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Point-and-Click Adventure-GAF of LucasArts, Sierra, and hair-pulling puzzles
- Thread starter discoalucard
- Start date
It's true. The OP touched on this but the biggest thing between Telltale and Lucasarts is brevity. I much prefer the punchy conversations in the Lucasarts stuff to the INTERMINABLY LONG Telltale novels. Lots of modern studios screw this up, BTW, and I have a feeling that it's because they want to make the most out of their character models and voice actors. It really hurts the game in the end.
Decent Grim Fandango retrospective here:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-05-retrospective-grim-fandango
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-05-retrospective-grim-fandango
I too grew up on adventure games, starting with getting Zork for Christmas. I tried to play every release. Loved the feeling of accomplishment from solving a puzzle.
Several years ago I went on a personal mission to get boxed copies of all my favorites signed by the designer. Lots of mailing, sending postage, etc. In the course of all this I sent packages to France, Australia, England, and of course all over the US. I became obsessed and got dozens of autographs. Jane Jensen, Roberta Williams, Robyn Miller, Al Lowe, Chris Jones, Ron Gilbert, Tim Scafer... And tons more. As I said it was an obsession and now all are displayed in my office.
Reports of the adventure genre being dead are exaggerated. And the bashing that occurred at the advent of console gaming was annoying. Lazy reviewers mostly. But there have been some great games in recent years and new releases are anticipated all the time.
Several years ago I went on a personal mission to get boxed copies of all my favorites signed by the designer. Lots of mailing, sending postage, etc. In the course of all this I sent packages to France, Australia, England, and of course all over the US. I became obsessed and got dozens of autographs. Jane Jensen, Roberta Williams, Robyn Miller, Al Lowe, Chris Jones, Ron Gilbert, Tim Scafer... And tons more. As I said it was an obsession and now all are displayed in my office.
Reports of the adventure genre being dead are exaggerated. And the bashing that occurred at the advent of console gaming was annoying. Lazy reviewers mostly. But there have been some great games in recent years and new releases are anticipated all the time.
TheJollyCorner
Member
I'd give my left ball to have Quest for Glory 1-4 redone ala Monkey Island 1 & 2 recently (loved how you could switch between classic and remake, including music, with a button press!)
Dog Problems
Banned
Eh, not even close. But I appreciate your rogue opinion.
StarCreator
Member
Man, this thread brings back memories. Sierra's games were pretty much my childhood from the time my older brother brought Space Quest 3 home up to where I was unable to finish Leisure Suit Larry 6 due to bad sectors on one of the install floppies.
Since all the good games I've played have been mentioned... does anyone remember Dare to Dream? It was pretty trippy, but apparently did well enough, as it has enabled the publisher to put out games featuring impossibly-large men fighting off alien cockroaches with gears or something like that...
Since all the good games I've played have been mentioned... does anyone remember Dare to Dream? It was pretty trippy, but apparently did well enough, as it has enabled the publisher to put out games featuring impossibly-large men fighting off alien cockroaches with gears or something like that...
CecilRousso
Member
It´s really not that strange since Sam&Max is one the weakest of the old LucasArts adventure games. But yeah, I know that few people will agree with the one who questions an old cult classic.
And while I´m at it: Tales of Monkey Island is about as good as Curse of Monkey Island. Ha! Take that! (I´m serious)
TheJollyCorner
Member
for those of you interested (old news, but worth posting since it might have slipped through some of your radars)
Al Lowe's coming back to LEISURE SUIT LARRY with remakes!!!!
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2011/10/11/leisure-suit-larry-remakes-announced/1
Not sure if it's been confirmed, but I remember hearing they are shooting for PC/XBL/PSN releases. Very excited... and I hope it paves the way for other Sierra series'.
Al Lowe's coming back to LEISURE SUIT LARRY with remakes!!!!
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2011/10/11/leisure-suit-larry-remakes-announced/1
Not sure if it's been confirmed, but I remember hearing they are shooting for PC/XBL/PSN releases. Very excited... and I hope it paves the way for other Sierra series'.
Dog Problems
Banned
What about it do you feel makes it weak? It's certainly easier than the Indiana Jones game but I think it's on the same level as most of their other stuff. Zak McKracken is the only one I've never played so I can't compare it to that.
I love this thread. There's so many adventure games I missed out on. The Neverhood seriously needs to make it onto GOG. I think they're supposed to be re-releasing it for iOS or something. It shouldn't be that difficult to get the game on GOG then.
Something else that's awesome is that the Survival Horror genre is an offshoot of the Adventure genre. It all started with Alone in the Dark. Games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill were based on it. I think most people know this though. It's too bad that genre has moved towards a more action oriented game. At least we still get games like the Penumbra series and Amnesia.
Something else that's awesome is that the Survival Horror genre is an offshoot of the Adventure genre. It all started with Alone in the Dark. Games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill were based on it. I think most people know this though. It's too bad that genre has moved towards a more action oriented game. At least we still get games like the Penumbra series and Amnesia.
TheJollyCorner
Member
as a Silent Hill fan, I'd love for them to go in a more 'adventure game' direction and cut out most (or all) of the "I just got a sub-machine gun and breakable crow bar!!~!~!~!!" action. I think that's why I liked Shattered Memories so much: a lot of exploring, finding items, solving puzzles, and running for your life when things get crazy. Laura Bow would be proud.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
I totally forgot I got Broken Sword for free in iOS. Really like it, although so far it is nothing to write home about, puzzle wise I mean.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
The strength of Broken Sword is in the writing.
Hm, I rebought BS on Steam a year or so ago, I should really replay it...
I remember there were some German adventures in the 90s that were basically just advertisement. Some of these were actually decent games.
This is for a political party.
Don't know if that's known outside of Germany, it's some kind of salami.
Yeah, played this games too. I also remember liking Dunkle Schatten, even so i cant remember the story anymore.
Those German Commercial Games are still download able: http://www.adventure-treff.de/specials/dl_werbespiele.php
Amazing thread.
I would love to try Gemini Rue. I own it but I never could run it. I click on it but all I get is a black screen while I hear some rain falling.
I also have Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars but never played it. I hope it's good.
Wish there was titles like these on consoles, they might make you thing but they can be relaxing too.
I would love to try Gemini Rue. I own it but I never could run it. I click on it but all I get is a black screen while I hear some rain falling.
I also have Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars but never played it. I hope it's good.
Wish there was titles like these on consoles, they might make you thing but they can be relaxing too.
Winnie the Pimp
Member
Daedalic recently released "Deponia" here in Germany, I didn't have the chance yet to try it out but the reviews have been very positive. One German magazin even called Daedalic the modern Lucas Arts.
i agree it LOOKS awesome but so did whispered world and apparently that was held down by some really obtuse puzzles, is Deponia better in that aspect then?
It's very good. I love how it really feels connected in history and doesn't break TOO much out of the realm of possibility.
Something that is lost in the second game :<
Minsc
Gold Member
Have you tried running winsetup.exe (in the game's installation directory) to configure the display options? Perhaps switching to windowed mode will work better with your setup. I bought it on Steam myself, so I had to search a bit to figure out the setup options were tucked away in the game's directory.
Broken Sword is really good, I played it for the first time when the Director's Cut was released, and enjoyed it a lot more than any of the Telltale games
Man, this thread brings back memories. Sierra's games were pretty much my childhood from the time my older brother brought Space Quest 3 home up to where I was unable to finish Leisure Suit Larry 6 due to bad sectors on one of the install floppies.
Since all the good games I've played have been mentioned... does anyone remember Dare to Dream? It was pretty trippy, but apparently did well enough, as it has enabled the publisher to put out games featuring impossibly-large men fighting off alien cockroaches with gears or something like that...
Oh man, nostalgia! I remember this. Well I don't really remember much because I was so young at the time, but I definitely remember playing it and thinking it was so cool.
Such a great thread.
I really need to play Gemini Rue soon. Same with The Whispered World after Toma preach so much about it
Someone's porting Leisure Suit Larry 1 to the NES
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150473769670356&set=vb.140171942689547&type=2&theater
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150473769670356&set=vb.140171942689547&type=2&theater
Puzzles are decent but story, characters and dialogue are pretty weak like in so many recent adventure games.
Oh, and those advertising games were actually fun back in the day, Bifi 2, Dunkle Schatten 2, even the Telekom games.
tinfoilhatman
all of my posts are my avatar
Man I wish all those sierra "quest" games were available on iOS :-(
Have you tried running winsetup.exe (in the game's installation directory) to configure the display options? Perhaps switching to windowed mode will work better with your setup. I bought it on Steam myself, so I had to search a bit to figure out the setup options were tucked away in the game's directory.
Broken Sword is really good, I played it for the first time when the Director's Cut was released, and enjoyed it a lot more than any of the Telltale games
Thanks Lissar for the words.
I tried running using bootcamp ( I own a MacBook Pro) should I try to click on a option that says "windowed mode" and then run it? I'll try that and if it's okay I'll post impressions but if there's another solution I would like to know.
Thanks in advance.
Lots of them are supported by SCUMMVM and I'd be astounded if there wasn't an iOS version of SCUMMVM. It would probably require a jailbroken phone though.
Dog Problems
Banned
Someone's porting Leisure Suit Larry 1 to the NES
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150473769670356&set=vb.140171942689547&type=2&theater
Haha, nice.
LamerDeluxe
Member
The Moment of Silence, bought this new for about 50 cents, only played the beginning upto now, read some positive opinions about it:
I played lots of Sierra and LucasArts adventures, as well as Discworld. Love the stories and wacky humor. A lady living across from me when I was a kid played and finished all the adventure games she could find, she got amazingly good at them.
I played lots of Sierra and LucasArts adventures, as well as Discworld. Love the stories and wacky humor. A lady living across from me when I was a kid played and finished all the adventure games she could find, she got amazingly good at them.
I didn't hear anyone complaining about weird or illogical puzzles but some complaint about a missing hint function. So I guess the "getting stuck at stupid puzzle for an hour" is still possible.
The only real fault seems to be the cliffhanger ending which isn't that bad since the sequel will already be released this winter.
SabinFigaro
Member
I approve greatly of this thread.
When I was younger, my friend bought nearly every single PC adventure game released from 1993-2000, in addition to having a wide collection of those released earlier, and we played them all together. Literally, he had stacks and stack of those gorgeous big boxes.
Probably my favourite is King's Quest VI, with V having been my introduction to the series. What an awesome time that was, with nothing but time to solve all those obtuse puzzles on our own. From 7th Guest to Zork, little was missed.
I've somewhat kept up with the the genre, but mostly by replaying old games or trying "new" old games through GOG.com. I find, unfortunately, that I don't really have the patience these days to sit around and solve puzzles, and thus my skills have atrophied in turn.
When I was younger, my friend bought nearly every single PC adventure game released from 1993-2000, in addition to having a wide collection of those released earlier, and we played them all together. Literally, he had stacks and stack of those gorgeous big boxes.
Probably my favourite is King's Quest VI, with V having been my introduction to the series. What an awesome time that was, with nothing but time to solve all those obtuse puzzles on our own. From 7th Guest to Zork, little was missed.
I've somewhat kept up with the the genre, but mostly by replaying old games or trying "new" old games through GOG.com. I find, unfortunately, that I don't really have the patience these days to sit around and solve puzzles, and thus my skills have atrophied in turn.
I just want to update and say that I, can now play Gemini Rue.
All I did was clicking on "Run as an Admnistrator" apply and went to Steam and I can navigate on the menus. Thanks a lot! Sorry for the offtopic.
Again, this is an amazing thread.
cj_iwakura
Member
Kurt, did you put Tim Schafer up to this?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure
Be honest now.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure
Be honest now.
cj_iwakura
Member
Here's another favorite of mine:
Ask the people who watched the HG101 Child's Play Marathon how playable that game is today.
discoalucard
i am a butthurt babby that can only drool in wonder at shiney objects
Yeah but you guys were playing the Sega CD version for an extra layer of pain. There's some dumb stuff that happens in that game, but most of it's front loaded, so once you know what to avoid, then it's sort of alright. Most Dynamix games were the same way. Like, I really like Rise of the Dragon even though on many levels it's really nothing all that special.
Anyway, I spent the last two nights playing this:
Snakes of Avalon
Extremely trippy mid-length indie adventure that takes place entirely in a bar. The "hero" is a delusional drunkard, and the entire game deals with his hallucinations, all tying in with his traumatic past. It's all really crazy, especially when you get to the talking moose head and the ninja fish, but it's not all just weird for the sake of weird, it's one of the only adventure games I've seen that tries to pull off the whole "unreliable protagonist" thing.
It's free to download here:
http://snakes.hardydev.com/
Wadjeye Games also revelead their latest publication last week or so, Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass, based around wrestling.
I think it's a polished up version of an older freebie AGS game. Haven't tried it, but there's a demo of the commercial release up on their site: http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/da-new-guys.html
Has anyone played To the Moon at all? Style looks similar to RPG Maker
Sort of reminds me the way Corpse Party was done, which pulled off some creepy stuff mostly due to its excellent writing. To the Moon is supposed to be a real tear jerker, need to give it a shot one of these days.
Dog Problems
Banned
I haven't played Corpse Party yet so I can't compare it to that, but it's very light on gameplay. I'd say it "feels" closer to a visual novel. But it has a good story and it's definitely a tear jerker.
Very happy to see fans of adventure games coming back together, after 10+ years of beeing dumped on...hearing the Retronauts podcast about adventure games was hard because I really do agree with some of their feedback that the games need to evolve.
On the other hand, some games which are literally like dumbed down adventure games are now super popular on tablets: hidden object and very Myst level adventure games are becoming quite common on iOS.
On the other hand, some games which are literally like dumbed down adventure games are now super popular on tablets: hidden object and very Myst level adventure games are becoming quite common on iOS.
Has anyone played To the Moon at all? Style looks similar to RPG Maker
Sort of reminds me the way Corpse Party was done, which pulled off some creepy stuff mostly due to its excellent writing. To the Moon is supposed to be a real tear jerker, need to give it a shot one of these days.
I believe it was made in RPG Maker. I played it and it's pretty good, I would recommend it.
discoalucard
i am a butthurt babby that can only drool in wonder at shiney objects
Corpse Party is similar to that, I guess - you technically walk around like in an RPG, but most of the time is just spent looking for triggers. Hit the wrong trigger and you'll go down a bad ending path. Are there at least choices in To The Moon or is it just "walk here then here" sort of thing?
Dog Problems
Banned
It's just the "walk here" thing. No chance of a bad ending or anything. As the other poster above said it hardly felt like a game most of the time. There's little things to do like run around and catch someone, and go around collecting things at the beginning, but there's no challenge to it at all.