Adventure Gaming Catch-All

Rat Boy wrote:

How come Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites aren't listed?

Because he is but one man. Or so I assume. I believe they were mentioned earlier in the thread.

Minarchist wrote:

Finished adding dates to all games not on the "Jury's Still Out" list. Also added a few more buy links, including the Tex Murphy series at GoG! w00t!

Speaking of the new/unreleased list, anyone have any comments about games that are on there? Several have been out for a while (Wallace and Grommit, Strongbad, Vampyre Story, etc.) and I'd like to either start removing them or putting them in the appropriate recommendation list.

As for me, I'm about halfway through So Blonde, which is...passable, but not really great. It would actually be pretty good, if it wasn't for the LOADING PAGE BETWEEN EVERY DAMNED SCREEN!!! Which in a classic fixed-background adventure game is, um, a lot.

I've got Vampyre Story but I haven't played too much of it yet. It *looks* great and the gameplay isn't bad, but the voice acting is awful. There are a lot of "comedy accents" (e.g "New Joysey" mafia-rats and ze terrible francais accent of the main character). On top of the rubbish accent the main character has a high pitched voice like fingernails on a blackboard that makes it VERY hard to play the game....but I'll get around to it eventually. Probably with the sound turned down.

The one I'm playing for my Pile o' shame game at the moment is a struggle as well (Runaway : A Road Adventure). Mainly because of the absolutely rubbish narration between "scenes" where it is basically the lead character (who is a right numpty) sitting in a deck chair against a black screen telling you about all the awesome car chases and exciting things that would be absolutely awesome IF YOU WERE ACTUALLY SHOWN THEM.

It'd kind of sad that the Neuromancer game has been mostly forgotten. The game is split between a standard 2D adventure game and a 3D-ish cyberspace reality where you break into corporate systems, with choices made in one having significant effects in the other. You had to buy new cyberspace decks, improve your skills and acquire new programs, adding an almost RPG-like element. I'm not sure how it holds up, but at the time it was incredibly inventive and unique.

Also, I can still hear the Devo-produced theme music in my head to this day. Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!

stevenmack wrote:

I've got Vampyre Story but I haven't played too much of it yet. It *looks* great and the gameplay isn't bad, but the voice acting is awful. There are a lot of "comedy accents" (e.g "New Joysey" mafia-rats and ze terrible francais accent of the main character). On top of the rubbish accent the main character has a high pitched voice like fingernails on a blackboard that makes it VERY hard to play the game....but I'll get around to it eventually. Probably with the sound turned down.

Played the demo and have to agree. The voicework seems to be very grating, and the puzzles could use some work. Really nice artwork, though.

Oh Em Gee - just spotted that someone mentioned that Tex Murphy games are now available on GoG!
Must...resist....impulse buy...

stevenmack wrote:

Oh Em Gee - just spotted that Tex Murphy games are now available on GoG!
The first two games are bundled together and Under a Killing Moon is separate.

I noted that on the last page, and added the links to the first post. Filthy skimmer.

casktapper wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

How come Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites aren't listed?

Because he is but one man. Or so I assume.

Sometimes your mom questions if I'm not more than one man...

Anyway, added the two Star Trek games; can't imagine how I missed them.

Just picked up the first two Tex Murphy games. Hey, it's cheaper than a movie ticket or a video game rental and I'll probably get more hours of entertainment out of them.

I noted that on the last page, and added the links to the first post. Filthy skimmer.

Yeah spotted that the second i'd posted, so adjusted message to be more suitable

Minarchist wrote:
stevenmack wrote:

Oh Em Gee - just spotted that Tex Murphy games are now available on GoG!
The first two games are bundled together and Under a Killing Moon is separate.

I noted that on the last page, and added the links to the first post. Filthy skimmer.

casktapper wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

How come Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites aren't listed?

Because he is but one man. Or so I assume.

Sometimes your mom questions if I'm not more than one man...

Anyway, added the two Star Trek games; can't imagine how I missed them.

So that's how it's going to be?

Don't forget "Star Trek The Next Generation: A Final Unity" (1995)

Awesome thread. My work just bought me a big 17" gaming-level laptop, coming soon in the mail. Been planning on playing some adventure games with the wife, since it'll be easier to sit on the couch together with the new laptop on a TV tray than it is crowding around a desktop PC in our office.

This list'll give me a nice roadmap for all the goodies I missed over the years.

Just remembered Chronomaster (written by Roger Zelazny). Pre-rendered backgrounds suck in these days, but story is really great - it's got time travel, sarcasm, multiple solutions to puzzles. To be exact, it's got universe travel - you are a detective travelling through artificial universes, trying to reactivate them and looking for who put them into stasis. Fascinating, really.

IMAGE(http://www2.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/images/scrnshot/chrono4.jpg)
I'll give it a shot as soon as I'm drunk or stoned.

Just like to make a recommendation that isn't up there, KGB or Conspiracy in the CDROm version that I own, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB_(computer_game)) (1992). Probably the only way to get it is abandonware but there might be legal copy's around.

It was one of the most memorable adventure game I ever played it's in first person and time plays an essential role in the game, The games has day and night cycles and you have to some thing within specific time intervals. The game is divided into chapters so i you miss some time event and failed to save you nver have to go much back. Also you can acelaret time at diferent speeds so don't have to wait long for an event. I haven't played the game since I got it more than 10 years ago so don't know how it holds up but remains a memorable experience.

Call me crazy, but I didn't realize how much I missed having to write stuff down until I started playing Mean Streets. My notes are all over the place, but it didn't take me long to start decrypting the passwords on my own once I realized the chess motif.

They certainly don't make games like Mean Streets anymore. I lost count of how many times I had to repeat the final location before beating it (my last hangup was screwing up one of the passwords in my notes). On to Martian Mandate, then.

Anyone else recall the old Dynamix adventure games? I have fond memories of "Heart of China" and I think I vaguely recall "Rise of the Dragon" but both should probably be added to the ol' list.

And I'm still waiting for Last Express to be added to 'Absolute Must-Plays'!

Sorry for being away from this thread for a bit...but she doesn't worry about me being with other women, she knows I'll always come back.

Added some stuff, let me know if I missed anything.

pyjamarama wrote:

Just like to make a recommendation that isn't up there, KGB or Conspiracy in the CDROm version that I own, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB_(computer_game)) (1992). Probably the only way to get it is abandonware but there might be legal copy's around.

It was one of the most memorable adventure game I ever played it's in first person and time plays an essential role in the game, The games has day and night cycles and you have to some thing within specific time intervals. The game is divided into chapters so i you miss some time event and failed to save you nver have to go much back. Also you can acelaret time at diferent speeds so don't have to wait long for an event. I haven't played the game since I got it more than 10 years ago so don't know how it holds up but remains a memorable experience.

I remember not having even remotely fond memories of it due to the constant and incessant backtracking. Also, I think some of those snuff film discriptions are indelibly burned into my memory. Sorry, it stays off for now unless others want it added.

casktapper wrote:

Anyone else recall the old Dynamix adventure games? I have fond memories of "Heart of China" and I think I vaguely recall "Rise of the Dragon" but both should probably be added to the ol' list.

Heart of China was fun and added. I never played the other...anyone else to corroborate?

UCRC wrote:

And I'm still waiting for Last Express to be added to 'Absolute Must-Plays'!

Yeah, yeah...

Oh, by the way, I'll add the steam links to the LucasArts stuff as soon as they're available on July 8. I tried to find them for pre-order in the steam store, but couldn't pull anything up through the search. More details on what's coming in this PDF, and being discussed here. All I can say to this announcement is: WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Here's the first set, to release Wednesday:

• Armed and Dangerous™
• Indiana Jones® and the Fate of Atlantis
• Indiana Jones® and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
• LEGO® Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure
• LOOM™
• Star Wars Battlefront® II
• Star Wars Republic Commando®
• Star Wars Starfighter™
• The Dig®
• Thrillville®: Off the Rails™

I finished up Martian Mandate a couple weeks ago. Man, were those different times. Throwing out the sex for a moment, I haven't played an adventure game in ages where you could potentially do something to get yourself killed in every screen or totally screw things up by not getting a critical item before moving on. It's also interesting to note that while the first two Tex Murphy games weren't technically FMV, they did the best they could back in the day to make you think it was. Well worth the $8.

Y'know, Tex Murphy is one of those series that I remember really enjoying; but I haven't tried to load them back up in probably a decade. Rat Boy, I think you're pushing me towards a replay.

Minarchist wrote:

Y'know, Tex Murphy is one of those series that I remember really enjoying; but I haven't tried to load them back up in probably a decade. Rat Boy, I think you're pushing me towards a replay.

Just remember to have a pen and paper handy for Mean Streets to keep track of everything and remember to question everyone about everything in both games. Sometimes an important clue rests in asking someone about something that you might think isn't related to why you found them in the first place.

Minarchist wrote:
UCRC wrote:

And I'm still waiting for Last Express to be added to 'Absolute Must-Plays'!

Yeah, yeah... :)

Thanks
I feel like I have to preach Last Express gospel everywhere I go because it's probably the least known of best adventure games ever. I was really glad when I've heard Rabbit mentioning it in one of last Conference Calls. (btw: It served as a great example for producing smaller games full of content and attention to detail instead of sandbox approach.)

UCRC wrote:
Minarchist wrote:
UCRC wrote:

And I'm still waiting for Last Express to be added to 'Absolute Must-Plays'!

Yeah, yeah... :)

Thanks

Pfftt... So he gets his Last Express added, but I don't get my Syberia? Hrmph. I'm back to ignoring this thread.

MoonDragon wrote:
UCRC wrote:
Minarchist wrote:
UCRC wrote:

And I'm still waiting for Last Express to be added to 'Absolute Must-Plays'!

Yeah, yeah... :)

Thanks

Pfftt... So he gets his Last Express added, but I don't get my Syberia? Hrmph. I'm back to ignoring this thread.

Syberia was one of the first games I added...?

Minarchist wrote:
MoonDragon wrote:
UCRC wrote:
Minarchist wrote:
UCRC wrote:

And I'm still waiting for Last Express to be added to 'Absolute Must-Plays'!

Yeah, yeah... :)

Thanks

Pfftt... So he gets his Last Express added, but I don't get my Syberia? Hrmph. I'm back to ignoring this thread.

Syberia was one of the first games I added...?

I think he wanted it added to the list of must-plays.

casktapper wrote:

I think he wanted it added to the list of must-plays.

What he ^ said. But don't mind me. I'm still boycotting this thread.

MoonDragon wrote:
casktapper wrote:

I think he wanted it added to the list of must-plays.

What he ^ said. But don't mind me. I'm still boycotting this thread. :)

We can't all boycott because our favourite games aren't must-plays. I'm still lobbying for QFGIV to gain that distinction, but what can you do?

Sidenote - I always was a bigger Sierra guy than LucasArts guy - I played Day of the Tentacle (awesome) and that's about it - so I'm really stoked for them coming to steam...if only I didn't have a massive pile of PS2 games to play.

MoonDragon wrote:
casktapper wrote:

I think he wanted it added to the list of must-plays.

What he ^ said. But don't mind me. I'm still boycotting this thread. :)

Heh, I figured you'd stabbed me in the back enough times last night to feel better about it.

Okay then, just to try to get some semblance of order, let's put 'em up for a vote. We'll say five votes can get you into the top slot (you can vote for multiples). So, who wants to see the following listed as a must-play?

1. The Last Express
2. Syberia
3. Quest for Glory IV

I may throw a vote in myself at some point...I haven't decided yet.

Minarchist wrote:
pyjamarama wrote:

Just like to make a recommendation that isn't up there, KGB or Conspiracy in the CDROm version that I own, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB_(computer_game)) (1992). Probably the only way to get it is abandonware but there might be legal copy's around.

It was one of the most memorable adventure game I ever played it's in first person and time plays an essential role in the game, The games has day and night cycles and you have to some thing within specific time intervals. The game is divided into chapters so i you miss some time event and failed to save you nver have to go much back. Also you can acelaret time at diferent speeds so don't have to wait long for an event. I haven't played the game since I got it more than 10 years ago so don't know how it holds up but remains a memorable experience.

I remember not having even remotely fond memories of it due to the constant and incessant backtracking. Also, I think some of those snuff film discriptions are indelibly burned into my memory. Sorry, it stays off for now unless others want it added.

I mentioned the game earlier on and think it deserves to be on the list, albeit fairly low down in it. It was fairly unique for adventure games and has stuck in my mind quite clearly since I played it. It's definitely not for everyone and the chances of anyone finding a copy now are incredibly low but it definitely offers a different, challenging experience.

Fair enough. It has been added.

Minarchist wrote:

1. The Last Express

Buuut it is already there...

On more serious note, I propose you read Escapist's piece about it, watch few first minutes and judge by yourself. Keep in mind that it was finished in 96 or 97: