Adventure Games

[TheCorpulent1]

I just bought The Path off of Steam. It's a new, open-ended adventure game from a Dutch (I think) developer. I also learned about the Penumbra series, a survival horror/adventure hybrid that I will probably be buying after I finish The Path.

It seems there's a bit of a resurgence in the adventure department, since both are fairly new releases, and I couldn't be happier. I love the adventure genre, from point-and-click games (although those have sort of gotten boring to me lately) to 3rd-person action hybrids like Dreamfall.

Anyone else love the wonderful but woefully underappreciated adventure genre?

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Bought the Sam and Max episodes of steam a few weeks ago, they are great bubblegum time, makes a change from shooting things in the face every 30 seconds. Episodic content kinda works better for these games, everything is neatly compact into a few hours in a format (funnily enough) like a cartoon episode. Those Wallace and Gromit episodic games look like they could be pretty fun also.

I would skip the others and go straight for Penumbra: Black Plague. When the game picks up, it's awsome, enjoyed it much more than Dead Space.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm glad to hear Penumbra's good. I was thinking of buying it today, but the whole series is $20 whereas there was a special on Zeno Clash (1st-person action-adventure game) pre-orders for half off, but only for today. I'm in the midst of paying taxes and all, so I figured I should go for the cheaper option and got The Path and Zeno Clash for $20. I'll pick up Penumbra after I'm done with The Path.

I really need to get those Sam & Max games. I played demos for a couple episodes and liked them, but I never got around to buying them. What episode are they up to now?

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Theres about 10 episodes over two seasons with a third season in the works.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Damn, that's a lot. I seem to suck at them, too. I played the demo for the one where you have to get in the White House and talk to the president, but I couldn't even beat that.

Oh, do you know if the Bone episodes are still going? That's another series I wanted to play.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Never heard of them.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They were short adventure game episodes based on Jeff Smith's Bone comic series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_(comics)#Video_games

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

That Path game is kinda trippy.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, it sounds really interesting. But it also sounds like it has a point, which is good. The developer's previous game, Graveyard, was literally a game where you walk around a graveyard as an old lady, listen to a song, and potentially die. So it's kind of an indie/artsy developer. The Path actually sounds like it's fun in addition to being high-concept, though.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Yeah, it sounds really interesting. But it also sounds like it has a point

After reading one or two articles and getting to this girl.
I think the wolf is suppose to represent a pedophile.

Spoiler

Throughout the game you see things like a boot that has fell off, a rolled up rug. A wood shed and a tree with an axe halfwedged in a tree. If you don't go off the path and into the grandmothers house no one is killed. If you go off the path into the forest area the girls are killed.

When the girls wake up in the rain stumbling unable to run it seems they have raped.
Towards the end of the this girls story you see a bed spinning in house with a large object like the blade of axe pentrated threw it with the camera falling to the ground and the sound effects of something being bludgeoned with flashes of the girl.

Still not really sure if it is very clever or just very bad taste.
If that is the case I think it could rank is easily the most messed up game I have played.

Ed: Also at the titles when it shows the grandmothers house there is a very faded city backdrop.

Ed: Just relized again when you walk up to the boot the message that comes up is "someone was killed or lost a leg". The girl has a prosthetic leg. (or at least it looks like it)

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, that sounds crazy. I still haven't gotten a chance to play it. I went over to friend's house until like 2 a.m. last night and I'm working all day today. Probably gonna have to wait until Sunday, unfortunately.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I finally started playing The Path yesterday and you were absolutely right, kez. The game is freaky as s***. But it's also so innovative with its design and ambiguous in its storytelling that I find myself compelled to keep playing. Definitely a unique game, if nothing else.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Path is my new standard for the games as art argument. It's brilliant in so many ways.

 

[Brainiac 8]

The Path fails....unless it stars Roger Wilco.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't even know what you're talking about.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I don't even know what you're talking about.

Roger Wilco starred in the Space Quest series, some of the greatest adventure games of all time for the PC.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hmm, never heard of 'em. I'll have to try them sometime. I'm only now getting over my disdain for point-and-click gameplay, so I'm gonna try some more modern adventure games. The Still Life series seems interesting.

 

[Bob ROARman!]

Try the Broken Sword series.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

My friend's playing the Broken Sword game they released on the Wii right now, actually. It looks like a fun series. I'm pretty sure the Wii game is a port of a really old game, though, 'cause the sound quality is terrible and the voice acting is a little stiff.

 

[Bob ROARman!]

You might want to take a look at gog.com. Good Ole Games. They have a lot of classic PC games, including a lot of adventure games for like 6 bucks each. I was looking for Freespace 2 for like ever, but was only able to find it priced ridiculously on ebay and Amazon. Found it there for 6 bucks. The best space sim EVER, 6 bucks. Broken Sword II and III are on there as well. They got Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, the first 3 Fallout games, a bunch of others, it's an awesome site.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I've been there. I plan on buying the Earthworm Jims eventually, at least. Steam's also got a few old adventure games, including several of the old-school Lucasarts games that helped to build the genre into its current recognizable form.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Anyone here ever played Yahtzee's Chozo Mythos games?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Nope. I didn't even know Yahtzee had a game.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

He's made a bunch of small indie games. I'd recommend them:

http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/games.htm

The Chozo story is actually five games, the order goes: Five Days a Skeptic, Seven Days a Stranger (I would really suggest going with the special edition version for this one), Trilby's Notes and Six Days a Sacrifice.

When its all said and done altogether, they're about to equal to the length of actual retail game so its a great deal seeing as its free.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Cool. Gotta download those sometime.