Adventure Gaming Catch-All

tanstaafl wrote:

Oh, I hated Black Mirror just because the main character was such an asshole. I suppose it isn't a spoiler to say that he actually manages to get worse as the game continues. Most unlikable protagonist I've ever seen in an adventure game.

You're not wrong

Just used a walkthrough to quickly get through the last chapter. Not something I like doing but I wanted this out of the way ASAP.

The sad thing is, in more competent hands they might have actually gotten quite a good story out of the game, albeit a slightly cliche one...

Spoiler:

For starters, if they stripped out the stupid supernatural stargate-ritual-curse nonsense at the end, or at least have made it something happening inside samuel's mind. At the very least, the "saw it coming a mile off twist" certainly gives him a good excuse for acting like a deranged lunatic through most of the game.

...but it's just so ineptly handled on practically ALL levels (although the music is ok and some of the stormy environments look quite good).

Oh and naturally, just to add insult to injury it ends with a maze and a scattering of insta-death.

"Am I sure I want to completely remove The Black Mirror and all of it's components?" Why yes, Yes I am.

Hey, they're doing a sequel to The Lost Crown.

The Last Crown: Haunting of Hallowed Isle

Love Boakes' stuff (Dark Fall, Lights Out, Dark Fall: Lost Souls and The Lost Crown and he was involved with Barrow Hill and Scratches) so looking forward to this one.

tanstaafl wrote:

Hey, they're doing a sequel to The Lost Crown.

The Last Crown: Haunting of Hallowed Isle

Love Boakes' stuff (Dark Fall, Lights Out, Dark Fall: Lost Souls and The Lost Crown and he was involved with Barrow Hill and Scratches) so looking forward to this one.

and there's already a third one planned after this as well to finish the series.
really must go back to get the first one finished before part 2 is out - it's next up for me after Still Life 2 I think.

Oh and there's a sequel to Barrow Hill out soon as well. Barak Tor something or other I think, will check later.

Oooh, didn't know about the Barrow Hill sequel; glad to hear that. Just wish they'd bring back Polly for Last Crown instead of Lucy. Though last I saw Polly she was locked in a room in a lighthouse, so...

But yeah, my adventure gaming pile has been growing faster than the rest of my pile. Maybe I'll go back to it for a while after Deus Ex and before Skyrim.

OK, It's Bracken Tor (October 28th release) and apparently they've got ANOTHER game coming set in the same area, "Wychwood Hollow" in the works.

IMAGE(http://adventuregamers.com/images/db/19142.jpg)

I think the thing I love about those games (and Boakes stuff) is the same thing I loved about Jane Jensen's stuff - there's a LOT of love and care put into researching the REAL locations, legends and culture of the areas the games are set.

I wonder what's happening with Dreamfall's sequel. I still think about it from time to time.

Thirteenth wrote:

I wonder what's happening with Dreamfall's sequel. I still think about it from time to time.

There was supposed to be some sort of episodic thing coming but it got pushed aside because of Secret World. Maybe once that's finally launched...

The original Broken Sword is free for two days from Good Old Games! Yes, the same one that's in the very upper echelon here in the OP. If you don't go get it and don't already have it you will no longer be allowed to visit this thread. It still holds up today!

Man, I have been hankering for some adventure gaming.

Gray Matter sounds awesome.. where is the best place to buy it from?

Amazon has it for $20. Well, not sure about Amazon.ca, but here, anyway.

I also saw this while I was looking that up. Anyone have any opinions on the other three games? I could be persuaded on a 4-pack of adventure games like that if there are a couple gems.

Looks like Just Adventure gave Alter Ego and Black Mirror 2 a B+ each, saying both mostly deserve an A but knocking them down for lack of real difficulty. So if you like adventure games but aren't particularly fond of obtuse puzzles, that 4-pack I listed above may be a great deal. Rockin' Dead didn't seem to fare as well, though.

Look up and back a page to see what a couple of us thought of the first Black Mirror. There would have to be absolutely amazing reviews to get me to even look at that series again.

Ah yes, that's right. I haven't played any of them, so I can't speak into it. Do note that BM 2 and 3 are 7 and 8 years distant from the original, and made/published by different people. It could still have the same issues, but at least there's a chance that it wouldn't.

Ah, my poor child, how often I neglect you.

RPS has featured several interesting adventure games in the last couple weeks in the "Wot I Think" section, all of which have been reviewed very highly. Check out John's takes on The Book of Unwritten Tales, Gemini Rue, To the Moon, and The Dream Machine.

...And people say adventure gaming is dead.

stevenmack wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

I wonder what's happening with Dreamfall's sequel. I still think about it from time to time.

There was supposed to be some sort of episodic thing coming but it got pushed aside because of Secret World. Maybe once that's finally launched...

We can only hope.

I still need to play Dream Machine. I remember trying the demo awhile back, and it was pretty interesting.

Ah, frak. Looks like Brakken Tor has been delayed until next year.

http://www.justadventure.com/news/pr...

Oh well, it isn't like my pile isn't big enough already.

tanstaafl wrote:

Ah, frak. Looks like Brakken Tor has been delayed until next year.

http://www.justadventure.com/news/pr...

Oh well, it isn't like my pile isn't big enough already. :(

that's a shame.

In other news - I see Just Adventure finally updated that geocities relic of a website they've had for the last bazillion years. Huzzah.

Not sure if anyone mentioned this game yet, but The Next Big Thing was a wonderful surprise for me:.
The genuinely quirky and amusing characters, charming world and excellent production values made this the nicest adventure gaming experience that I've had in a long time.

The downside is that it's rather pricey, I'm not sure if it can justify €30 (or equivalent in your types of money) seeing as it's not super long (not super short either, mind you). If it comes around on a sale though, I highly recommend it.

Also, I recently bought To the Moon after reading Rock Paper Shotgun's article on it, and though it might be a bit too simple to qualify as an adventure game it's been a really moving experience so far.

Monkey Island 2 should be up in the first category. It's the first game that used iMUSE, god dammit! And honestly, I thought it was the better game.

Someone's probably already said that, though, so don't mind me.

A quick heads up for adventure gaming folks;

Gemini Rue is now available on Steam (and has been since October 26th, sorry for the delay).

http://store.steampowered.com/app/80310/?snr=1_5_9__300.

Parallax Abstraction sums the game up very well over here. Well worth the $9.99 in my opinion and absolutely something to eye during 50 and 75% off sales.

krev82 wrote:

Gemini Rue is now available on Steam (and has been since October 26th, sorry for the delay).

The steam version is also part of The Indie Royale Bundle, which should become available again in 4 days. Unfortunately I had already bought it on steam as soon as I saw it was available, which is too bad because I'm also kind of interested in Sanctum but not full-priced-interested.

Tobisas wrote:
krev82 wrote:

Gemini Rue is now available on Steam (and has been since October 26th, sorry for the delay).

The steam version is also part of The Indie Royale Bundle, which should become available again in 4 days. Unfortunately I had already bought it on steam as soon as I saw it was available, which is too bad because I'm also kind of interested in Sanctum but not full-priced-interested.

You saw what the Steam weekend deal is, right?

Citizen86 wrote:
Tobisas wrote:
krev82 wrote:

Gemini Rue is now available on Steam (and has been since October 26th, sorry for the delay).

The steam version is also part of The Indie Royale Bundle, which should become available again in 4 days. Unfortunately I had already bought it on steam as soon as I saw it was available, which is too bad because I'm also kind of interested in Sanctum but not full-priced-interested.

You saw what the Steam weekend deal is, right? ;)

I didn't! Hey, Sanctum 50% off, thanks for the heads up!

Why is Silent Hill: Shattered Memories not listed up there? It's essentially an adventure game, and a damn good one, too.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Why is Silent Hill: Shattered Memories not listed up there? It's essentially an adventure game, and a damn good one, too.

Because you like it.

...Or maybe just because no one's asked me to list it yet, and I haven't played it.

Played Gabriel Knight all the way through for the first time since it was brand new. Back in the day I played the floppy disk version, so I never heard all of the voice acting before. The narrator was distracting so I turned that off, but otherwise man this game is still awesome. I wasn't expecting that. If you haven't played it, do it.

Minarchist wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Why is Silent Hill: Shattered Memories not listed up there? It's essentially an adventure game, and a damn good one, too.

Because you like it.

...Or maybe just because no one's asked me to list it yet, and I haven't played it.

Sir, I demand that you add that this instant! Lest I report you to the Hague for crimes against humanity.

...or just grumble a bit, whichever takes less effort.

I suppose that qualifies. From the OP:

I'd love for the hive mind to be continually updating and fine-tuning this list. Let's say (unless everyone disagrees) that a change/addition has to be submitted and seconded by someone else before it's actually made—more for my sanity than anything else.

Now: what category? Highly Recommended?

Personally, I'd put it in Must Play, but that's just me and my tastes.