Point And Click Adventures Were The Shit

[Seil]

I just spent three days looking for a work-around for an issue I had in Quest For Glory V. Why did I do that? The same reason I spent $20 on The Leisure Suit Larry collection and played through the first Sam And Max episode on the Wii. I love those point and click "action/adventure" games. Heck, I even love text games, like Zork or Gallahad.

Anyways, I have to point out that Quest For Glory V is by far the best P&C game out there, or at least the best I've played. Simple puzzle solving, great graphics, great story-line and bursting with humor - the first main character is named "Kokeeno Pokameeso," which literally translates to "Red Shirt.". The plot for each Quest game seems to differ, but characters return - Elsa, Torro, Katrina, Erana, Rakeesh all appear in V. Rakeesh is a Liontaur paladin. He's awesome.

The story in QFGV is that the king of Silmaria has been murdered, and in order to choose a successor, each potential ruler has to enter something called "The Rites Of Rulership." These tasks involve defeating the Hydra, speaking with an Oracle, traveling to Atlantis - each handled beautifully. The intro cinematic tells us that a dragon once roamed the land (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o31kfmrT4z0), and something something similar to the opening cinematic from Oblivion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGyw_0IG5s0).

There's four playable classes - Fighter, Thief, Wizard and Paladin. Each are balanced with skill sets, weaknesses and strengths - something you can say about this game is it's very easy to get into. Anyway, each class has a different experience while following the same storyline. For instance, while skills are dependent on Honor as a Paladin (You gain skills the more honor you get, and lose them the more you lose) as a Thief, you can rob the bank. Repeatedly. Wizards have unique spells, the fighter... fights stuff. It all depends on what your play style is.

Anyhow, the whole last bit is fantastic, from the last right to the end, while the game itself is colorful and varied and interesting enough to help waste a weekend. The game play matches later games of the same type, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4e6z2ZyvnE) but it looks pretty, sounds pretty and is an all around great find.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Quest for Glory 5, really? Well to each his own, but I found that QFG5 was a tad overdone. Then again, its been years since I played it last.

Personally, I think Quest for Glory 2 is the highlight of the series. The recent fan remake (http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/qfg2/homepage/homepage.html)of the game makes up for any of the original's graphic shortcomings. (Well, its at least better than the original. And available for free even...)

The Longest Journey (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_longest_journey) still stands up fairly well, and pretty much is the high point of the old point & click gaming scene.

Plus, you can't go wrong with a good old Lucasarts title. Like Full Throttle, or Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis.

SWB
Dosbox (http://www.dosbox.com/) & ScummVM (http://www.scummvm.org/)are best friends to people (like myself) who actually have some of the original stuff.

This place (http://www.adventuregamers.com/) is a pretty good resource on Adventure games as well.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

What, 2 posts and no mention of Broken Sword already? They were only some of the best point and click games ever made guys.

I still have number 2 around here somewhere, I should reinstall that sometime.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Broken Sword 1 was fantastic. BS2, well I remember it being a tad disjointed in comparison, but I can't recall exactly why.

Discworld Noir was pretty good too, in its own fashion. At least it was better thant the prior Discworld games, which really were just an excuse to have Eric Idle prattle on about Discworld themes.

SWB

[Green Spanner]

I need to find Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis some time. I recently did a 'play all the point and click adventures from my youth', and that's the only one I haven't done.

For reference, the other games in question were Sam and Max, Monkey Island 1 and 2 and Day of the Tentacle.

[bluestarultor]

You people! Honestly, no mention of Legend games?

[links removed upon request]

Something for everyone! Well, along with Spellcasting 101 and its sequels, but I'm not posting those. ;)

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Grim Fandango shits out games like those mentioned here. Not even top quality, good consistency shit either, like diarrhea tastic shit.

[Seil]

Day of the Tentacle looked pretty great and I think it's a Schaefer game. I'll probably play that after I finish QFG4.

And QFG5 was great, what are you talking about?

[Sky Warrior Bob]

You people! Honestly, no mention of Legend games?
Something for everyone! Well, along with Spellcasting 101 and its sequels, but I'm not posting those. ;)

Blue, you might want to pull those links, as I think they go against a forum rule. (As abandonware is a fictional term & I think posting linkage is along the lines of discussing ROMs.)

Feel free to discuss adventure games you like however.

Grim was great story wise & puzzles were good for this game. However, I despise the game for bringing us a keyboard only adventure game engine. While Lucasarts only produced 3 games using that system, there are any number of games that attempted to use this system.

It worked for Grim, but it didn't really work for any other game. (Well except for the recent Tales of Monkey Island games, but that's more of a mixed system.)

Kevin

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Day of the Tentacle is pretty great

There you go. It also has a second awesome game inside of it.

[synkr0nized]

Blue, you might want to pull those links, as I think they go against a forum rule. (As abandonware is a fictional term & I think posting linkage is along the lines of discussing ROMs.)

Yes; truth.

[CABAL49]

The Curse of Monkey Island games shall always have a place in my heart.

[krogothwolf]

Grim Fandango shits out games like those mentioned here. Not even top quality, good consistency shit either, like diarrhea tastic shit.

Grim Fandango was the awesomess awesome game ever!

First pointy clicky games I played were the King Quest games. Plus Leisure suit Larry as I was a pre-teen boy who thought it was cool to try to get women as a character.

[DFM]

I tried to get Grim Fandango working not too long ago, but after the intro movie it would freak out and the actual game was visually ripped and warping all over the place and I think it froze everytime I tried to run it.

Monkey island and Sam and Max, though, those are awesome.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

You need a patch to run Grim Fandago on modern computers. It pretty easy to find. Also make sure to patch it even if you get it to run because there is one part that is impossible to complete (you can't move fast enough to do what you need to) without the patch

[bluestarultor]

Blue, you might want to pull those links, as I think they go against a forum rule. (As abandonware is a fictional term & I think posting linkage is along the lines of discussing ROMs.)

Feel free to discuss adventure games you like however.

Yes; truth.

Actually, abandonware is perfectly legal. The reason I use that site is because they know and strictly follow the laws. As much as business likes to skew and confuse the issue, there are real provisions to which a game can become abandoned.

On the other hand, I'm not going to argue the issue further than to say that ROMs are and will likely always be illegal, but that they are not to be confused with games that are validly abandonware and not oldwarez, which that particular site does not support in any way, shape, or form.

Links removed on request. I think we can all be adults about this and not let it turn into a flame war.

[Meister]

I think we can all be adults about this and not let it turn into a flame war.
What the hell dude no one got even remotely close to that here.

[bluestarultor]

What the hell dude no one got even remotely close to that here.

I know, and I was trying to find a better way to put it, but couldn't think of one. Maybe "argument" would have been more appropriate.

The point being, I don't want to argue over the lines between abandonware and ROMs and oldwarez and piracy and junk. They rarely end well.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

The Curse of Monkey Island games shall always have a place in my heart.

You might want to have that looked at. Having a CD lodged in your chest can't be good.

I tried to get Grim Fandango working not too long ago, but after the intro movie it would freak out and the actual game was visually ripped and warping all over the place and I think it froze everytime I tried to run it.

Monkey island and Sam and Max, though, those are awesome.

First, have you tried either of these programs? Grim Setup (http://quick.mixnmojo.com/grim-fandango-setup) Grim Launcher (http://quick.mixnmojo.com/grim-fandango-launcher)

I think one or the other helped me play the game on my Vista system, but I'm not sure which I used.

SWB

[bluestarultor]

Well, since I removed my links, I'm going to go ahead and just discuss Legend's brilliance here, because I'm too lazy to make it an edit.

Born from the ashes of Infocom, Legend brought the humor of Steve Meretzki (sp?) back to the world, this time with pretty graphics. Of Legend's brilliance, I have only personally sampled the following, but I keep finding more:

Superhero League of Hoboken:
This is a great game if you're as old as I am and get the political and pop culture references. It takes place largely in New York and the surrounding areas post-apocalypse. Real care was actually taken with the topography to show an accurate portrayal of New York if sea level rose 30 feet, but the game is about as far from serious as you can get as you lead a hero with a useless superpower against an evil jack-in-the-box with a team of OTHER heroes whose superpowers range from increasing a foe's cholesterol to seeing inside of pizza boxes without opening them. As ridiculous as every power seems, they mesh beautifully with ridiculous puzzles and enemies you have to solve and kill. The graphics are dated, but still won't make you hurl, and the thought of your rag-tag team prancing around in everything from monocles to oven mitts and wielding weaponry ranging from deer antlers to trained bees all blends seamlessly into a game that's endearingly silly, easy to play, and honest enough to be funny. I loved it as a kid when we first picked it out of a bargain bin and it's still fun today. This game is responsible for me falling in love with Legend.

Companions of Xanth:
Legend's team-up with Piers Anthony, even originally packaged with Demons Don't Dream. This was also their first true graphical adventure. The punniness of Xanth's world is definitely there, and the puzzles, minus only three, are all logical in their own oblique way. (Hint: the answer is that he means "four one two", but that's really the only part that will stump you due to a lack of a decent clue what to look for.) This game actually got me into the Xanth series of books. There are a couple items you don't need to use and some stuff there just to trip you up, but it's overall a solid game despite its flaws. It also has the best credits theme ever.

Deathgate:
This one actually shocked me when I started in on it, because it's nothing, I mean nothing, like the previous Legend games I'd played. And I loved it just the same. Deathgate is Legend's proof to the world they actually had range, because it's probably the most serious, intelligent adventure game I've ever seen. It makes you think, and the game seems to dwarf the other two titles in size and magnitude, but if not in reality, then seemingly so in its presence. The puzzles don't hold your hand or insult your intelligence, and you will probably fail multiple times in places, not because the puzzle is bull, but because the game puts you on the spot in devious ways designed to bring out your innate stupidity, making solving them all the more rewarding. You gain powers that all serve a purpose as you progress, and items may be useful more than once. The game reminds you that your character is far from invincible in its puzzles, often relying on you to act on impulse, and making damn sure that you will as it gets into your head. Deathgate is a finely crafted masterwork from beginning to end.



Man, talking about these again makes me want to re-play them. XD

[Mike McC]

Actually, abandonware is perfectly legal. The reason I use that site is because they know and strictly follow the laws. As much as business likes to skew and confuse the issue, there are real provisions to which a game can become abandoned.Actually, the statement that 'abandonware' is a bullshit term is completely accurate. It's not rigorously defined, and some 'abandonware' still has copyrights in effect, making it piracy as well.

The stuff that is safe to release is stuff that has been released into the public domain, either by the copyright lapsing or the creators releasing it into the public domain. So check to make sure that is the case before linking, even if your site claims to 'follow the laws'. Remember, even is a company no longer exists, that doesn't mean that the copyright didn't default to the authors of the game.

In short: Don't trust the label abandonware. There are far better labels that are not ambiguous.

Anyhow, an Adventure game I still enjoy and occasionally return to today is Shivers, and it's sequel. Very puzzle centric with slight touches of horror, it was very well done.

[bluestarultor]

Actually, the statement that 'abandonware' is a bullshit term is completely accurate. It's not rigorously defined, and some 'abandonware' still has copyrights in effect, making it piracy as well.

The stuff that is safe to release is stuff that has been released into the public domain, either by the copyright lapsing or the creators releasing it into the public domain. So check to make sure that is the case before linking, even if your site claims to 'follow the laws'. Remember, even is a company no longer exists, that doesn't mean that the copyright didn't default to the authors of the game.

In short: Don't trust the label abandonware. There are far better labels that are not ambiguous.

Anyhow, an Adventure game I still enjoy and occasionally return to today is Shivers, and it's sequel. Very puzzle centric with slight touches of horror, it was very well done.

I said this elsewhere, but I'll reiterate it here. I rely exclusively on the site I linked because they have the strictest definition on the market (which I suppose I take for granted) and enforce it vigilantly. By their definition, it's not abandoned until there is literally no one left to speak for it, they do some pretty thorough research into whether there's anyone at all who legally can, and if they get so much as a phone call, the archive comes down. If I had any doubts as to whether it was legal or not, I wouldn't have posted the links.

As Synk and I seem to have agreed, again, elsewhere, it's at worst a legal gray area simply due to a lack of precedent, but bears the most similarity to orphaned works law, which simply hasn't yet been applied to it.


Edit: At any rate, I'm not going to argue this further. The links are down and if anyone wants to check out the games I mentioned, they're not exactly hard to find.

[Mike McC]

I said this elsewhere, but I'll reiterate it here. I rely exclusively on the site I linked because they have the strictest definition on the market (which I suppose I take for granted) and enforce it vigilantly. By their definition, it's not abandoned until there is literally no one left to speak for it, they do some pretty thorough research into whether there's anyone at all who legally can, and if they get so much as a phone call, the archive comes down. If I had any doubts as to whether it was legal or not, I wouldn't have posted the links.Still very dubious, as the Legend Entertainment label was owned by the current incarnation of Atari when it was shut down, so it's likely that Atari still holds the rights to all those games.

[Seil]

Either way, the prices for a game more than a decade old are pretty high.
(http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=Day+of+the+tentacle&_sacat=See-All-Categories)

[DFM]

Funny you should bring that up, pirate.

Grim Fandango finally works BHS you are a life saver.

[Mike McC]

Either way, the prices for a game more than a decade old are pretty high.
(http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=Day+of+the+tentacle&_sacat=See-All-Categories)*links to mostly fairly reasonable prices* "OMG SO EXPENSIVE!"

Yeah, I honestly think paying $30~$40 is totally worth it for Day of the Tentacle, so I don't see the issue.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Amazon.com is the place to go for Adventure games, Ebay jacks up the price like nobody's business. Lucasarts stuff is still pretty pricey there as well (except maybe for the Mac versions), but other than that everything is pretty reasonable.

I expect that Lucasarts will put up Day of the Tentacle & other such titles on Steam.

All that aside, I perfectly understand the legitimate reasoning behind considering the Abandonware route. However, because of its questionable legal status (no court rulings either way), it just isn't something I bother to truck with. Or is worth any potential (if albeit, very unlikely) trouble it could cause for the forum.

Not to say I'm perfect by any means, as I have helped out people absolutely desperate for one adventure game or another. However, when I've done that, its always been for free, and something I've taken off-line.

SWB
- DFM who is BHS?

[Mike McC]

DFM who is BHS?Smarty McBarrelpants. He used to be Barrel-Hating Sycophant or something like that.

[Lyaer]

I love these types of games. Anyone play any of the amateur ones that have been pouring out lately? A Tale of Two Kingdoms, despite the overly generic Dickens ripoff of a title, is an absolute must play for anyone who still has fond memories of games like King's Quest and Quest for Glory.

[Seil]

Funny you should bring that up, pirate.

Hey - I bought Quest For Glory V, thank you very much. It's sitting atop my computer now.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

I love these types of games. Anyone play any of the amateur ones that have been pouring out lately? A Tale of Two Kingdoms, despite the overly generic Dickens ripoff of a title, is an absolute must play for anyone who still has fond memories of games like King's Quest and Quest for Glory.

Yeah, Tale of Two Kingdoms is pretty decent (http://www.crystalshard.net/atotk.php). Certainly the best long fan-made adventure I've played. However, I'm REALLY looking forward to Quest (http://www.infamous-adventures.com/index.php?page=qfi) for Infamy (http://www.adventuregamers.com/gameinfo.php?id=623).

I have hopes this one will see light of day, as they did a pretty good King's Quest 3 remake, and it looks like they're getting closer to finishing the Space Quest 2 remake. QfI sounds like it could be really good.

SWB