Looking for adventure game recommendations
My PS3 broke down a couple of weeks ago and so without access to my PS2/3 games, Blu-Ray movies and Internet at home I thought I'd take the opportunity to play through some retro classics that I somehow managed to avoid playing all these years. Alex Kidd (MD) was charming, Another World (PC, 15th Anniversary) was a rotoscoped beauty but also a harsh mistress and Chrono Trigger (SNES) and Chrono Cross (PSX) are the best J-RPG's I've played since Final Fantasy VII.
But now I find myself craving for some good old fashioned adventure game non-action. I figured that instead of re-playing my all time favorites for the 7591st time, I might attempt to broaden my experience and play a new (old) retro classic. This is where you can help.
Can you you recommend a traditional old-school adventure game?
Here's some quick points towards helping you understand what I'm looking for. These aren't rigid rules though:
* Ideally, a game from the 90s (i.e. with graphics that fall anywhere between The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, from a technical point of view). It's fine if it's a modern game with 2D backgrounds and, if possible, 2D characters.
* I'm open to playing a game with either easy or difficult puzzles but I tend to get bored of games which adopt the insanity inducing approach of anti-logic based puzzles (e.g. Use sticky syrup on tape to create sticky-tape / Use sticky-tape on cat / Use furry sticky tape on face to create a realistic mustache, so that you can pretend your someone else, who doesn't even have a moustache - which is an actual puzzle from Gabriel Knight 3 but at least it was a one off in an otherwise great game).
* On the subject of puzzles, an important factor is the type of puzzles. Generally I'm only interested in 'use-item-A-on-item-B' type puzzles, as opposed to the 'fix-a-mess-of-pipes-and-adjust-a-steam-gauge' puzzles of Myst etc.
* I'd quite like to play through an intelligent, gritty and mature story. Maybe a detective game? However, failing that I'll play anything that's good, be it zany, slapstick humor or a downbeat playable commentary on the failings of modern society.
* Please don't limit suggestions to the PC format only, I'm more than happy to play console adventure games too (providing I already have access to the console of course).
==============================================================
Here's a quick list of the adventure games I've already played many a times. So please don't recommend any of these to me (although, if you haven't played any of them then I do recommend them to you). I'm sure I've left many titles out by mistake but I have left many more modern adventure games out on purpose because I'm really looking to play an old-school (or retro styled) game:
LUCASARTS
* Maniac Mansion
* Loom
* Indy 3 & 4 (Crusade & Atlantis)
* Monkey Island 1-5
* Sam & Max Hit the Road
* Day of the Tentacle
* The Dig
* Full Throttle
* Grim Fandango
SIERRA
* Police Quest I & IV only
* Space Quest I & VI only
* Gabriel Knight 1-3
* Phantasmagoria II
REVOLUTION
* Lure of the Temptress
* Beneath a Steel Sky
* Broken Sword 1-3 only
OTHER
* Tex Murphy 1-5
* Flight of the Amazon Queen
* Discworld 1 & 2 only (can anyone help me to get Noir to run under Vista)?
* I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
* Toonstruck
* Blade Runner
* The Longest Journey & Dreamfall
* A Vampyre Story
* Machinarium
==============================================================
Listed Below are games that I own and have played to various degrees and in most cases given up on. If you can't recommend a game not on this list then maybe you could convince me to give them another go:
* King's Quest I, V & VI - To be fair, I've only ever really dabbled with the King's Quest series but out of them all, roman numeral six is the one that I've spent the longest with (probably hitting around the half way mark). What left me uninterested was the traditional, cliche fantasy setting and characters. Other than that it's hard to put my finger on why the series never hooked me but I do know that I've never truly enjoyed the experience of playing. Am I missing something?
* Simon the Sorcerer 1 & 2 only: I got put off the first game around two-thirds of the way through. Mostly because there was so much back tracking. Also, the cliche fantasy theme put me off (again). I only played 5 minutes of the sequel and it seemed improved over the original but maybe someone here could tell me just how much?
* Runaway - I actually completed this one because it's one of the nicer looking adventure games I've played and the puzzles were acceptable for the most part (with the aid of a walkthrough). However, the pixel hunting and seriously annoying characters dragged the whole thing down for me.
* Leisure Suit Larry 1 & 6 only - I certainly enjoyed the retro nostalgia of playing the original EGA game but I find the humor to be lewd in the most tasteless, pervy and nasty way. I'm not sure if there's some kind of satirical or ironic element in the dialogue or setup that's flying right over my head.
* Still Life - I was actually really enjoying playing this game until the thrilling plot of murder and corruption ground to a halt and the game insisted on making me solve a puzzle involving baking cookies for my character's dad by using the worlds most retarded cook book (use 1 tablespoon of love, half a jar of cuddles etc.). I had no access to a walkthrough so after 2 days of trying to get my FBI agent to bake f**king cookies for her bastard papa, I gave up. Does anyone know if I should start over, with a walkthrough at hand?
* Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island - Although flawed, I did enjoy playing through A Vampyre Story and therefore was looking forward to Vooju Island but I found the puzzles to be horrible and the use of colour to resemble the interior of a 7 year old girly girl's bedroom; all over saturated pinks and oranges. I stopped playing once around one-fourth of my way through the story, should I have?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. If you think this post's long then that's nothing. I already typed this mother out once and then my browser deleted it when I tried to post so I had to start over
Plus the original post was even more rambling.
But now I find myself craving for some good old fashioned adventure game non-action. I figured that instead of re-playing my all time favorites for the 7591st time, I might attempt to broaden my experience and play a new (old) retro classic. This is where you can help.
Can you you recommend a traditional old-school adventure game?
Here's some quick points towards helping you understand what I'm looking for. These aren't rigid rules though:
* Ideally, a game from the 90s (i.e. with graphics that fall anywhere between The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, from a technical point of view). It's fine if it's a modern game with 2D backgrounds and, if possible, 2D characters.
* I'm open to playing a game with either easy or difficult puzzles but I tend to get bored of games which adopt the insanity inducing approach of anti-logic based puzzles (e.g. Use sticky syrup on tape to create sticky-tape / Use sticky-tape on cat / Use furry sticky tape on face to create a realistic mustache, so that you can pretend your someone else, who doesn't even have a moustache - which is an actual puzzle from Gabriel Knight 3 but at least it was a one off in an otherwise great game).
* On the subject of puzzles, an important factor is the type of puzzles. Generally I'm only interested in 'use-item-A-on-item-B' type puzzles, as opposed to the 'fix-a-mess-of-pipes-and-adjust-a-steam-gauge' puzzles of Myst etc.
* I'd quite like to play through an intelligent, gritty and mature story. Maybe a detective game? However, failing that I'll play anything that's good, be it zany, slapstick humor or a downbeat playable commentary on the failings of modern society.
* Please don't limit suggestions to the PC format only, I'm more than happy to play console adventure games too (providing I already have access to the console of course).
==============================================================
Here's a quick list of the adventure games I've already played many a times. So please don't recommend any of these to me (although, if you haven't played any of them then I do recommend them to you). I'm sure I've left many titles out by mistake but I have left many more modern adventure games out on purpose because I'm really looking to play an old-school (or retro styled) game:
LUCASARTS
* Maniac Mansion
* Loom
* Indy 3 & 4 (Crusade & Atlantis)
* Monkey Island 1-5
* Sam & Max Hit the Road
* Day of the Tentacle
* The Dig
* Full Throttle
* Grim Fandango
SIERRA
* Police Quest I & IV only
* Space Quest I & VI only
* Gabriel Knight 1-3
* Phantasmagoria II
REVOLUTION
* Lure of the Temptress
* Beneath a Steel Sky
* Broken Sword 1-3 only
OTHER
* Tex Murphy 1-5
* Flight of the Amazon Queen
* Discworld 1 & 2 only (can anyone help me to get Noir to run under Vista)?
* I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
* Toonstruck
* Blade Runner
* The Longest Journey & Dreamfall
* A Vampyre Story
* Machinarium
==============================================================
Listed Below are games that I own and have played to various degrees and in most cases given up on. If you can't recommend a game not on this list then maybe you could convince me to give them another go:
* King's Quest I, V & VI - To be fair, I've only ever really dabbled with the King's Quest series but out of them all, roman numeral six is the one that I've spent the longest with (probably hitting around the half way mark). What left me uninterested was the traditional, cliche fantasy setting and characters. Other than that it's hard to put my finger on why the series never hooked me but I do know that I've never truly enjoyed the experience of playing. Am I missing something?
* Simon the Sorcerer 1 & 2 only: I got put off the first game around two-thirds of the way through. Mostly because there was so much back tracking. Also, the cliche fantasy theme put me off (again). I only played 5 minutes of the sequel and it seemed improved over the original but maybe someone here could tell me just how much?
* Runaway - I actually completed this one because it's one of the nicer looking adventure games I've played and the puzzles were acceptable for the most part (with the aid of a walkthrough). However, the pixel hunting and seriously annoying characters dragged the whole thing down for me.
* Leisure Suit Larry 1 & 6 only - I certainly enjoyed the retro nostalgia of playing the original EGA game but I find the humor to be lewd in the most tasteless, pervy and nasty way. I'm not sure if there's some kind of satirical or ironic element in the dialogue or setup that's flying right over my head.
* Still Life - I was actually really enjoying playing this game until the thrilling plot of murder and corruption ground to a halt and the game insisted on making me solve a puzzle involving baking cookies for my character's dad by using the worlds most retarded cook book (use 1 tablespoon of love, half a jar of cuddles etc.). I had no access to a walkthrough so after 2 days of trying to get my FBI agent to bake f**king cookies for her bastard papa, I gave up. Does anyone know if I should start over, with a walkthrough at hand?
* Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island - Although flawed, I did enjoy playing through A Vampyre Story and therefore was looking forward to Vooju Island but I found the puzzles to be horrible and the use of colour to resemble the interior of a 7 year old girly girl's bedroom; all over saturated pinks and oranges. I stopped playing once around one-fourth of my way through the story, should I have?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. If you think this post's long then that's nothing. I already typed this mother out once and then my browser deleted it when I tried to post so I had to start over
Plus the original post was even more rambling. Sign in to comment in this discussion.
Comments
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/gobliiins_pack
I've only recently discovered it myself, but it's kind of a one-room-at-a-time style adventure game (Kind of like Machinarium) but with the twist that you need to switch between 3 characters with different skills, Lost Vikings style. The writing's a little groan-worthy but it's old school all the way and lots of fun.
Now if you wanted to get OOOOOLD School, there's always the exciting realm of text adventures. See what adventure games were like before all that "Graphics" business. Scott Adams wrote some great ones back in the day and all his old stuff is emulated and available through his website: http://www.msadams.com. Then there's always Zork...
It's called Scratches for the PC. It's about a writer who is trapped in a house and he keeps hearing scratching noises in the basement. As you explore the house you learn about the dark past of the ones who lived there and you start to experience things that question your sanity. But what ever you do, DO NOT, play the directors cut. Normally, the directors cut of games are better but the directors cut of Scratches is not. For some reason they replaced the original voice actors with new ones who were not as good as the first and they changed the ending to a worser one. Play the original and not the directors cut. Here's a trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-ZtWd9oPPM
Gray Matter. It is penned by Jane Jensen, known for her work on GK.
I also recommend the indie games that have some resemblance to the GK games called the Blackwell trilogy.
Also, an 90's adventure game gem you have missed is Bad Mojo.
Owh owh owh wait.....almost forgot the masterpiece that is The Last Express.
Owh and Sherlock Holmes and the Serrated Scalpel
Actually, I have a copy of Goblins 3 gavering dust somewhere. I bought it around 12 years ago expecting a traditional adventure game ala Monkey Island or King's Quest due to it being a Sierra game. I was more than a little peeved when I loaded it up and got this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_DSExNsvYI
However, I'm much older, wiser (and dare I say uglier now). So, I'll see if I can go on an archaeological dig and unearth the box from my attic.
Oh yes, I've played a few before (mostly the usual suspects such as Zork and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). I do intend to delve into the genre more thoroughly at some point. Leather Goddesses of Phobos sounds like it's particularly brilliant and very funny, have you played that one?
It sounds and looks great. I'll be checking that one out for sure. Thanks.
Thanks for the recommendation but you're preaching to the converted. I've been waiting for Gray Matter for what seems like forever. I'm not sure I'll have the cash on release though so I'm hoping to find some cheap alternatives in the meantime like Scratches (which is only a few quid on Amazon).
I'll be looking into that, cheers. The graphics look nice and retro
Could you describe the gameplay style a little please, I just looked at some screenshots and thought 'Myst with added roaches' but I'm sure you could do a better job selling it to me.
That's been on my to buy list for as long as I've been waiting for Gray Matter. I really must kick my arse into buying it soon because everyone seems to rate it highly.
Which system's that for? I've got a couple of Sherlock Holmes games for the Mega CD I think.
your welcome. Just remember. Stick with the original. They're selling the directors cut on amazon as well and I would hate for you to play that one instead of the original. The directors cut is just such a large step down from the original.
I've also heard good things about the Syberia series.
Lastly, Out of Order is a pretty good freeware adventure game.
This and the "sequel" about the Rose Tattoo are very good. They're for PC.
Space Quest III is great. It's Telltale-esque in the sense that you have a small to medium-sized area to explore and solve puzzles in before moving on to the next self-contained area. Great music and story - the ending is particularly cool. It's also not as difficult or "unfair" as some of the other SQ games are.
You play as a roach and crawl around trying to get from area to area. The puzzles are really original. You don't have an inventory. You only can move some things around.
It's not too difficult and has a great flow. It's great to experience the perspective of a roach. Also what makes the game so great is the story. It has a nice story with an original twist, but it's up to you to add depth to it since little pieces of it are told through background items. Like a telegraph in the garbage bin.
... imho.
I love it because in addition to the puzzles and the numerous Sierra-deaths we all know and love, it also has combat, RPG elements like hit points and stats, and at least three ways to solve just about every puzzle depending on what class your character is.
Online, and free (local library FTW):
Morningstar: This one's about 1/2 an hour to an hour- Trapped on a crash anded spaceship, you and your remaining crew must figure out how to get the ship running and leave.
Tipping Point (several short episodes): You must stop a mad scientist who is working on a teleportation device.
The Daydream: Your son has gone missing, and something has happened to his room. Where the crap did he go and why? (Japanese title, about 1/2 hour, and HARD)
The "House" series: Terminal House,Rental House, Guest House, Boat House (maybe 2-3 hours total) Telling you ANYTHING about this one is a seriously major spoiler. Also HARD. Have a paper and pen ready for ome of the puzzles, and probably a calculator.
DS: 9 Doors, 9 People, 9 Hours: Have yet to play this one myself, but have heard absolutely awesome things about it. Japanese adventure/ puzzle game.
(Mostly the first or second, but I know alot of people around here prefer the 3rd.)
Now, I want to go play it again.
thedreammachine.se
the blackwell serie
In that case a free old school adventure you just have to play is Ben There, Dan That, second game Time Gentlemen, Please! cost a bit but well worth the money.
You can get them from zombie-cow or from Steam.
I can't help but feel this is wrong advice though.
I second this! And it had decent puzzles for an adventure of this era.
This is the follow up to Hotel Dusk, right? I played HD and thought it was a pleasant distraction with a lovely art style (Hello, Take On Me) but the puzzles at times made TellTale's BTTF seem like an exclusive game for members of Mensa. Still once I get a 3DS I'll check out the sequel.
Very well spotted, indeed it is the only LucasArts adventure game that I've never played (although I do own it). Could you tell me if I will need a walkthrough at hand? Are there many dead-ends to look out for? Thanks.
I was sure I had played those two last year as a free download, so I never bothered looking further into them whenever I saw the titles crop up but then you said that they cost money! Well, I double checked and I have never played them so thanks for the recommendation. I might have gone my whole life thinking I'd Ben there, dan that (sorry).
Roger Wilco, over and out (again, sorry)!
It shall be the last I play but who knows, maybe the best?
Once again, thank you to everyone who came up with suggestions. You've just ensured that I have no social life at all for the rest of the year
If it is let me know.:D
No, that would be Last Window: The Secret of Cape West.
Oh, right. Do you know if that's any good or more of the same?
The Phoenix Wright games also come recommended, though they differ in many ways to traditional Adventure games. Similar to a Visual Novel, but you can investigate scenes for information, evidence, and have to argue your case when it comes time to deal with the trial. I hope that Telltale games someday does this series on the PC, or maybe Capcom's PC division.
Ghost Trick also comes from the same team that did Phoenix Wright, and is fairly decent.
I did like the first one though and a good story is one of the main things I look for in an adventure game so I'll be playing this one too, once it goes down in price a bit.
I took a gander via YouTube and I must say that it looks really good. I could get either the PC or Mega CD version, do you know what (if any) differences exist between the two?
I've never got into Star Trek, although I often think I should just force myself to sit down with a boxset or two and delve right in. However, do you reckon a non-Star Trek fan could enjoy these games or is knowledge of the TV show and its' character's necessary?
I actually picked a couple of these up for DS the other week. Looking forward to trying it out, although I'm hoping that I don't actually have to shout 'objection' into the microphone
Don't worry, you don't. I think I did it once and I felt embarrassed even though I was totally alone at the time!
Why do so many DS developers insist on making use of the blasted thing though?! I usually end up bashing the microphone as hard as I can with my finger (which only works 50% of the time). It makes no difference if I'm in public or alone, I refuse to make myself look like a gob-shite... well any more of a god-shite at least.
I'm assuming that Scratches and King's Quest are cute games or is Cute Games some highly underrated classic (a Care Bear adventure game perhaps; no wait, that's just plain nauseating).
As to whether or not liking Star Trek would impact things...well, I wouldn't know. It depends on what turns you off, I guess. However, a fan would love these games, because they play out like what we see on television. Here is a Youtube video of the 1st mission - contains spoilers, but it would give you a general idea of what goes on with the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qgesONquw&feature=related
There are a few dead ends, but those mainly have to do with stranding yourself in strange places with no money which can be easily avoided by making sure to always have spare cash. There's also a few ways you can die, but they're generally for logical reasons like wandering around on Mars without a spacesuit.:D
I would suggest checking online for a map for some of the maze puzzles, though, as they can be rather annoying to map out yourself (especially the last one).
Have fun!
That little summary is almost enough to make me want to play the game. In fact, as much as I adore hardcore sci-fi, I don't believe that I've ever played a non-comedic space adventure game. Hmm...
Okay, I'm sold. That looks like it's right down my street. I wonder if playing will get me into watching the TV show. You see, it's not that I don't like Star Trek but rather that I've never watched more than two episodes (one of the original show and one from TNG). I can't think of a reason I wouldn't love it, which scares me slightly (that's probably why I haven't gone near it it for all this time).
Cheers
AGDI
King's Quest I
King's Quest II
Quest for Glory II
Infamous Adventures
King's Quest III
Lucasfan Games
Maniac Mansion Deluxe
Mindfactory*
Broken Sword 2.5 - Baphomet's Fluch
Fully Ramblomatic**
5 Days a Stranger
Trilby's Notes
7 Days a Skeptic
6 Days a Sacrifice
Studio Trophis***
The White Chamber
*Not a remake.
**games listed here are not remakes or fan games, but are very notable all the same. Play them in the order given, since they are connected. Collectively known as the Trilby Quadrilogy. Horror adventure games. 7 Days a skeptic is a serious horror game...in SPPPAAAACE!
***A very serious horror adventure game in space. Again.
Well, I give Star Trek and Babylon 5 very high ratings when it comes to sci-fi television series. The rebooted Doctor Who is also terrific!
This series is excellent. Fairly bite-sized episodes. Your order is wrong though, Trilby's and 7 Days should be switched.
Huh. I just realized that the Special Edition versions of the games are now available for free. I think that I will check them out - I want to see what was going on inside of Croshaw's skull when he was building them.
Yea I almost always go with actual release dates. With prequels you are often meant to be familiar with what comes later. The Chronicles of Narnia for example.
IT also has really long load times since the Sega Cd has a 1x speed CD drive it was 1993 and it gives you little balls to play with when you press start for when it loads.
PC version of the game only runs in DOS so you need a old PC or Dos box and know how to use it.
http://www.dosbox.com/
PC game looks better most the time animation is smoother, this is mostly due to the sega cd can't load it fast enough but the PC had more power than the genesis and sega cd twin 6800 cpu.. or they did not know how to program them, to work in sync...
The Sega cd does have some of it's own content like you can play the nintari video game system and it a game like space invaders rather than watching will beamish play it in a video.
Oh and the mouse on the Pc. the Genesis mouse don't work with it but it still has a mouse pointer you have to move it with a d-pad it's slower than the PC mouse.
The PC CD version of the game is really hard to find though the Sega Cd is easy to get a hold of. You can get the Floppy disc version on PC easy but It has no voice acting it's all text I think some animations was added to the PC and sega CD not in the floppy disc version too.
Sega Cd has a CD Audio quailty Version of some of the PC music the best being a early 90's style heavy hair metal version of the theme song at the title screen on the PC it is done in Midi even on the CD version. Most of the music is still midi in sega cd too though.
(I think the sega cd version is worth getting for the CD audio Theme song.. but that is just me you can listen to it in a cd player too.)
The intro is not a chalk board like the floppy it is pictures of the beamish family on sega cd(i think it is cooler on sega cd) other parts of the intro are not in the Sega cd at all some story movies are cut or changed.
The PC CD version has it own Special scenes and animations the Floppy or sega CD don't have the intro is one of them. The pc CD and Sega cd have the best ones. The PC cd version has the most animations.
You can watch all the intros to all the version here though and see for your self.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88LbNrJ5xFw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maJbGLMVUhM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCk6dhQyBcg&feature=related
Voice acting is not the same on PC or sega cd it was recorded for each version so it is changed some. The PC has more voice acting than the sega cd, the voice actors are the same for important characters on sega cd and PC CD.
The Game buddy game system is a Sega game gear on Sega CD but not PC... on PC it is a no name gameboy rip off...makes it more funny.. but a real game gear is sweet
Sega CD has Sega things Like "Sega rules" writing on walls all over it the PC don't ...sega used to rule and maybe still does so this makes the sega CD one rule more...I think Ya it does sega still rules even if they make a lot of sucky games now.
Slam dunk Cola and tootsweet TV ad seems cooler on Sega cd than the PC CD...Better line delivery from the voice actors make it more funny.
PC game came with a real willy beamish digital watch.
You can get either one Free though easy somewhere since they are so hard to find as a "real copy" but I don't think i can say where here and dynamix and Sierra are kinda dead so nobody can collect money for it anyway.. But having the real game and box is cooler.
You can also run sega cd on your Pc with the right software if you don't have one and run it off the real cd game or a fake copy....but the sega cd was cool so I would buy one.
I have both the Sega CD and PC CD versions since they both have cool stuff, I played it on sega CD first though since I rented at place that rented sega CD games back in 1993, then the PC.
That is all I can think of there is a lot of changes to the sega cd port though it is worth playing both if you like it.
and IF you can only find the PC floppy disc version I would get the sega CD since the voice work adds a lot to the games strange humor and it is more like a old 80's 90's Saturday morning cartoon... That is how it was made it look the back of the box says so. (or like the simpsons kinda)
The floppy disc is the worst version i Think but it is like 2mb of space to put it on the PC Cd version is like around 150 mb.
There is also an amiga version But I never had an amiga I am american, we had 386 and 486 or pentuim PC's I have copy of the amiga though but I don't have anything to play it on yet.
and space adventure Cobra.. also rare
If you like blade runner you would love both of those.