A comic is included in the manual to explain to the player what events have occurred since Space Quest I, when Roger became Hero of Xenon. The player also learns of the villain, Sludge Vohaul who was behind the original Sarien attack of the Arcada, and how he was driven mad. Roger, despite his newfound status as hero, is transferred to the Xenon Orbital Station 4 and promoted to Head Janitor. All is quiet until he is abducted by Sludge Vohaul. As Roger is being transported to the Labion labour mines as punishment for thwarting Sludge's original plan, the prison ship crash-lands in a nearby jungle upon the planet. He manages to escape his pursuers and the dangers of the Labion jungle and soon reaches Sludge's asteroid base. Once again, it is up to Roger alone to stop Vohaul's evil plan: to eradicate sentient life from Xenon by launching millions of cloned insurance salesmen at the planet! Upon reaching Vohaul's control room, Roger is captured, miniaturized and kept in a glass jar. Succeeding in escaping his glass prison, he manages to stop Vohaul's life support by getting inside the machine; killing his enemy, and restoring himself to full size. In the end, before blowing up Vohaul's asteroid and saving the world, Roger is left in cryo sleep inside a capsule floating in space, setting up the sequel, .
Reception
Space Quest II was well received by both critics and consumers. As Computer Gaming World noted, "Though the game is similar to the original Space Quest, the addition of more detailed animation, more difficult puzzles, an improved parser, and greater scope makes a good game even better." Some criticisms leveled at the game included some objects' unclear descriptions, and some puzzles which are hidden from the player. Antic warned of the difficulty, stating that the ST version "is trickier than the original and graphically superior". Macworld wrote that "as in the original game, Space Quest II succeeds with the humor of its animation and scripting". Space Quest II was listed number four in Sierra's Top 5 Bestsellers. Therefore, it can be assumed Space Quest II sold over 100,000 copies, thus earning the coveted SPA Gold Medal. According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the Space Quest series surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996.
Remake
announced in 2007 that they were remaking Space Quest II in the style of past VGAremakes. Although many people were unsure whether or not it was serious after announcing it on April Fool's Day and having a past record of twisted humour, screenshots and a demo were released accompanying the announcement. Infamous Adventures released their remake on New Year's Eve 2011, it featured full-voice pack and extended content. Their game is currently available for download at their website.
