Adventure Gaming (sorta) Megathread
esuna
Rock Bottom Join Date: 2003-04-03 Member: 15175Members, Constellation
Rock Bottom Join Date: 2003-04-03 Member: 15175Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">For people who like playing with themselves only.</div>For a while i've been without internet and without any new games to play, and my computer isn't really good enough to cut it with most modern games anyway, i've been playing around with, at first my back catalogue of adventure games and when i finally got an internet connection, i started peeking around for more to play.
Since i'm in the mood, i've decided to start a list of adventure games for people to play either for free or for a minimal cost, along with a short review of each. Feel free to post more as i won't be able to post all of them ever, just the ones i have or the ones i can think of, and the more the merrier!
This thread will be seperated into two parts. The first will be free games for you guys to play, the next will be everything else. I could seperate it into professional / indie, but the lines get blurred somewhere down the line so i figure seperating by price is a better idea. My main focus here is on lesser known adventures rather than the big ones. If i miss out Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle or something, it's not because i've never played them, it's because, for a start, i want to help people to find games they may not have ever played.
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<b>Beneath a Steel Sky</b>: Made by Revolution Software back in the mid-nineties, BaSS was a cyberpunk point-and-click adventure. It has it's own quirky sense of humour, a great story and some great regional English voice acting, it's one of the better adventure games to arise during the boom back in the mid-nineties. Revolution have also done the awesome thing that i wish Lucasarts would get around to doing and have distributed the full talkie cd version for free. You can download the game files <a href="http://scummvm.org/downloads.php#extras" target="_blank">here</a>. This game will also require ScummVM to run, which can be grabbed over at <a href="http://www.scummvm.org/" target="_blank">www.scummvm.org</a>.
<b>Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth</b>: This is a fan project. The Indiana Jones games were some great adventures and a group of fans decided to make the next adventure for everyone's favourite archaeologist. This is a very competant adventure and <i>very</i> similar in humour, art, everything, as Fate of Atlantis. I'm not sure if it's actually released yet (the demo is), but you can get more info and download gubbins <a href="http://www.barnettcollege.com/index2.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.
<b>Flight of the Amazon Queen</b>: Again, another old-school, classic title released in the mid-nineties by Interactive Binary Illusions. It's set in the forties, has a funny story, good writing and is very heavily based on old pulp novels. Once again, this was released for free and is available <a href="http://scummvm.org/downloads.php#extras" target="_blank">here</a>, again, it requires ScummVM to run, which can be grabbed over at <a href="http://www.scummvm.org/" target="_blank">www.scummvm.org</a>.
<b>Maniac Mansion Deluxe</b>: A fan remake of the granddaddy of adventure gaming. Maniac Mansion, the reason the SCUMM engine was created, hence the name (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion). MM introduced us to Dr. Fred, Bernard and the tentacles who would later become stars in Day of the Tentacle. I can't fault this game and what's more, the remake is absolutely free and ready to go. Grab it <a href="http://new.bigbluecup.com/games.php?action=search&sterm=maniac+mansion+deluxe&submit=Search%21" target="_blank">here</a>
<b>Trilby series / John DeFoe series / Chzo Mythos</b><ul><li><b> 5 Days a Stranger</b>: A more recent game, created by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/" target="_blank">www.fullyramblomatic.com</a>. It's the first part in a "quadrilogy" known by many names. "The Chzo Mythos," "John DeFoe series" or "Trilby series." This one, the first part, is reminiscent of earlier adventure games, the GUI isn't amazing, nor are the graphics, but the story is well written and, while fairly short, is a decent diversion. It's set in the early-nineties and follows the story of a cat burglar / gentleman theif by the name of "Trilby" and so unravells a murder mystery into the backstory of the house. And free's a pretty good price for a few hours of fun. It was created using the Adventure Gaming Studio and pretty much entirely written and developed by one man. You can grab the game <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/5days" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> 7 Days a Skeptic</b>: The second in the Trilby series, this one is set 400 years after the events of 5 Days a Stranger. This time around, the music's improved, the graphics also slightly, and the interface is much better. The story has some parallells to the first, so it's worth playing 5 Days... before this one. Once again, murder is afoot and it's up to you to figure out what's going on. You can download this one from <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/7days" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> Trilby's Notes</b>: The third game in the Trilby series, this one's a little different. It plays like a late-eighties sierra adventure, with keyboard movement and typed commands. Don't let that put you off, this game spans many characters and many different times, expanding on the backstory of 5 Days.. and 7 Days.. somewhat. A lot of love went into this game, and it shows. It also features a new villain to the series and a Silent Hill-esque second dimension. Well worth a play through. You can download this game from <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/notes" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> 6 Days a Sacrifice</b>: The last game in the Trilby series. Set mid-way between the events of 5 Days.. and 7 Days.. and back to a similar interface that 7 Days.. uses, this game finally ties up all the story from the previous 3 games, creates more connections and generally gives you a warm sense in your guts. You can grab this one <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/6days" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul>
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<b>Blade Runner</b>: Probably the first movie tie-in game that actually lived up to it's namesake. Based on the classic cyberpunk movie, it follows the story of a fellow Blade Runner, similar to Deckard, and the persuit of more renegade skin-jobs. The game boasts good writing and voice acting and something stupid like 14 different endings, making replayability a worthwhile experience, something quite rare in adventure gaming as a whole. Definitely worth a try for anyone who's a fan of either adventure gaming, cyberpunk literature or just a fan of the movie. More info <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_(video_game)" target="_blank">here</a>.
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<b>Day of the Tentacle</b>: One of the classic Lucasarts lineup. A semi-sequel to Maniac Mansion, this game is perfectly written, acted and is an absolute joy to play. The game is split between 3 time periods with 3 main playable characters and many of the puzzles involve screwing around with the timeline in the past to change the present and the future to stop a mutated tentacle from his plans of world domination. DoTT is on another level as far as production values go for adventure games and once again proves that Lucasarts were kings of adventure gaming in the nineties. More info, if you really need it, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Tentacle" target="_blank">here</a>. DoTT is also available in a box set with Full Throttle and The Dig.
<b>Dig, The</b>: One of Lucasarts' last 2D point-and-click adventures, but by no means a bad game. This time around it's a sci-fi outing boasting excellent animation, acting and writing. It's a little more of a serious affair this time around, a departure from Lucasarts' usual humour based adventures, but they do it very well. Again, this game is available in a set with DoTT and Full Throttle. More info over at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dig" target="_blank">wiki</a>.
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<b>Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy</b>: This game has the world divided. To call it an adventure game is a little misleading. It has track-and-field-esque button mashing and DDR style sections too. However, tying it all together is a coherant story (until the later whackyness), superb acting, and compelling narrative. You play the murderer, the police, even the villain in this game, and with some quality direction, this game is well worth your time, at least in my opinion. You can read up more info <a href="http://www.atari.com/indigo/" target="_blank">here</a>.
<b>Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist</b>:
<b>Full Throttle</b>:
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<b>Gabriel Knight Series</b><ul><li><b> Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Fathers</b>: This is, without a doubt, one of my favourite adventure games ever made. Set in New Orleans, it follows the story of a writer / bookshop owner and his research into a series of strange, voodoo-influenced murders. Made in the nineties, don't expect graphical revelations here, but what you should expect is excellent voice acting and and dark, humerous script. Voice acting is also top-notice with Tim Curry and Michael Dorn, amongst others, lending their voices to the characters. If you never played this game 10 years ago, now's the time to do so. You can read up on it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Knight" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery</b>: The second game in the Gabriel Knight series and a complete and utter departure from the first. This time around, FMV is the order of the day. Personally i didn't like this one, FMV acting is always terribly hammy and the subject matter this time around (werewolves) wasn't quite as interesting as the voodoo murders in the first one. It's still one of the better FMV adventures out there, but take that with a grain of salt. More info is, again, available at the wiki <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Knight" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned</b>: Probably the worst selling of the entire series, at the end of the adventure gaming boom, the third Gabriel Knight mystery takes on the Knights Templar in the small french town of Renne Le Chateaux. Unlike the second game, this one's back on form for humour and interest along with a fair amount of historical accuracy, and the most welcome return is Tim Curry back behind the vocal chords for our beloved protagonist. More info, yet again, is available at the GK <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Knight" target="_blank">wiki</a>.</li></ul><b>Grim Fandango</b>:
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<b>Harvester</b>:
<b>Hook</b>:
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<b>Indiana Jones series</b><ul><li><b> Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</b>:
</li><li><b> Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis</b>:</li></ul><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>J</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
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<b>Loom</b>:
<b>Longest Journey, The series</b><ul><li><b> The Longest Journey</b>: Released on budget a while back (Xplosiv), this is probably one of the best adventure games ever made. While the graphics may seem dated these days, the story, voice acting and sheer longevity of this game make it an absolute classic. It deserves every ounce of praise it's recieved over time and despite being in such a niche genre, it's managed to get a sequel, something quite rare with adventure games these days. If you can dig up a copy, it'll be the best £5-10 you've ever spent on an adventure game. More info on TLG, go <a href="http://www.longestjourney.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> Dreamfall: The Longest Journey</b>: Recently released on budget, Dreamfall is the follow up to the critically acclaimed The Longest Journey. It continues the story on from The Longest Journey with old and new characters in the split realms of Stark and Arcadia. While it fails in places for having tacky stealth and combat sections, it more than makes up for it with a lavish world and a well written, well acted story. For more info, take a look at the game's site <a href="http://www.dreamfall.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. IF you do some hunting around, you might be able to (as i did) pick up the limited edition Dreamfall which comes with not only the soundtrack (which is beautiful) and an artwork book, but also a DVD copy of it's predecessor, The Longest Journey. Definitely a steal if you can get it cheap like i did (£15). Also look out for Dreamfall Chapters, hopefully splurging its way over our faces in the near future.</li></ul><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>M</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<b>Monkey Island series</b><ul><li><b> Secret of Monkey Island</b>:
</li><li><b> Monkey Island 2: The Return Of LeChuck</b>:
</li><li><b> Curse of Monkey Island</b>:
</li><li><b> Escape from Monkey Island</b>:</li></ul><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>N</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<b>Neverhood, The</b>:
<b>Noctropolis</b>:
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<b>Phantasmagoria</b>:
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<b>Sam & Max series</b><ul><li><b> Sam & Max: Hit the Road</b>:
</li><li><b> Sam & Max: Season 1</b>: The modern continuation of the Sam & Max story. After it became a phenomenom back in the nineties when Lucasarts immortalised the characters in Sam & Max: Hit The Road, a sequel should have been definite, yet Lucasarts chose beating the Star Wars license to death over persuing entertaining games like this one. Telltale Games, with lots of help from the characters' creator, Steve Purcell, continued the story with the loveable dog and, er, rabbit-thing duo. This series of short, episodic games are an absolute steal. They're funny, well written, a little bit too easy, but a whole lot of entertainment for your money. Each episode goes for $8.95, or the entire season of 6 episodes goes for $34.95. Each part has a demo out, go try them and if you like them, go buy them, they're worth every penny. You can get more info <a href="http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax" target="_blank">over here</a></li></ul><b>Simon the Sorcerer series</b><ul><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer</b>: This is also one of my favourites. Again made in the mid-nineties (noticing a theme here?) it's a witty, well written fantasy that tells the story of a young boy getting trapped in a world of magic and fantasy. The script is amazing and the voice acting is completely nailed by Chris Barrie (Rimmer of Red Dwarf fame) and each line is delivered perfectly. The puzzles can get a little tough, but on the whole it's a fantastic experience and well worth playing for anyone who's a fan of the Lucasarts humour in their adventure games. You can read up more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_the_Sorcerer_series" target="_blank">here</a> and i believe the first two games are available in a double pack for a reasonable price.
</li><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer 2: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe</b>: This time, unfortunately missing Chris Barrie, the sequel is equally as good. It continues the story of plucky lad Simon fighting against his nemesis Sordid. Excellent writing and voice acting returns to make this one equally as enjoyable as the first.
</li><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer 3D</b>: DO NOT BUY OR PLAY THIS GAME.
</li><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer: Chaos Happens</b>: Already released in Germany, this game is still to recieve an English version, so i can't really tell you much about it other than it's a return to the point-and-click formula of the first two games and, well, it can't be any worse than the third game.</li></ul><b>Still Life</b>: While not very well known, i picked this one up on a whim and it turned out to be a pretty decent surprise. Competant storytelling, not too obtuse puzzles and some fair acting make this dual-narrative game well worth playing. The emphasis is off humour for this one and in to horror / thriller territory. It follows the story of a modern day FBI officer and her private investigator grabdfather, played through in two different cities in two different times, tracking similarities with the art-influenced killer rampaging in modern day Chicago. While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, it really was a fun play through and can be picked up relatively cheaply. The official site's dead at the moment, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Life_(video_game)" target="_blank">here's</a> the game's wiki.
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<b>Toonstruck</b>:
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<b>Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth</b>:
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<b>Zack McKracken</b>:
Well for now, i'm tired, so i'll leave it at that. There's a few freebies up there and hopefully a bit of info to pique your interest. Keep playing with yourselves everyone, don't be ashamed, it's natural!
Rev 1: sorted alphabetically, still tons left to right, ok, shut up.
<b>Stuff left to do. Feel free to contribute if you like. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" /></b><i>
Space Quest series
King's Quest series
Police Quest series
Quest for Glory series
Kyrandia series
Broken Sword series
Discworld series
Gobliiins series
Leisure Suit Larry series
</i>
Since i'm in the mood, i've decided to start a list of adventure games for people to play either for free or for a minimal cost, along with a short review of each. Feel free to post more as i won't be able to post all of them ever, just the ones i have or the ones i can think of, and the more the merrier!
This thread will be seperated into two parts. The first will be free games for you guys to play, the next will be everything else. I could seperate it into professional / indie, but the lines get blurred somewhere down the line so i figure seperating by price is a better idea. My main focus here is on lesser known adventures rather than the big ones. If i miss out Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle or something, it's not because i've never played them, it's because, for a start, i want to help people to find games they may not have ever played.
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<b>Beneath a Steel Sky</b>: Made by Revolution Software back in the mid-nineties, BaSS was a cyberpunk point-and-click adventure. It has it's own quirky sense of humour, a great story and some great regional English voice acting, it's one of the better adventure games to arise during the boom back in the mid-nineties. Revolution have also done the awesome thing that i wish Lucasarts would get around to doing and have distributed the full talkie cd version for free. You can download the game files <a href="http://scummvm.org/downloads.php#extras" target="_blank">here</a>. This game will also require ScummVM to run, which can be grabbed over at <a href="http://www.scummvm.org/" target="_blank">www.scummvm.org</a>.
<b>Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth</b>: This is a fan project. The Indiana Jones games were some great adventures and a group of fans decided to make the next adventure for everyone's favourite archaeologist. This is a very competant adventure and <i>very</i> similar in humour, art, everything, as Fate of Atlantis. I'm not sure if it's actually released yet (the demo is), but you can get more info and download gubbins <a href="http://www.barnettcollege.com/index2.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.
<b>Flight of the Amazon Queen</b>: Again, another old-school, classic title released in the mid-nineties by Interactive Binary Illusions. It's set in the forties, has a funny story, good writing and is very heavily based on old pulp novels. Once again, this was released for free and is available <a href="http://scummvm.org/downloads.php#extras" target="_blank">here</a>, again, it requires ScummVM to run, which can be grabbed over at <a href="http://www.scummvm.org/" target="_blank">www.scummvm.org</a>.
<b>Maniac Mansion Deluxe</b>: A fan remake of the granddaddy of adventure gaming. Maniac Mansion, the reason the SCUMM engine was created, hence the name (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion). MM introduced us to Dr. Fred, Bernard and the tentacles who would later become stars in Day of the Tentacle. I can't fault this game and what's more, the remake is absolutely free and ready to go. Grab it <a href="http://new.bigbluecup.com/games.php?action=search&sterm=maniac+mansion+deluxe&submit=Search%21" target="_blank">here</a>
<b>Trilby series / John DeFoe series / Chzo Mythos</b><ul><li><b> 5 Days a Stranger</b>: A more recent game, created by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/" target="_blank">www.fullyramblomatic.com</a>. It's the first part in a "quadrilogy" known by many names. "The Chzo Mythos," "John DeFoe series" or "Trilby series." This one, the first part, is reminiscent of earlier adventure games, the GUI isn't amazing, nor are the graphics, but the story is well written and, while fairly short, is a decent diversion. It's set in the early-nineties and follows the story of a cat burglar / gentleman theif by the name of "Trilby" and so unravells a murder mystery into the backstory of the house. And free's a pretty good price for a few hours of fun. It was created using the Adventure Gaming Studio and pretty much entirely written and developed by one man. You can grab the game <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/5days" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> 7 Days a Skeptic</b>: The second in the Trilby series, this one is set 400 years after the events of 5 Days a Stranger. This time around, the music's improved, the graphics also slightly, and the interface is much better. The story has some parallells to the first, so it's worth playing 5 Days... before this one. Once again, murder is afoot and it's up to you to figure out what's going on. You can download this one from <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/7days" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> Trilby's Notes</b>: The third game in the Trilby series, this one's a little different. It plays like a late-eighties sierra adventure, with keyboard movement and typed commands. Don't let that put you off, this game spans many characters and many different times, expanding on the backstory of 5 Days.. and 7 Days.. somewhat. A lot of love went into this game, and it shows. It also features a new villain to the series and a Silent Hill-esque second dimension. Well worth a play through. You can download this game from <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/notes" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> 6 Days a Sacrifice</b>: The last game in the Trilby series. Set mid-way between the events of 5 Days.. and 7 Days.. and back to a similar interface that 7 Days.. uses, this game finally ties up all the story from the previous 3 games, creates more connections and generally gives you a warm sense in your guts. You can grab this one <a href="http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/6days" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul>
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<b>Blade Runner</b>: Probably the first movie tie-in game that actually lived up to it's namesake. Based on the classic cyberpunk movie, it follows the story of a fellow Blade Runner, similar to Deckard, and the persuit of more renegade skin-jobs. The game boasts good writing and voice acting and something stupid like 14 different endings, making replayability a worthwhile experience, something quite rare in adventure gaming as a whole. Definitely worth a try for anyone who's a fan of either adventure gaming, cyberpunk literature or just a fan of the movie. More info <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_(video_game)" target="_blank">here</a>.
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<b>Day of the Tentacle</b>: One of the classic Lucasarts lineup. A semi-sequel to Maniac Mansion, this game is perfectly written, acted and is an absolute joy to play. The game is split between 3 time periods with 3 main playable characters and many of the puzzles involve screwing around with the timeline in the past to change the present and the future to stop a mutated tentacle from his plans of world domination. DoTT is on another level as far as production values go for adventure games and once again proves that Lucasarts were kings of adventure gaming in the nineties. More info, if you really need it, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Tentacle" target="_blank">here</a>. DoTT is also available in a box set with Full Throttle and The Dig.
<b>Dig, The</b>: One of Lucasarts' last 2D point-and-click adventures, but by no means a bad game. This time around it's a sci-fi outing boasting excellent animation, acting and writing. It's a little more of a serious affair this time around, a departure from Lucasarts' usual humour based adventures, but they do it very well. Again, this game is available in a set with DoTT and Full Throttle. More info over at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dig" target="_blank">wiki</a>.
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<b>Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy</b>: This game has the world divided. To call it an adventure game is a little misleading. It has track-and-field-esque button mashing and DDR style sections too. However, tying it all together is a coherant story (until the later whackyness), superb acting, and compelling narrative. You play the murderer, the police, even the villain in this game, and with some quality direction, this game is well worth your time, at least in my opinion. You can read up more info <a href="http://www.atari.com/indigo/" target="_blank">here</a>.
<b>Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist</b>:
<b>Full Throttle</b>:
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<b>Gabriel Knight Series</b><ul><li><b> Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Fathers</b>: This is, without a doubt, one of my favourite adventure games ever made. Set in New Orleans, it follows the story of a writer / bookshop owner and his research into a series of strange, voodoo-influenced murders. Made in the nineties, don't expect graphical revelations here, but what you should expect is excellent voice acting and and dark, humerous script. Voice acting is also top-notice with Tim Curry and Michael Dorn, amongst others, lending their voices to the characters. If you never played this game 10 years ago, now's the time to do so. You can read up on it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Knight" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery</b>: The second game in the Gabriel Knight series and a complete and utter departure from the first. This time around, FMV is the order of the day. Personally i didn't like this one, FMV acting is always terribly hammy and the subject matter this time around (werewolves) wasn't quite as interesting as the voodoo murders in the first one. It's still one of the better FMV adventures out there, but take that with a grain of salt. More info is, again, available at the wiki <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Knight" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned</b>: Probably the worst selling of the entire series, at the end of the adventure gaming boom, the third Gabriel Knight mystery takes on the Knights Templar in the small french town of Renne Le Chateaux. Unlike the second game, this one's back on form for humour and interest along with a fair amount of historical accuracy, and the most welcome return is Tim Curry back behind the vocal chords for our beloved protagonist. More info, yet again, is available at the GK <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Knight" target="_blank">wiki</a>.</li></ul><b>Grim Fandango</b>:
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<b>Harvester</b>:
<b>Hook</b>:
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<b>Indiana Jones series</b><ul><li><b> Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</b>:
</li><li><b> Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis</b>:</li></ul><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>J</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
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<b>Loom</b>:
<b>Longest Journey, The series</b><ul><li><b> The Longest Journey</b>: Released on budget a while back (Xplosiv), this is probably one of the best adventure games ever made. While the graphics may seem dated these days, the story, voice acting and sheer longevity of this game make it an absolute classic. It deserves every ounce of praise it's recieved over time and despite being in such a niche genre, it's managed to get a sequel, something quite rare with adventure games these days. If you can dig up a copy, it'll be the best £5-10 you've ever spent on an adventure game. More info on TLG, go <a href="http://www.longestjourney.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.
</li><li><b> Dreamfall: The Longest Journey</b>: Recently released on budget, Dreamfall is the follow up to the critically acclaimed The Longest Journey. It continues the story on from The Longest Journey with old and new characters in the split realms of Stark and Arcadia. While it fails in places for having tacky stealth and combat sections, it more than makes up for it with a lavish world and a well written, well acted story. For more info, take a look at the game's site <a href="http://www.dreamfall.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. IF you do some hunting around, you might be able to (as i did) pick up the limited edition Dreamfall which comes with not only the soundtrack (which is beautiful) and an artwork book, but also a DVD copy of it's predecessor, The Longest Journey. Definitely a steal if you can get it cheap like i did (£15). Also look out for Dreamfall Chapters, hopefully splurging its way over our faces in the near future.</li></ul><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>M</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<b>Monkey Island series</b><ul><li><b> Secret of Monkey Island</b>:
</li><li><b> Monkey Island 2: The Return Of LeChuck</b>:
</li><li><b> Curse of Monkey Island</b>:
</li><li><b> Escape from Monkey Island</b>:</li></ul><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>N</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<b>Neverhood, The</b>:
<b>Noctropolis</b>:
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<b>Phantasmagoria</b>:
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<b>Sam & Max series</b><ul><li><b> Sam & Max: Hit the Road</b>:
</li><li><b> Sam & Max: Season 1</b>: The modern continuation of the Sam & Max story. After it became a phenomenom back in the nineties when Lucasarts immortalised the characters in Sam & Max: Hit The Road, a sequel should have been definite, yet Lucasarts chose beating the Star Wars license to death over persuing entertaining games like this one. Telltale Games, with lots of help from the characters' creator, Steve Purcell, continued the story with the loveable dog and, er, rabbit-thing duo. This series of short, episodic games are an absolute steal. They're funny, well written, a little bit too easy, but a whole lot of entertainment for your money. Each episode goes for $8.95, or the entire season of 6 episodes goes for $34.95. Each part has a demo out, go try them and if you like them, go buy them, they're worth every penny. You can get more info <a href="http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax" target="_blank">over here</a></li></ul><b>Simon the Sorcerer series</b><ul><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer</b>: This is also one of my favourites. Again made in the mid-nineties (noticing a theme here?) it's a witty, well written fantasy that tells the story of a young boy getting trapped in a world of magic and fantasy. The script is amazing and the voice acting is completely nailed by Chris Barrie (Rimmer of Red Dwarf fame) and each line is delivered perfectly. The puzzles can get a little tough, but on the whole it's a fantastic experience and well worth playing for anyone who's a fan of the Lucasarts humour in their adventure games. You can read up more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_the_Sorcerer_series" target="_blank">here</a> and i believe the first two games are available in a double pack for a reasonable price.
</li><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer 2: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe</b>: This time, unfortunately missing Chris Barrie, the sequel is equally as good. It continues the story of plucky lad Simon fighting against his nemesis Sordid. Excellent writing and voice acting returns to make this one equally as enjoyable as the first.
</li><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer 3D</b>: DO NOT BUY OR PLAY THIS GAME.
</li><li><b> Simon the Sorcerer: Chaos Happens</b>: Already released in Germany, this game is still to recieve an English version, so i can't really tell you much about it other than it's a return to the point-and-click formula of the first two games and, well, it can't be any worse than the third game.</li></ul><b>Still Life</b>: While not very well known, i picked this one up on a whim and it turned out to be a pretty decent surprise. Competant storytelling, not too obtuse puzzles and some fair acting make this dual-narrative game well worth playing. The emphasis is off humour for this one and in to horror / thriller territory. It follows the story of a modern day FBI officer and her private investigator grabdfather, played through in two different cities in two different times, tracking similarities with the art-influenced killer rampaging in modern day Chicago. While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, it really was a fun play through and can be picked up relatively cheaply. The official site's dead at the moment, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Life_(video_game)" target="_blank">here's</a> the game's wiki.
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<b>Toonstruck</b>:
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<b>Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth</b>:
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<b>Zack McKracken</b>:
Well for now, i'm tired, so i'll leave it at that. There's a few freebies up there and hopefully a bit of info to pique your interest. Keep playing with yourselves everyone, don't be ashamed, it's natural!
Rev 1: sorted alphabetically, still tons left to right, ok, shut up.
<b>Stuff left to do. Feel free to contribute if you like. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" /></b><i>
Space Quest series
King's Quest series
Police Quest series
Quest for Glory series
Kyrandia series
Broken Sword series
Discworld series
Gobliiins series
Leisure Suit Larry series
</i>
Comments
I'm too spoiled with modern graphics; more text-based adventure games wear on my patience. I just get urges to shoot something after too much dialog. But if there's good voice acting, that can easily supplement any other graphical downfalls. As long as the game has some solid basis I'd be willing to give it a try.
Thanks for the list though, I'm on very slow internet right now so we'll see how long I can remain callus about next-gen technology once the boredom sets in. :P
I'm too spoiled with modern graphics; more text-based adventure games wear on my patience. I just get urges to shoot something after too much dialog. But if there's good voice acting, that can easily supplement any other graphical downfalls. As long as the game has some solid basis I'd be willing to give it a try.
Thanks for the list though, I'm on very slow internet right now so we'll see how long I can remain callus about next-gen technology once the boredom sets in. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If dialogue isn't for you, i'd probably steer clear of The Longest Journey. I love the game, but there's one complaint even i have which is that it is <b>very</b> dialogue heavy. The script and acting is great, but there's a <b>lot</b> of dialogue to go through.
As for modern ones, Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy might be a bit more up your alley. It's not that dialogue heavy and as far as the style goes, it's like a playable episode of 24. It's very well acted and what dialogue there is is still interesting.
It also has the most intuitive controls of any adventure game ever made, it's only downfall is that as the story goes on, it gets a bit silly, and for some people that's been a pretty bitg turn off, for me, on the other hand, it's a great story and a whole lot of fun. Graphically it's not bleeding edge, but it's certainly not horrible. There's also boobs.
On the other hand, if you ever liked the original Sam & Max, the episodes are well worth a play, as i mentioned above, there's a demo of each one on the telltale site, they're small downloads and worth giving a try. They're kinda like adventure gaming-lite. The puzzles aren't too hard, each episode isn't too long (around 3-5 hours each episode) but the script is air tight and the humour, for the most part is spot on.
sold.
I was just thinking there's another adventure game, something of a murder mystery or maybe just an investigation type thing. You're a male character, I think wearing some type of trench coat in most of the previews. I think you might even be a journalist; either way, I can't remember what it's called. It was supposed to be rather pretty, or at least I remember it being so. I wonder if you know what I'm talking about, maybe you've played it. Perhaps it might be worth my while. I'm going to google it for a bit, see what I come up with.
e/ It was Alan Wake, and it's not a flashers trench coat it's a tweed jacket, and he's a writer not a journalist. I think I just invented a sleazy knockoff version of the game in my mind... I can just picture the "gameplay" now. The game seems more RPG-esque than the typical adventure games you've described. I'd still say it requires a similar mindset of the gamer regardless of genre categorization. Plus it's got graphics that I can drool over, so I won't be disappointed by ugly 5-pixel-faced characters.
Along with the RPG thing though, I did enjoy the star wars KOTOR games - they do seem consolized and not very "adventurey" but I mention them because that's the level of dialog I can tolerate between fighting or sneaking or what have you. Plus you can just ignore the character development for the most part if you don't want your characters to speak with eachother.
The first 3 Monkey Island games are seriously awesome. Great music, great jokes, even great graphics (sort of). I haven't played the fourth, though, and I hope it's about half as good (hoping for more seems silly). Insult sword fighting is great.
I called it RPG-esque because they said it would be far more story-driven than max payne and you actually have objectives in a world you're free to roam about in. Ok, so it doesn't fit the strict definition, I didn't say it did.
Count on tycho to be an ass. "Resident Cynic" is a total understatement.
I never played QFG5 - I should go back and do that. I hear it ties up a lot of loose ends.
I never played QFG5 - I should go back and do that. I hear it ties up a lot of loose ends.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
To be honest, i only dabbled with QFG in the past, what i played seemed fun, but i'm a bit pushed for writing mini reviews. If you could write a little passage about each one, i'll throw it in the main post so people can have an overview. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
Also, please everyone ignore the unwritten articles in the main post now, i'm working on it, ok? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
I'm not so sure, really. I HAVE the EU version, and "that scene" kinda made me want to claw my eyes out. I'd almost say Hot Coffee was more titillating (teehee.. titillating..).
I can say a little bit, but it's been like 8 years since I've played any of em =p
you play as a blonde-haired stereotypical hero. you can initially choose to be a thief, warrior, or mage, and none of the three classes solves problems in the same way. A thief might sneak in a window, a warrior might break down the door, a mage might cast an unlocking spell on the door - that sort of thing. This might be standard fare for RPGs, but it's very refreshing for an adventure game. With some creative use of game mechanics, you could also make a hybrid class...
you have a bunch of stats and skills, and they can be raised to 100*(number of the game in the series)... so in QFG1, you could max your stats at 100 and in QFG4 you could bring em up to 400. You could carry your dood from game to game, with all his skills, spells, and many of his items carried over. You can raise your skills in conventional and not-so-conventional ways... fighting to increase your combat, obviously... throwing rocks or daggers to increase your throwing... you could increase your lockpicking in QFG1 by typing 'pick nose'... ("Success! your nose is now open.") If you tried that with too low a skill level, though, you jam the lockpick into your brain and die. It's the little touches like that you can only put in a game with text input <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
The games had great art concepts. All of them have a day/night cycle I think. They were shooting for a 4 game series based on these themes:
Game - Cardinal Direction - Central Element - Season - Mythology
Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero - North - Earth - Spring - Germanic
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire - South - Fire - Summer - Middle Eastern
Quest for Glory III: Shadows of Darkness - East - Air - Fall - Slavic
Quest for Glory IV: Dragon Fire - West - Water - Winter - Greek
However, they stuck an extra game in there between 2 and 3 because they felt they needed a little more time for the hero to bulk up before facing the Dark One. In the extra game they stuck in there, Wages of War, a warrior hero can become a paladin if he plays his cards right. paladins are pretty overpowered =p but the series isn't as combat-centric as a typical RPG. The games are like two-thirds adventure and one-third RPG.
The first two games were arrow-keys-to-move but text-box-for-actions like most early Sierra adventure games, and the latter 3 games were point-and-click. However, the first game was remade with lush VGA graphics and a point-and-click interface, for those of us who hate trying to figure out the syntax to get your dude to do something.
bleh, I could go on, but you might as well just check the wiki: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_for_glory" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_for_glory</a>
some pics:
QFG1 VGA:
<img src="http://sierrac.free.fr/images/screens/2/qg1en.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
QFG2:
<img src="http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/linux/2003/02/03/graphics/qg2-end-cheat.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
QFG3:
<img src="http://www.hebrewquest.com/images/QFG3.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
QFG4 (a combat shot):
<img src="http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue18/greviews/quest/qfg43.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
QFG5:
<img src="http://www.juegomania.org/Quest%20for%20Glory%20V:%20Dragon%20Fire/fotos/pc/1/1267_t/Foto%20Quest%20for%20Glory%20V:%20Dragon%20Fire.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
I just found an ad for QFG3 that I found amusing:
<img src="http://agisci.classicgaming.gamespy.com/images/cgw-099-023.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
A lot of them are actually still available, at least the ones i posted, it's mostly a case of digging around the bargain bins at your local game store. Some of the bigger named ones, specifically the Lucasarts titles, are definitely still available in bundles, such as the Full Throttle / Day of the Tentacle / The Dig pack and the Monkey Island Bounty Pack and so on. The harder ones to get a hold of these days tend to be the indie ones or the Sierra ones. Sierra are horrible with their licenses, they hold them very close to their chest and get very protective over them, but they just won't release them themselves. So much so that when Al Lowe, famed creator of the Leisure Suit Larry games, wanted to release his games for free on his website, Sierra gave him a stern talking to and completely denied him, probably because of the imminent release of the awful mini-game fest Leisure Suit Larry: Magna ###### Laude.
On the other hand, i'm pretty sure there's bundles for the King's Quest games and i know there's definitely a Leisure Suit Larry bundle because i have it sat on my shelf, just some digging would probably be required.
Good luck finding something like Noctropolis, Freddy Pharkas or Woodruff though, those games are most likely lost forever.
As for Fahrenheit, you can have sex with every female character with the exception of the old lady for reasons that are both because of something that happens later in the game and also the fact she's a blind old lady.
being a US person, I remember no sex at all in Fahrenheit (or whatever they called it for us US persons)... zombie sex? I kinda wanna know what it was I didn't get to see...