Top Ten Adventures Roy Sim's Top Ten Adventures ---------------------------- (1) Dungeon Master (FTL) The rumours about how good this game was spread like wildfire back in early 1988. I got my copy through a mail order company and played it to death (literally). I re-started five times having got up to the fourth or fifth levels before my various adventurers died. Eventually I battled through to finish the game, almost a year after I had started. The atmosphere was brilliant. No other game has since measured up to it in my opinion (not even Eye of the Beholder or its sequel), although 'Chaos Strikes Back' wasn't far off. (2) Guild of Thieves (Magnetic Scrolls) This is what people today would call a traditional adventure. I loved it because it was huge, it was challenging, and it had some excellent graphics. The puzzle in the bank with the parrot and the bottle of bubbly had me banging my head against a wall for days! (3) Jinxter (Magnetic Scrolls) When I first completed it, I wouldn't have rated this game as highly because at the time I was incredibly annoyed with the end of the game. However, with the passing of time I've realised that it was a fine challenging adventure with some great graphics despite the infuriating ending. Another good adventure from Magnetic Scrolls. (4) The Price of Magik (Level 9 Computing) I originally played it on the 128k Spectrum, but it's the same game on 16 bit (with digitised graphics) so I can bung it in. This was in my opinion Level 9's best game. The inclusion of a few role playing stats to the characters and the many spells available made it very enjoyable to play. It was also very large and the ending had two options - the first time I've ever come across this in any adventure game. (5) Chaos Strikes Back (FTL) Despite feeling that this sequel to Dungeon Master is too hard, I've enjoyed dipping back into it every so often even though I've come nowhere near to completing it yet. It's a shame there weren't more new monsters and perhaps a few new spells but it's still a fine sequel. (6) Ultima Underworld (Origin) Technically the most impressive thing I've ever seen on a PC. The atmosphere generated by this game is incredible thanks to the realtime 3D rotating graphics system (or whatever it is they call it). The game is pretty good to play too, but after the first few levels it seems to become a little repetitive. (7) Legend (Mindscape) Infinitely better than its predecessor (Bloodwych), Legend has plenty of tough logic puzzles, thousands of monsters to bash and a great magic system that allows you to invent some very spectacular spells along the way. The game is also pretty huge and challenging. The isometric graphics work well as does the combat system (the first time one has worked well in an isometric environment). If you play it correctly you can end up with some very strong and powerful characters (with well over a million experience points!). (8) Lurking Horror (Infocom) This is the only Infocom adventure that I've played all the way through and completed. I never really got into the Infocom series until quite late on, but Lurking Horror seemed to be the sort of game I liked. The story and setting were chilling and the puzzles were quite taxing in places. (9) Red Moon (Level 9) Another example of a good text adventure with a few role playing stats thrown to make combat a little bit more interesting. (If only I'd known about the bug that allowed you to bury every foe you come across and thus avoid a fight!). The plot was very atmospheric and it was bettered by the sequel (The Price of Magik). (10) Colossal Adventure (Level 9) Pure nostalgia here. This was the first adventure I played on our old 32k BBC Model B Micro. It is of course the original adventure with an extended end game with more puzzles, locations and points. There are so many versions and variations of this game available but this still is my favourite. A few others that missed out because they were only on eight bit include Lords of Midnight, Doomdark's Revenge, Twin Kingdom Valley and Franklin's Tomb. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Theo Clarke's Top Ten Adventures: -------------------------------- 1. Loom - the most enchanting adventure yet to flip my bits. This is the only adventure game that I have played more than twice. It is like a favourite film and I keep revisiting it. 2. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - I thought that my affection for this game was mere nostalgia until I had to play it again recently for a review of The Lost Treasures of Infocom. It is funny and challenging with a unique structure and a rare self-consistency. 3. Leisure Suit Larry 3 - Fine graphics, an entertaining plot and sophisticated puzzles. This is the peak of the series. 4. Humbug - Absurd coherence is the secret of the appeal of this fascinating game. 5. The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes - A disk-hogging monster but the atmosphere and the subtle unfolding of the plot are truly satisfying. 6. Darkseed - Visually the best adventure that I have seen to date. It also makes sophisticated use of sound and provides rewarding puzzles. 7. Wonderland - I did not expect anyone to enhance Lewis Carroll's masterpiece but this is on a par with Dennis Potter's Dream Child as an ancillary contribution to the canon. 8. Spellcasting 101 - This is here for the brilliance of the Island of Lost Soles segment but the game is fatally flawed by the freedom with which players can follow a one-way blind alley for hours. 9. Corruption - A sophisticated use of quasi-real-time progress. This is another of those "almost-to-the-end-except-for-the-early- thing-that-you-missed" games but it is fascinating despite that. 10. Code-Name: Iceman - A highly atmospheric game marred only by the ferocious complexity of the arcade sequences. Oh yes... if Fool's Errand is eligible then that slots in as choice number eight. @~Yes it is (and a great game it was too!) so make that: @~8. Fool's Errand @~9. Spellcasting 101 @~10. Corruption. The running total is: 101 pts Dungeon Master 45 pts Chaos Strikes Back 41 pts Lurking Horror 37 pts Enchanter 36 pts Trinity 33 pts Wishbringer 28 pts Leather Goddesses 25 pts Loom 23 pts Guild of Thieves 21 pts Beyond Zork, Demon's Winter 20 pts Planetfall 17 pts Jinxter, Sorcerer 16 pts Ultima IV 15 pts Bard's Tale 1, Stationfall, Xenomorph 14 pts Hitchhikers' Guide 13 pts Infidel 12 pts Larry 3, Drakkhen, Time and Magik 11 pts Phantasie III, Spellbreaker, Zork II, Manhunter San Francisco 10 pts Lords of Time, Eye of the Beholder 9 pts Monkey Island 1, Fish 8 pts Pirates, Zak McKracken, Bard's Tale 3 7 pts Corruption, Humbug, Price of Magik, Monkey Island 2, Ultima V, Sorcerer, Ingrid's Back 6 pts Lost Files of Sherlock Homes, Journey, The Four Symbols, Phantasie I, Captive 5 pts Darkseed, Ultima Underworld, Manhunter New York, Jacaranda Jim, Dragonflight, Sleeping Gods Lie, Hammer of Grimmold, Bard's Tale 2, Suspect, Larry 2 4 pts Wonderland, Legend, Rigel's Revenge, Zork Zero 3 pts Fool's Errand, Mortville Manor, Cortizone, Ballyhoo, Deja Vu, Jade Stone, Witness, Wizard's Crown, Space Quest 1 2.5 pts Zork I 2 pts Spellcasting 101, Red Moon, Phantasie II, Infestation, Legend of the Sword, Camelot, Bureaucracy, Operation Stealth 1 pt Colossal (Level 9), Plundered Hearts, Future Wars, Wizard's Tower, Jade Stone, Football Director II 1/2 pt Zork III @~To vote in the Top Ten, just send in your choices, number them @~1st to 10th and preferably give brief comments on why you voted @~for each game. 10 points are awarded for 1st place down to 1 @~point for 10th place. @~Also if anyone would like to amend their Top Ten because of new @~releases or whatever, that's no problem. Just send me your @~revised list (see Letters section this issue).