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Recommend an Adventure Game

reggie

Novice
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
61
I love rpgs as much as the next man, but sometimes I find myself craving a good old fashioned adventure game. I was raised on adventure games and I think I'll always enjoy a well done one.

So, I was thinking I'd give you an idea of what I've played and enjoyed, and you could recommend other adventure games you think I might enjoy. I'm always looking for something new.

My favorites:

King's Quest: My first computer games ever. I enjoy them all, but the text ones had the annoying habit of becoming a pixel hunt, and perhaps for that reason I enjoyed the remake of the second, the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh best. But mostly because I felt these had the most unique worlds. The earlier ones were pretty standard fantasy fare. But the ones I've just mentioned felt very unique to me. The sixth, with the Isle of Wonder and all of that was by far the best to me. I loved the hilarious, unique creatures and puzzles. I also enjoyed Ooga Booga land in the seventh one. I did not like the eighth king's quest, because for me it lost its sense of humor and focused far too much on combat, rather than being a charming, whimsical adventure.

Quest for Glory: I don't generally like combat in adventure games, but I could overlook it in this series because they were all so great. I loved them all. Once again, I loved the quirkiness of the characters, and the unique worlds. I liked that instead of them all being standard, fantasy, go kill the dragon, kinds of things, they were all unique. Each took place in a very different part of the world and adapted traditional myths into a great game. I didn't mind the fact that the second one was text based, because the environment was still great.

Zork: Lot of fun. Loved the humor and unique environments, once again.

Gabriel Knight: More serious than I generally like my adventure games, but it still had some humor, and I loved the atmospheres, especially all of the voodoo in the first one. A lot of fun.

Monkey Island and Grim Fandango: These games remind me of one another. The silly characters, fun plots with great environments, sometimes lame joke-making main characters. A lot of fun to play.

Basically, I enjoyed adventure games that were whimsical and quirky, with unique worlds, interesting atmospheres, or fun characters. Any other adventure games you know of that resemble any of the ones I've just mentioned?
 

cardtrick

Arbiter
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
1,456
Location
Maine
I assume you've played The Longest Journey? If not, you should definitely check it out. One of the very few adventure games I've enjoyed.

The upcoming A Vampyre Story looks like it would be up your alley.
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
119
Hmm... can you do text adventures? The Legend games (Eric the Unready, Spellcasting 101,etc.) are quite quirky.

You didn't mention other Sierra and Lucasarts games like Space Quest series or Day of the Tentacle.

But what I would really recommend, and since you've already played Gabriel Knight I don't have much to recommend, are these two games:

1) A Tale of Two Kingdoms

While this game might not be extra cool in the story or plot department, this is one of the few adventures which shine with their gameplay: non-linear puzzle solutions, different endings, different things happening depending on what you did or did not... basically it allows you to play the game and come up with solutions to the problems. A great thing much appreciated in games like Deus Ex and Arcanum. Plus it's free.

Homepage

2) The Pandora Directive

Again, not extra cool in the story nor the plot department but shines in gameplay: exploration, logical puzzles, choices and consequences and branching storyline (Kotor's good and evil path are lame compared to this). Plus it has a cool theme song too - Tex's Lament
 

Elwro

Arcane
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
11,746
Location
Krakow, Poland
Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2
I'd recommend searching for a copy of Post Mortem - a nice (if flawed in some respects) attempt at an at least partially non-linear horror detective game. If you like it, you can play the sequel, Still Life, which I like very much despite the fact that the games just beg for part three which wasn't ever made.
For a nifty small game, check "The Shivah" by Dave Gilbert, a rabbi-themed game with an oldschool feel. (Really short, but for $5...)
 

aries202

Erudite
Joined
Mar 5, 2005
Messages
1,066
Location
Denmark, Europe
If you haven't played The Longest Journey & Dreamfall, then please do so. You will be both awed and impressed :) I think you will like Syberia 1+2 as well. I also think you will like Post Mortem & Still Life. And you will defintely like Broken Sword 1-4 and Runaway 1-2. Did you play Space Quest yet with your friendly space janitor :?:

IN 2006 the adventure game genre got something of a revival, I think. I will recommend both Keepsake and Secret Files: Tunguska to you as well as game like Scratches and Nibiru. You might also like a little game called Sherlock Holmes: The awakened. THis game mixes & blends the myth of Sherlock Holmes with the litterary writings of H.P. Lovecraft. It is in first person though, just to warn you a bit, if you have problems with first person in games,

If you head over to either gameboomers.com or adventuregamers.com you will see that there is much excitement about games like Culpa Innata, Darkness Within, and Jane Jensen's new game: Grey Matter. Benoit Sokal's new game Sinking Island also gets mention or two. Benoit Sokal also made a game called Paradise, but many adventure gamers don't like this game although it has a very unique setting in Africa. Many adventure games like the Agatha Christie and Nancu Drew games, though, so if you're into mysteru and detective stories, well then. I think you will also enjoy 'reurn to mysterious island' and 'journey to the center of the earth'. I agree with getting Dave Gilbert's game, The Shivah. Dave now as website for wadjeteyes.com and has just finished his Blackwell games trilogy which I also think you will enjoy :)

If you enjoy a good horror game, you should try some older games like Phantasmagoria or The Blackstone Chronicles or a game called 'I have no mouth and I must Scream'. If you have children and want to play a gamw with them, I think you should get a fine little gem called *gilbert goodmate*. I'm playing this at the moment and enjoying it immensely even though I'm well over 40 ;) --- but I'm still a child at heart -- or something like that :) :D

Since I'm over 40 ;) I also enjoy a good wellmade game made for Mature people. Such a game is Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophecy in the US).
 

Risine

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Messages
114
Good old days with Sierra, Lucasart !!!
Monkey Island especially 1&2
Day of the tentacle
Sam&Max ( first one )
Full throttle
Indy 3&4
The dig

LeisureSuit Larry :)

Broken sword 1&2 ( 3&4 are big shits )
Runaway1&2

so many others...

Oh, and I forgot, Sanitarium, the strangest game I have ever played ( with Eternam )

And you'll find many 'unknown' adventure games information there :
http://www.adventuregamers.com/
 

Psilon

Erudite
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Messages
2,018
Location
Codex retirement
Individually they're definitely on the short'n'easy side, but the new Sam & Max games are surprisingly fun. You don't get much quirkier than "Abe Lincoln Must Die!" for an episode title.
 

Otingocni

Novice
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
92
Does anyone here know about Kheops Studio? It is a French company that has had a steady stream of adventure games over the past few years. Out of what they have released, I would recommend Return to Mysterious Island (inspired by The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, has some interesting survival mechanics and multiple solutions to puzzles) and Voyage (inspired by From the Earth to the Moon, again by Verne, very whimsical).

I believe you might like Discworld Noir, especially if you are familiar with the Pratchett series. The Neverhood might also be a good recommendation, hard to say.

As much as they are recommended, I cannot endorse Post Mortem or Still Life, both were a complete waste of my money. While the two Syberia games are good, but I a\'m not sure how well they mesh with your interests, being rather static and serious. Full Throttle, the Space Quest series, and The Longest Journey seem like they would fit your tastes really well. It seems like a lot of people are recommending their favorite adventure games without considering the qualities you enjoy.

Remember, most games have demos out there, so definitely feel the waters when considering recommendations:

Return to Mysterious Island Demo
Voyage Demo
The Neverhood Demo
Post Mortem Demo
Still Life Demo
Syberia Demo
The Longest Journey Demo

Also, you can download Beneath a Steel Sky free at ScummVM, another game that seems a good recommendation.
 

RAG

Educated
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
75
Location
Greece
I would go with The Longest Journey too. Great game and a mix of old time play style with a very attractive presentation and a great sense of character (litterally) progression. The main character feels totally different in the beginning of the game than in the end. great experience
Of course you can't go wrong with any Lucas arts (films whatever) adventure games. The first half of Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy for the US) is pretty decent too with a nice atmosphere but it goes down after that. Are you brave enough for some text adventures too?
 

spacemoose

Erudite
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
Messages
9,632
Location
california
whatever you decide to try, DON'T go for syberia. horrible, monotone game. and that robot. oh god his voice still grates me
 

Kraszu

Prophet
Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
3,253
Location
Poland
Sanitarium has great atmosphere and gameplay I would go for it.

From rest:
Broken sword 1&2 are good, so is the longest journey.
 

Longshanks

Augur
Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
897
Location
Australia.
Best of those mentioned that I've played is definitely Sanitarium, up there with Grim Fandango and Monkey Island, though it does have a more serious tone.

The Longest Journey was pretty good, but the dialogue and themes grated at times, heard the sequel's not too good.
 

fastpunk

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
Messages
1,798
Location
under the sun
The Longest Journey and its sequel, Dreamfall
Syberia and Syberia II
the Broken Sword series
and for some action adventuring try Tomb Raider Anniversary
 

sqeecoo

Arcane
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
2,615
cardtrick said:
I assume you've played The Longest Journey? If not, you should definitely check it out. One of the very few adventure games I've enjoyed.
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
Patron
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
33,052
Location
KA.DINGIR.RA.KI
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
If you like Monkey-Island styled games, get Simon the Sorcerer, first and second game. Simon the Sorcerer 3D is basically crap, but StS 4 is quite good and pretty new, too.

Also be sure to check out the new Sam and Max games. Pretty good stuff, too.

Another "new" adventure game worth playing is The Westerner. You can also check out 3 Skulls of the Toltecs, which is similar in style but a lot older [graphics similar to Day of the Tentacle, which you should also play].

Be sure to check out Eric the Unready, too, it's a great game if you don't mind text parsers. Spellcasting 101, 201 and 301 are also good stuff to try out.
 

Jaime Lannister

Arbiter
Joined
Jun 15, 2007
Messages
7,183
psycojester said:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3CewyoAH_Kk

I'm pretty sure KC appears in this song.

That's like a reverse kingcomrade, it's liberals doing bad conservative arguments instead of a conservative doing bad liberal arguments.
 

Sarvis

Erudite
Joined
Aug 5, 2004
Messages
5,050
Location
Buffalo, NY
It's funny, you guys all _call_ Final Fantasy games adventure, but when people ask about adventure games you never mention them.

Maybe some subconscious recognition of the difference in genre?
 

Jasede

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
24,793
Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut I'm very into cock and ball torture
An adventure without puzzles is no adventure. :D
 

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