I spent much of my time on GameTap playing Space Quest V, a game I downloaded from an abandonware site years ago and never finished due to a guilty conscience. One of my reasons for choosing this game was to see how GameTap handled the manual-based copy protection. At first glance, it didn't appear that they had; the "How to Play" instructions in GameTap's interface make no mention of the codes needed to send Roger Wilco and his crew through outer space. Then I noticed a not-very-obvious Adobe Acrobat symbol in the Space Quest V information window. This icon links to a full color version of the Galactic Inquirer manual that was clearly scanned from a hard copy, complete with a crease where the original was folded. You can save this manual to your hard drive or even print it. Sadly, Space Quest V is the only adventure game to include a PDF manual, in spite of the fact that many of the other adventures GameTap has available came with cool manuals, too. It's almost as if the manual was added as an afterthought when GameTap became aware that it's needed to play. I asked how the company plans to address this type of copy protection moving forward, but didn't receive a response. Knowing how many old adventure games contain manual-based copy protection, it makes me nervous about GameTap's future offerings.

SQV ran almost flawlessly, the only problem being that when I minimized it to access the PDF for the copy protection codes, the game wouldn't let me type names for my saves anymore. To fix this I had to quit (without saving, obviously) and restart. Other than that, I was very satisfied with the experience. The sound effects and music worked when they were supposed to, the game looked as great you'd expect a game from 1993 to look, and the known timing bugs were nowhere to be found.

My only big complaint about GameTap's version of SQV—which extends to other Sierra titles as well—is the way the saves are handled. Saved games are stored on your computer. However, it's not always easy to tell where GameTap is putting them. My saves for Space Quest V appeared to be stored on a fictitious D drive. When I used up the save slots, I tried everything I could think of to change to a new directory, but the game didn't recognize any of the folders I'd created. I was forced to overwrite saves, which wasn't the end of the world, but considering that many Sierra games have nasty dead ends, it made me uncomfortable. Myst saves, on the other hand, were stored right on my desktop, so this appears to be a quirk of DOS-based games. Wherever GameTap's putting the saves, it's worth keeping in mind that they're tied to your computer, not your username. So even though you can log in on any computer that has GameTap installed, you can't start a game on one computer, save, and then continue it on another.

GameTap only works on PCs right now, but the company's website suggests that a Mac-friendly version of the software is being developed. In addition, it's currently only available to U.S. users. GameTap's site implies that the service will be extended to other territories, but my questions about when this will occur went unanswered. The service offers a two week free trial, so if you're in the U.S. and have a hankering for any of the adventures currently offered, it's worth trying out. If you enjoy other genres, you may find yourself signing up when the two weeks have passed. But if you're only into adventures, I don't think it's worth the monthly charge—at least not yet. Although GameTap has not disclosed the titles of future additions to their library, their publisher agreements include Vivendi, Ubisoft, and DreamCatcher (The Adventure Company's parent company), which means they may be adding more adventures in the coming months. As the library becomes more extensive, GameTap could become a good resource for players who don't want to shell out for individual titles. And while GameTap may never be the Mecca for old-school gamers that abandonware sites are, it at least promises to serve as an easy-to-use alternative for players who want to stay legal. To learn more about GameTap and sign up for a free trial, visit their website.