The Beverly Hillbillies (DOS)

The Beverly Hillbillies

Platform: DOS Year: 1993 Developer: Synergistic Software

The Beverly Hillbillies is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Synergistic Software and published by Capstone. Rather than being based on the TV show of the same name, the game is actually (loosely) based on the film of the same name.

In the game, you play as Jed Clampett. While hunting a rabbit, he comes across crude oil (black gold, Texas tea!) which makes him a millionaire. Mr. Drysdale recommends the family relocate to Beverly Hills, which they do. While holding a party for the locales, Granny is kidnapped, and Jed must then find out who kidnapped Granny and rescue her before it's too late.

The game was negatively received by critics. The game is very short, but can be very frustrating without any assistance. There are also bugs in the game which make the game more difficult than it needs to be. Even trying to use the menus is tedious; Instead of simply clicking an option, and the game taking you to that appropriate menu, you must first click to highlight the option, then click the OK button to go to that menu. It is likely Capstone rushed the developers, which resulted in a less-than-stellar game. Capstone also released Wayne's World (DOS) which was also a point-and-click adventure and received similar reviews. Synergistic Software also released a "sister" game, Homey D. Clown (DOS), which also received similar reviews.

Screenshots

The title screen. The intro cutscene where Jed shoots the command prompt. At the Clampetts' cottage in the Ozark Mountains. The Clampetts try to find their way to Beverly Hills. Driving around Beverly Hills. The Clampetts have a hoedown at their mansion.

Music

Even for 1993, the game only has 5 songs. The music was all done by Synergistic Software's lead composer Chris Barker. Chris most likely wrote MIDI files in an unknown sequencer, and the files were then converted to the XMI format to be compatible with the Midpak sound driver the game uses. Chris scored the music to Super Battleship around the same time as this game, which had a much superior soundtrack, so, as previously stated, it's possible Chris was rushed to do the music per Capstone.

To its credit, the game uses the main theme of the TV show, The Ballad of Jed Clampett, albeit heavily arranged. In fact, there are two arrangements of the theme; one plays during most of the game and the title screen, and the other plays while you're driving around Beverly Hills. The song that plays while the Clampetts are driving to LA is a slowed down and arranged version of the William Tell Overture. It also has a lot of random dissonant notes playing. The song is about 4 minutes long, but to keep consistency with the other 4 songs, it plays twice before fading out. It seems that the song ends abruptly, possibly hinting that Chris was unable to finish the song. The Ozark Mountains music is from the Ranz des vaches part of the William Tell Overture.

The song names (except The Ozark Mountains) come from the sections of the game represented in the game's instruction manual. The first part of the game is not named in the manual, but explains it takes place in the Ozark Mountains.

Recording

1. Roland LAPC-I/MT-32
2. AdLib/SoundBlaster
3. PC Speaker

#	Title	Composer	Arranger	Length	Listen	Download
201	The Ballad of Jed Clampett	Paul Henning	Chris Barker	0:56		Download
202	The Ozark Mountains	Gioachino Rossini	Chris Barker	4:04		Download
203	The Highway to LA	Gioachino Rossini	Chris Barker	8:03		Download
204	Welcome To Beverly Hills	Paul Henning, Chris Barker	Chris Barker	2:05		Download
205	Let's Have A Hoedown	Chris Barker	Chris Barker	1:23		Download

Credits

• Ripper: MusicFox (VGZ)
• Recorder: Doommaster1994
• Game Credits:
  • Music: Chris Barker
  • Sound: Craig Utterback
  • Not Credited Composer: Paul Henning
  • Not Credited Composer: Gioachino Rossini
  • Not Credited Sound Driver: David Metzener
  • Not Credited Sound Driver: John Ratcliff
  • Not Credited Sound Driver: John Miles

(Sources: Game, Manual.)

The game has credits during the intro sequence, but doesn't credit the composers. There is an identical staff roll at the end of the game that gives credit to the composer and sound designer. The credits can also be found in the game's manual.

Interestingly, despite a sound credit, there doesn't appear to be any sound effects in the game.

Game Rip

This rip is missing songs.

Format	Conversion	Download
		Download (Info)

The 5 XMI files are installed in the game's directory, as well as the sound driver files. The VGM files were logged during gameplay. Fileswapping methods were used to rip the VGM files during the first part of the game. Simply renaming any of the 5 XMI files to hills.xmi will cause that particular song to play during the first part of the game.

Audio Devices

Music
Sound

(Source)

The game uses the Midpak sound driver.

Releases

USA Title: The Beverly Hillbillies Platform: DOS Released: 1993-??-?? Publisher: Capstone     EU Title: The Beverly Hillbillies Platform: DOS Released: 1993-??-?? Publisher: IntraCorp, Inc., GameTek