The Random Adventure Game News Thread

[Aeschylus]

^ That's actually not a bad list. It does completely ignore 1st person adventure games, and includes a few dubious games, but all in all it's a surprisingly competent survey.

 

[Bubbles]

The top 5 are reasonable (and LSL 6 is a defensible choice), but he should have included a Daedalic game.

 

[tuluse]

1 Sierra fans (aside from QfG fans)

There is Leisure Suit Larry game right behind QfG, Gabriel Knight makes 10th, and King's Quest 4 is on the list. That seems like a fairly good selection of Sierra games.

He seems to have limited his list to one game per series, which hurts Sierra as they did long running series.

Full Throttle is way too high though.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Sorry, I didn't realize Bee posted that article here, I made a thread about it, feel free to delete.

On topic, I don't feel shortchanged as a Sierra fan - he also ranked QfG4 pretty high, which is totally deserved. I do agree that the list is Lucasarts-biased and the criminal lack of first person stuff bothers me too, but overall I think it's a pretty worthy list, especially in light of being written for a mainstream outlet, as Bee pointed out.

 

[Crooked Bee]

1 Sierra fans (aside from QfG fans)

There is Leisure Suit Larry game right behind QfG, Gabriel Knight makes 10th, and King's Quest 4 is on the list. That seems like a fairly good selection of Sierra games.

Yeah, I spoked too hastily there. It was more of a quip at the list being heavily LucasArts-dominated, though I must also admit I overlooked KQ being on it. I didn't really expect Cobbett to include it.

 

[Boleskine]

These games will be on GOG tomorrow:

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Sam and Max Hit the Road
The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition

Store pages aren't up yet but those are the leaked announcement threads.

 

[Jaesun]

Oh PLEASE be versions that have the old Roland MT-32 MIDI music so I can make some recordings...

 

[evdk]

That's not a bad list, but where the hell is Blade Runner?

 

[Crooked Bee]

That's not a bad list, but where the hell is Blade Runner?

It's Richard Cobbett. He dislikes everything in Blade Runner except the first act:
https://twitter.com/richardcobbett/status/525699520810987520
https://twitter.com/richardcobbett/status/525699620291485696

Also this:
http://www.pcgamer.com/sacred-cows-killing-your-darlings-vol-1/

 

[tuluse]

He's right about the Dig. It's got to be the worst LucasArts adventure I've played (which means still good). Yet it has some kind of internet following I don't get. Probably a lot of people's first "serious" adventure game.

 

[evdk]

I could use to replay BR to test if my fond memories of it are not just pure nostalgia, but in all the cases when sitting in the chair would kill you there is a scorpion running across it when you enter the room. And I believe his complaint about the rat/plank puzzle is retarded in the same way, because I do not remember getting stuck on that.

 

[tuluse]

I played Blade Runner just last year and thought it was great. Giving NPCs V-K tests will never get old, and the game features neat c&c and grey morality (of the real kind, not Bioware).

I did have some trouble with the rat/plank puzzle though. You are basically doomed to die the first time as you're just walking across that plank and the rat comes out of nowhere to eat you. So it is a little cheap. I don't even remember the scorpion chair.

 

[Great Deceiver]

That's not a bad list, but where the hell is Blade Runner?

Also this:
http://www.pcgamer.com/sacred-cows-killing-your-darlings-vol-1/

I should compliment the guy for remembering Christy Marx, the writer of my favourite Sierra adventure, Conquests of Camelot, and for rightfully calling out GTA 4's awfulness. Otherwise, that list is pretty shitty, he's really trying too hard on the KQ hate - and I loved Blade Runner back when it came out. Granted, I haven't played it in a very long time...

Was there ever a volume 2?

 

[Crooked Bee]

Was there ever a volume 2?

I don't think so. Can't find it anywhere, not even on the list of all Cobbett's articles on his website.

 

[Sceptic]

Played with a walkthrough, you can finish it in just over an hour - a pathetic amount of time compared to games of the era that would add hours and hours of important gameplay time through simple techniques like mazes

This, and other parts of the DOTT review, make me think that Cobett is a masterful writer using the most hilarious inversion ever to show why these games are in fact the best adventure games ever made. Unfortunately, the alternative is that he's the stupidest person to ever write about video games, which would be quite a feat. Taking the article alone, Occam's razor suggests it MUST be the former. I am ever so slightly worried that, taking into account everything else he's ever written (and the fact that KQ is on the list - I like KQ, a lot, but it doesn't belong on a best ever list), it just might be the latter.

 

[Jaesun]

Frictional Games ‏@frictionalgames 3m3 minutes ago
In case you have not played the Penumbra series you can now get all games real cheap on steam: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/32031/

 

[Infinitron]

Sierra's Gold Rush! released on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/308000/

(see here for more information: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/gog-com.69065/page-162#post-3261715)

Kind of expensive for such an old game, though, isn't it?

Crooked Bee What do you know, that German shovelware studio remake is coming out in two days: http://store.steampowered.com/app/319230/

In 1988, Rush appeared with Gold! in one of the most comprehensive adventure games of the 1980s. Now, the fondly remembered game, Gold Rush! has been developed anew, to today’s highest standards. No aspect of modern gaming has been overlooked. You can experience the famous California Gold Rush with high-resolution graphics, speech synthesis, a superb sound track and modern user interface features. Optimized game-flow will enhance your traveling and interactions with other characters of the period.

Gold Rush! takes you back to the year 1849, when gold was discovered in California. It was certainly one of the most exciting times in American history. Gold Rush! includes the three routes tens of thousands took to the gold regions. Become Jerrod Wilson and experience each trek as you travel from New York to California.

Whichever route you decide to take, you will see many historical sights. Try going overland across the Great Plains and huge mountain ranges, crossing the Isthmus of Panama, or rounding Cape Horn on the tip of South America. If you survive and arrive at Sutter’s Fort, the adventure is still only half over! Many other puzzles remain to be solved before you achieve your goals in California.

Features:

• Over 130 pre-rendered images and animated scenes in full HD
• Three different routes west (3 adventures in one game)
• High quality voices and new recorded music
• Subtitles in English or German (Point & Click!)
• Optimized game-flow (minimizing dead-ends and random perils)
• Two possibilities for controlling (original parser as well as a new intelligent Point&Click control)
• [Digital version for Steam: Requires Steam account for installation (online connection necessary)]
• [DRM-free, play without Steam and without internet connection]

Bonus item: (Normal Edition)

• Historical map of the three routes

Bonus item: (Special Edition)

• Over 90 unpublished original concept drawings of the developer from the 80s, as png
• Booklet with unpublished original concept drawings of the developer from the 80s, as pdf
• Making-of booklet, as pdf
• Gold Rush! Classic version

 

[Infinitron]

Played with a walkthrough, you can finish it in just over an hour - a pathetic amount of time compared to games of the era that would add hours and hours of important gameplay time through simple techniques like mazes

This, and other parts of the DOTT review, make me think that Cobett is a masterful writer using the most hilarious inversion ever to show why these games are in fact the best adventure games ever made. Unfortunately, the alternative is that he's the stupidest person to ever write about video games, which would be quite a feat. Taking the article alone, Occam's razor suggests it MUST be the former. I am ever so slightly worried that, taking into account everything else he's ever written (and the fact that KQ is on the list - I like KQ, a lot, but it doesn't belong on a best ever list), it just might be the latter.

Wait, what? You saw the end of that part, right?

And in case you haven't noticed, I am totally lying through my teeth about all of this to see how many people rush to the comment thread without bothering to read any of the words.

 

[Sceptic]

Wait, what? You saw the end of that part, right?

No, I eventually stopped. Which brings us to: what's the point, exactly? Click- and comment-baiting? Because no matter that last phrase, I can't fathom any other reason for this. Especially when there ARE people who think that adventure games should only be played with a walkthrough and that fluff to increase the length is OK. I mean, we had these discussions here on the 'dex. So again.... what's the point?

 

[Astral Rag]

The Steam version of The Black Mirror has just received an update:

Hello,
We just published an update to bring the Steam version on the same level as our retail version and the GoG version. This should fix crashes.

Have fun!
http://steamcommunity.com/app/292930/discussions/0/620696522035243598/

 

[Crooked Bee]

Lots of (French) adventure games on this GOG weekend sale: http://af.gog.com/promo/weekend_promo_french_launch_071114?as=1649904300

Including Syberia 1 & 2, Fahrenheit, Still Life 1 & 2, Dracula, Runaway 1-3, Postmortem, and the Atlantis series.

 

[Crooked Bee]

So the Gold Rush remake is 29,99€ (25,49€ with the 15% discount): http://store.steampowered.com/app/319230/



It also looks like this:

Also there's DLC and you don't even get the original version unless you pay 4,99€ extra.

 

[Jaesun]

That's some fucking quality marketing right there.

 

[abnaxus]

The entire Cryo catalog should be on GOG. There are some really obscure adventure games that almost nobody outside France likely played but I still have fond memories of them. Like Ring saga, Thorgal and Pompei trilogy.

 

[Infinitron]

So the Gold Rush remake is 29,99€ (25,49€ with the 15% discount): http://store.steampowered.com/app/319230/

Check out the reviews.

Hi, what i liked is i was just about to start playing it ........

what i dont like is i cant play it now .....

wtf steam what happened ?

i only added it to my account an hour ago ....

afk for 30mins.... and yeah no go ?

I can not recommend this game as i have just found out the devs / steam made a mistake and have removed it from my library.

Bought the game - then after few hours it was revoken from me.

Don't buy from this publisher.

Devs mislabelled DLC as Special Edition of main game, try to blame people who bought it, remove the games from their libraries, all while pretending that it was labelled correctly the entire time we bought it. When proved wrong, tell people to "Ask steam for refund", despite Steam not allowing for this in their terms of service, before taking names for a list to get refunds to, despite some people having traded for those copies.

The game itself? Might be okay. I'd be able to write more if I had a chance to play it after buying it.

wtffffffff. More here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/319230/discussions/

Way to start on the right foot.