| Year | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Platform | DOS |
| Released in | United States (1996) Worldwide (2020) |
| Genre | Action |
| Theme | FPS, Licensed Title, Promotional, Sci-Fi / Futuristic, Shooter |
| Publisher | Limited Run Games, Inc., Ralston-Purina |
| Developer | Digital Cafe |
| Perspective | 1st-Person |
| Dosbox support | Fully supported on 0.70 |
Description of Chex Quest
Undoubtedly the strangest and most complete conversion of all DOOM engine licensees, Chex Quest was a free CD-ROM action game released by General Mills on a CD stuffed free into boxes of Chex Cereals.
This promotion lasted only for half a year before it was discontinued. (Okay, so the game isn't really "freeware," since you do need to buy cereal to play it... but hey, I'm sure everyone loves Chex cereal anyway ;))
DoomWorld gave the following great review of this underdog that I'd like to quote here in full: Chex Quest, a game made specifically for distribution with specially marked packages of Chex cereal about half a year ago, accomplishes its primary mission of plugging Chex cereal through countless wall decals and carefully located billboards, but also does so with a sense of its own silliness.
The general plot? You are a giant piece of cereal. Your mission is to kill a wide variety of strange, green soggy creatures known as "Flemoids," probably ex-Chex pieces which were transported through the Milk Dimension and came back mutated and dripping. You have numerous super-powerful weapons at your disposal, all with vomit-inducing names like the "Zorcher," the "Rapid Zorcher," and the ultra-powerful "Phasing Zorcher." With these weapons, you are able to return the Flemoids to their home dimension -- that's right, you don't kill anything in Chex Quest, everything disappears in a flash of light, and with a strange sparkly noise. It's Doom, but you don't kill anything. It's probably the strangest thing you'll ever see.
Well, you're probably asking, how does Chex Quest play? Surprisingly well, actually. The only major problem was a nasty bug upon startup, easily remedied by simply using Boom as the .EXE of choice. Given its kiddie nature, Chex Quest is, not surprisingly, quite easy. Only the trooper, sergeant, imp, and demon's alter egos make an appearance, except for a lone Baron of Hell at the end which is meant to be easily disposed, given a nearby BFG (known in this world as the Laz Device). Demo gods and Hell Revealed veterans will find this a walk in the park, but keep in mind that those same demo gods' 5-year-old cousins have to have a fair chance too. Can't you just see little Johnny Donner picking up a Powerfork?
Since Chex Quest was packaged in boxes of cereal, it's also a true total conversion. Absolutely no standard Doom textures, flats, or other assorted graphics rear their heads. This makes the levels have a completely different feel, as everything you see -- the textures, the monsters, the weapons -- are new. The replacements for the rocket launcher and plasma rifle are especially inspiring. The sounds are completely novel as well, but of less important; expect lots of strange gurgles, whistles, and chimes. They work within the context, but are of little consequence.
In the end, Chex Quest is one of the most novel total conversions around. Forget the fact that it has about as little product placement as Disneyland. It's a fun escape into a world where gore is goo and Total Kills is zero. Now excuse me, I'm off to return some more Flemoids."
Review By HOTUD
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
Northerner1 2024-02-13 0 point DOS version
Cool piece of gaming history, thanks for archiving it. works well in gzdoom.
jj 2022-12-26 1 point DOS version
I used to play this when I was younger when I got it in a cereal box. One time I was playing, then had to go do something, then came back later to finish the level. When I finished, instead of showing me the time of how long it took to complete the level, I think it just said "sucky."
anon 2021-12-07 1 point
Chex Quest on to the trending page, after John Oliver's show 'Last Week Tonight' featuring Snack Video Games! Now to Cool-Spot and Pepsi man!
Nate 2020-08-24 0 point DOS version
I've been on a DOOM kick and always wanted to try Chex Quest since I passed up the special offer when it came out. It's a fun little diversion and pretty well-made, actually. I didn't even find all of the secrets. I ran the WAD in GZDoom, by the way. But I turned off the smoothing on the pixels.
HalfTelevision 2020-04-01 3 points
Saw AVGN Play It, Might As Well As Well Play It With The Brutal Doom Mod
ShinyRayquaza9 2020-03-31 1 point
just got doom eternal and am messing with the fact that the doom emu in game has wads in the files that can be swapped out, can't wait to play this in doom eternal
TuckyMonster 2019-01-15 0 point DOS version
if i loved doom(1993) i would love dis game
AND I DO
Jum gamer 2017-04-13 1 point Mac version
WOW I loved playing this game on my computer now an emulator this is fun
Shadow 2017-04-08 1 point
I use to wait till my parents went too bed then have too beat my sister too the computer and play it till I had to go to school
moonbug 2015-10-26 3 points
This game really is a DOS game, because it's just a hacked Ultimate Doom (just as could be created with a utility like DeHackEd). However, only DOOM.EXE and SETUP.EXE are DOS programs, the rest of the EXE files were for Windows (but those programs are not essential in any way).
So this game should run fine in dosbox. However, there is a bug in the final level which causes the game to crash with a Visplane Overflow error. The only way to remedy this is to use a limit-removing port. Most Doom ports these days are like that, but they also change a lot of other things about the game. If you want something closer (more authentic) to the original game, your best bet is to build Chocolate Doom yourself with modified (increased) static limits, or to use a fork that already takes care of that for you, such as this one:
http://www.chocolate-doom.org/wiki/index.php/Crispy_Doom
Chex Quest 2 is just an add-on to the first game, so you can run it the same way.
Chex Quest 3 however is a ZDoom-based game, and so will run only on that port.
KHerb 2015-05-19 1 point DOS version
I downloaded this to my MacBook and have been playing it through Boxer. It's been working great, but it said I had completed the game after only the 3rd mission. I distinctively remember a few levels that weren't in this download. Any ideas as to what's going on?
OldschoolGamer 2015-03-13 1 point DOS version
@Beth, Don't use Dosbox to run this game, use vmware player and install a windows 95 or 98 operating system on it, then you don't have to deal with compatibility issues.
Jak 2014-11-30 1 point DOS version
Loved this game as a kid. I got it in the Chex box in the late 90s and played it on a 200mhz computer. Remember how slow computers were back then lol
Jak 2014-11-30 1 point Mac version
I remember playing this game as a kid. It came as the free prize inside the Chex cereal boxes :)
I used to play this on a 200mhz computer in the late 90s lol
indstr 2014-02-12 1 point DOS version
Lol, what a hoot... I got this game in a cereal box in 1996. It was based on the DooM engine and its primary value was for me and my friends to laugh about. Still a good memory :)
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DOS Version
27 MBWindows Version
- Year: 1996
- Publisher: Limited Run Games, Inc., Ralston-Purina
- Developer: Digital Cafe
Mac Version
- Year: 1996
- Publisher: Limited Run Games, Inc., Ralston-Purina
- Developer: Digital Cafe
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