Top Ten Adventures @~To register your votes, 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Three Top Tens this issue, from Greg Lord, Brian Burke and BMK. 1. LORD GREGORY'S TOP TEN 1) ULTIMA V Basic sound & graphics, but attention to detail in creating a complete fantasy world engrosses you in it more than any game I've seen (till Ultima VI when I get a 1 Meg upgrade & the rest of the series when I get a PC) 2) ISHAR Good gameplay, very atmospheric: best sound & graphics of any game I've played (till Ishar 2 when I get, &...etc...) 3) MONKEY ISLAND Beautiful graphics, best user interface ever, great gameplay & above all hilarious from start to finish (till Monkey Island 2 when...) 4) BARD'S TALE Primitive graphics & no sound, but engrossing gameplay. (Yes, I know #2 & #3 are on the PC, OK?) 5) UNINVITED Spooky, if basic, & 1 of only 3 games that have made me jump out of my skin. (And the rest of the series are all on my ST, so there!) 6) SHADOWGATE Good gameplay; similar to above. 7) DEJA VU " " " " " 8) BLOODWYCH Nothing special, but hey - it's an RPG! 9) DEJA VU 2 Just started (believe it or not) but looks good. 10) LEISURE-SUIT LARRY Ordinary old game redeemed by its sense of humour & novelty value. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. TOP TEN ADVENTURES a personal selection by Brian Burke 1. DUNGEON MASTER - the original "heart-in-mouth" CRPG. A benchmark production even now. The follow up, Chaos, was a real pig to map and had me going for weeks trying for a fit until the penny dropped. 2. AMBERSTAR - No apologies from me for this one. A class game in every sense with some mind wrenching riddles. Beautiful colours, seamless scrolling. Can't wait for the sequel. 3. INDIANA JONES - the simplicity of the control system, the humour and the breadth of the games are great. Really captures the atmosphere of the films. I'm a little biased 'cos this was the first film I watched when I bought a video. 4. JOURNEY - who'd have thought that text adventuring could be made so much fun. Admittedly I probably wouldn't have played it if there hadn't been any graphics. I liked the summary at the end of where points had been missed. Infocom rules - OK? 5. UNINVITED - a windows game before its time. Is this the game that inspired Magnetic Scrolls to develop its new system? The others in the series are worth a look too. Deja Vu I & II and Shadowgate. 6. POOL OF DARKNESS - I could list most SSI Gold Box games but I've singled this one out 'cos it's the toughest (isn't it Ron?). SSI still have to surpass this game engine although I admit that the graphics are sorely lacking - RIP. 7. ABANDONED PLACES - OK, so you need the patience of a saint to get through the monster encounters on the main map. Once in the Dungeons though it's a great challenge and a meaty task to boot. 8. FAERY TALE - Super scrolling, super colour, super graphics for its time, atmospheric music, super sprites and a massive quest - all on one disc. How did they do it? Still a landmark. 9. SPACE QUEST - this series from Sierra demonstrates how to integrate puzzles and humour at the same time. I confess that I didn't like the arcade elements in the early games much but now that's gone away. 10. PIRATES - now superseded by Pirates Gold and not strictly an Adventure or an RPG. Nonetheless this is the game that kept me from my bed the longest. Just one more bit of treasure to find...now where's that Silver train now.....then I'll save... 3. BMK's Top Ten Your fave contributor gives his top ten adventures. (And I'll read my list in the style of someone engrossed in a game of Space Invaders.) At NUMBER ONE we have errm, Dungeon Master, the original and still the best. At NUMBER TWO we have erh, Monkey Island 2, recently played, recently completed. I've only just had my stitches sewn up! At NUMBER THREE we have Civilisation, can't wait for the second one. At NUMBER FOUR we have erh, Monkey Island 1, my kinda humour. At NUMBER FIVE we have erh, Space Quest 3, , dated, basic, but I still have fond memories. At NUMBER SIX we have erh, Operation Stealth, no true colour graphics but a great adventure. At NUMBER SEVEN we have erh, Chaos Strikes Back, great game, but a shame they didn't improve the control system. At NUMBER EIGHT we have errrrh, Lemmings 2, yea, yea , erh, I know it's not an adventure, but Lemmings HAVE turned up in SynTax a lot for some reason! At NUMBER NINE we have erh, Future Wars, I just love those games! And at NUMBER TEN we have Another World, mainly 'cos I completed it hours faster than my mate James Judge who is a flukey git (but it is a great game too)!! @~The new running total for 1994 is: 29 pts Dungeon Master 12 pts Chaos Strikes Back, Uninvited 10 pts Ultima V, World of Xeen (Clouds and Darkside) 9 pts Monkey Island, Amberstar, Ishar 8 pts Civilisation, Monkey Island, Indiana/Last Crusade 7 pts Eye of the Beholder II, Bards Tale, Journey 6 pts Space Quest 3, Xenomorph 5 pts Operation Stealth, BAT II, Shadowgate, Pools of Darkness 4 pts Knightmare, Deja Vu, Abandoned Places 3 pts Lemmings 2, Betrayal at Krondor, Bloodwych, Faery Tale 2 pts Future Wars, Eye of the Beholder III, Deja Vu II, Space Quest 1 pt Another World, Captive, Larry 1, Pirates (Votes so far by Alex van Kaam, Greg Lord, Brian Burke and BMK) Dungeon Master in the lead again!? - o -