[2] The game sees players assume the role of Roger Wilco, who is thrust into a new adventure across time and space where he must thwart the plans of an old foe that is seeking revenge against him.

The game was developed with 256-color hand painted graphics, motion capture animation, and a switch from the text parser system to a more traditional point-and-click interface.

The overall cost of the game was far greater than previous titles, but proved a commercial success, receiving positive reviews from critics for its humour, voice cast, and presentation.

Scott Murphy preferred keeping the original parser interface in Space Quest IV, believing it added depth to the game.

Despite their preference for the parser, management later overruled their decision, emphasizing the company's strategy to maintain a consistent point-and-click interface across its modern games portfolio.

Players assume the role of Roger Wilco, a lowly janitor who has been on three adventures and is now seeking to head home, only to find himself travelling between the past and the future to thwart a new threat.

Following the events of Space Quest III, lowly janitor Roger Wilco is heading back to his homeworld of Xenon, aboard the Aluminum Mallard.

Travelling through it, Roger winds up on Xenon in the near future, devastated by a major disaster (in which the game claims it's Space Quest XII: Vohaul's Revenge II).

Exploring the ruins of the planet's main city, Roger finds a recording which reveals that Xenon developed an AI supercomputer to run everything, but that it was infected with a virus, Vohaul's mind digitized, that waged war on the inhabitants, killing or enslaving most of the population.

Great futuristic graphics blend perfectly with the simplified game play to make Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers one of life's rare creatures - a successful sequel.