several objections prior to impact with the Earth's surface. With these alien components scattered across the globe, GENERAL TYLER dispatches the ruthless MEN IN BLACK to contain the situation. The QUEST TEAM knows full well that they must retrieve these objects before their adversaries do.

The stakes are high for the QUEST TEAM - if the secrets of this alien technology are obtained by either TYLER or SURD, there's not telling what sort of cataclysms could ensue. Most likely, i would spell the end of the QUEST TEAM, not to mention the world as we know it.

Full Summary

An alien vessel has broken up over the earth's atmosphere. Tracked by governmental monitors, it crash lands in Roswell, New Mexico. The observers immediately call General Tyler, head of the Men in Black; he activates their unit on the spot and commands his subordinates to keep the crash from the public. Meanwhile, at the Quest Compound, Jonny jacks in to Questworld's cycle racing game. While in level two, Jonny helplessly watches as Questworld experiences a system overload, with the source cryptically identified as the "Orion Nebula". Hadji manages to pull him out before the system completely crashes; Dr. Quest then arrives, revealing that he has received an urgent e-mail and needs to access Questworld's post office. Frustrated with the crash, he tells Jonny to go to each terminal in the compound and perform the system diagnostics necessary to restore access and Questworld's integrity. Jonny first heads to the Laboratory in the barn to restore the security system. The team notice that a strange commercial ship is docked outside. They then return to the lighthouse to fix the network before going to Jonny's room, where the databanks are put back together. It seems bad data was injected into each system.

Dr. Quest is now able to load the databanks, using the Quest Holographic Operating System version 1.6.2, dated September 19, 1996. The databanks are still somewhat damaged, restricting access to e-mail, video enhancement tools, equipment listings, vehicle listings, a scanner, and the hologlobe. Jonny begins checking the e-mails, which include a threat from Surd and a note from "Petey's Eatery" that damages are still expected for Race's behavior in trashing the place after he thought a busboy was a criminal mastermind. The e-mail from Dr. Quest's friend, Bill Schawb, notes that he saw what appeared to be a meteor crash in the New Mexico desert, and that the site was soon sealed off by armed guards. He has sent Dr. Quest a video taken from a weather satellite of the object entering the earth's atmosphere. The video is very grainy, prompting Jonny to use the following filters and tools: ultrasonic, Threshold scan, ultraviolet, infrared, gamma control, and AI interpolation. The picture clearly reveals a UFO entering the earth's atmosphere and jettisoning several objects.

Dr. Quest notices that it jettisons several objects, and phones General Tyler. Tyler is brutish and dismissive, and Dr. Quest begins his own investigation by aiming to find the objects jettisoned by the spacecraft. The Hologlobe is able to track two of the objects, which crashed in New York City's Central Park and a rain forest near Iquitos, Peru (S12° 25' 27", W76° 23' 43"). General Tyler then calls, complaining of a media leak; the Quests blame it on Surd, who must have lifted the information during the Questworld crash. The Quests first choose Peru as Jessie stays behind to analyze computer data. At the rain forest, the team raft down the river in search of the object, which seems to have been moved. Despite falling off a waterfall, the crew survive and set up camp. The cries of a child in the wilderness spark a search by Hadji and Jonny, who locate a native kid fighting an anaconda. Jonny beats away the snake, but the kid runs as well; the team continue searching after climbing a huge cliff. They discover ancient ruins, and arrange pieces on a small checkerboard to find a lost Mesoamerican city. There, they locate the first artifact. Because Jonny saved the headman's son, they are granted safe passage out via giant condors.

In Manhattan, Hadji tracks the next artifact to an area beneath Grand Central Station in the Quest Helicopter with Jessie on board from the Compound. The team first must find a place to put the chopper down in the crowded skies of New York. At the hotel, they witness another report from Vince Vaughn that citizens are arming themselves in preparation for an alien invasion. Jonny, Hadji, and Jessie take to the streets and learn from thugs that the artifact has been taken underground. Hadji is worried that the urban legends of a lawless culture of underground denizens beneath the subway system may be true. The team locate a slingshot and a subway entrance, using the weapon to dispel rats. Below, they find a key in a disheveled room before venturing farther below. After dispatching more rats, they use the key to enter an old subway car, where the second alien device awaits. Underworld dwellers launch an assault, but the team narrowly escape.

The next object lies in Tanzania; specifically, coordinates S3° 15' 04", W34° 32' 52". The team lands near a bushman, who tells them that he had seen a vision of their coming, and that the elephant Ndovu has selected them to follow him to the elephant graveyard—where the next artifact lay. The quest begins by a long drive through the savanna. After making camp, Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji decide they cannot wait and head east. They soon locate the elephant and begin following him, eventually coming to a "sticky" wall. Made of intertwined sticks, it prevents their passage until they carefully remove them by layers. Beyond, they find that Nvodu is swimming across a large river with a nearby poacher. They continue tailing the elephant until it enters dense foliage, which they must navigate with a sonar. Once inside the elephant graveyard, they find the component behind several ivory tusks. The two poachers reveal themselves and demand Jonny to hand over the artifact, but Nvodu quickly kills them as the team flee. They're picked up but the Tanzanian border patrol, who challenge them to a friendly game of Mancala. Unfortunately, one of the poachers is still alive and sets fire to the camp, which Jonny helps thwart with an extinguisher.

Next, the team flies to Lake Powell, Utah, which is besieged by a thunderstorm. The object lies at N 35° 25' 06", W 110° 30' 22", deep within Anasazi ruins.

Questworld E-mail

The Questworld Holographic Operating System allows players to access a few e-mail messages sent to the team. They include: 

TO: JONNY QUEST
FROM: NATIONAL ARCHIVES, PUBLIC RECORDS DIVISION
RE: REQUEST

Dear Mr. Quest, we are sorry to inform you
that our records pertaining to Jeremiah Surd
are no more complete than yours. In fact,
many of our files on Mr. Surd seem to have
been deleted or corrupted. If we can be of
assistance in some other way, please let us
know.
TO: QUEST TEAM
FROM: CHILEAN CONSULATE
RE: EASTER ISLAND RESEARCH

Dr. Quest -- A team of national scientists
who were researching the Moai of Easter island
recently disappeared without a trace. In light
of recent events on Rapa Nui, I assume we do
not have to tell you how serious an issue this
is. We will be forwarding a file containing
their work and would greatly appreciate any aid
you and your team could provide in regard to
this highly volatile situation.
TO: THE QUEST TEAM
FROM: PROFESSOR WITHERSPOON, AUCKLAND INSTITUTE
RE: OZONE DEPLETION

Dear Dr. Quest -- Cheers mate! Hope all is
well for you back in the states. There's a
slight problem down under. I as monitoring
the recent trend of ozone layer depletion
when my gadgetry registered some sort of
spacecraft. Now, I've cross-referenced
NASA's flight schedule as well as those
of other space programs.

I hate to jump to any conclusions, but I
think that an alien spacecraft may have
entered the Earth's atmosphere sometime
yesterday morning, E.S.T. Please get back
to me with any information.
Thank you, Witherspoon
TO: QUEST TEAM
FROM: DR. JEREMIAH SURD
RE: I'M WATCHING!

G'day Quest fools! Thank you once again for
creating QuestWorld just for me. I love it!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back
to monitoring your every move! Ta-ta.
P.S. Hey Bannon, nice move beating up a busboy.
What, did you ask for your water with no
ice? Hah-hah!
TO: QUEST TEAM
FROM: PETEY'S EATERY
RE: BRAWL

Dear Quest Team -- We are still awaiting
payment for all the damage which was caused
when Mr. Bannon mistook our busboy for a
criminal mastermind. We expect to receive a
check this week. Thank you, Petey
TO: RACE BANNONG
FROM: AMERICAN RED CROSS
RE: FUND RAISER

Dear Mr. Bannon -- We would like to express
our gratitude for your efforts in our latest
fund raising campaign. Thanks to your tireless
efforts, we now have the money to open a new
facility in three urban areas. We look forward
to working with you again int he future!
TO: DR. QUEST
FROM: BILL SCHWAB, NEW MEXICO WEATHER INSTITUTE
RE: SATELLITE VIDEO

Dr. Quest -- I've gathered some exciting data
about global warming that I'd like to show you
as soon as possible. A more pressing issue
has arisen, however. While doing field
research, I observed what looked like a large
meteor flash across the sky. It then hit the
ground in the nearby desert. Eerily, by the
time I reached the crash site, the entire
area had been sealed of by armed guards.

I managed to get ahold of a video of the
object entering the earth's atmosphere. The
picture's a bit blurry because it was taken
by one of our weather satellites. Please
take a look at it. Look for it with your
recent downloads. Maybe you could use your
video enhancement program to get a clearer
picture. Let me know, Bill

Audio

It is unknown whether original music was composed for the game or Gary Lionelli's general audio suite for the show was used. Cover-Up At Roswell seems to have a distinctive theme appearing in the title menus of the game and the Quest Compound. This theme is arranged with local music flavors for the areas the Quests visit; it gets a strange, more ambient make over for the Utah segment, for example. Most of the music is featured within the Quicktime files with video, although three suites and one with the distinctive theme are contained in separate AIF files.

~

Notes

Quotes

  • Vince Vaughn - "This is Vince Vaugh, shaking and baking with news that's late-breaking."
  • Race - "What he really needs is a late-breaking roundhouse."

~

  • Dr. Quest - "Onwards and upwards, as I always say."

~

  • Jonny - "Man, I could go for a chili-dog!"
  • Hadji - "But first, we must quench our appetites for adventure."

~

  • Jessie - "This looks like the perfect area for a neighborhood watch program."
  • Hadji - "Is this what they call...the wrong side of the tracks?"

~

  • Jonny - "It's time to bust this hot-dog cart."

~

  • Hadji - "The paradox of karmic fate is the razor's edge between predestined reality and active choice."

~

  • MIB - "You're supposed to be on our side, Bannon. You were a government man."
  • Race - "You're right; I was, until they made those shades part of the uniform."

Goofs

  • The fourth object's coordinates place it near Flagstaff, Arizona, a bit far from Lake Powell, Utah.

Trivia

  • Race makes the comment that the Peruvian rain forests remind him of Da Nang, suggesting he spent time in Vietnam. His relatively young age and recent career with Intelligence One suggest otherwise.

Media

From: Main Page

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