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. ------------------------------------------------------------------ @~Two Top Tens this issue. The first is ... James Judge's Top Ten #4 Well, I bit my tongue for a year and you haven't heard from me in this section for a whole six issues of SynTax. My, haven't I been a good boy? Well, as most of you will know I have now upgraded to a PC. So, now I feel that I should revise my revised revision of my original top ten, concentrating mainly on the PC games that I have come across in the past year. That means that there will be a few notable exceptions such as Elite 2, Captive and Lemmings 2 (which is now available on the Atari ST!!!). ~@I'm not saying ANYTHING ... Sue Let's do it in reverse order to add to the excitement . 10) EMDYHTT and WYSIWYG Excuse Me Do You Have The Time and What You See Is What You Get to the uninitiated. ST games and text adventures to start off with, my my... Still, how can I fault these gems? The STAC guru can still raise her head above all the other ST programmers and say "hah! pitiful creatures, I have created two games that you can barely DREAM of". But of course she wouldn't as it isn't in her nature. Anyway, the games are great - giving new slants to the traditional text adventure (especially WYSIWYG) with nice graphics and fiendish puzzles. 9) Multi-Dimensional Thief (TGC version) - Joel Finch Another text adventure. Oh no, I'm becoming like Bev Truter! This is a truly marvellous adventure. The sense of humour is top notch (get Joel to write TV comedy is what I say!) and that makes the game a true joy to play. When it was in the original AGT version it wasn't all that good. The content was there, but due to the interface it lacked that certain spark. Now Joel has created The Games Creator (TGC) and with it re-programmed his text adventure. With little icons for get, drop etc and SVGA graphics it looks sleek to say the least. Great! 8) Bloodwych - Image Works This is what RPGs for the ST are all about. Who needs the full 3D turny-roundy stuff that the PC games are made of when you have got this old 24-carat gold nugget stashed away in your collection? Old, simple interface and rubbishy sounding it may be, but this is still one of the greatest RPG games around for the ST. Especially with its two-player option (even though my version is fatally bugged...). Sit down in a dark room with your favourite music in the background, something to drink and just immerse yourself into the game (oh, and make sure you have a book to read while your characters sleep). 7) Doom - iD Software Any PC owners who don't know what this game is all about are either new to the game or extremely dim. For the uninitiated this is THE game of '94 and one which sparked a whole wave of first-person shoot-'em-ups (currently with Descent being the best of the bunch, but Quake sounds pretty damned good too). It was addictive enough to be banned from nearly every office world-wide and showed the world just HOW to produce an arcade game - and one that ran on the hunk of plastic that 'couldn't really do arcade games'. 6) Crusaders Of The Dark Savant - US Gold Now, this is what I call a proper sit down and think RPG. A utterly huge game that would take a ridiculously long time to complete. It may be old and have a simple interface, but the atmosphere is great. It's one of those games which you either love or hate and I love it. What spoiled it for me, though, was having someone 'phoning me every day saying 'well, have you got to so and so... oh, you 're useless'. The reason for this person's seeming superiority was that he had played the game seven times before! Now, if you think that's unfair (trying to have a race to see who could complete it first between me and him) send disparaging comments to Mongoose. Oops! 5) X-Wing - Lucasarts This isn't really an arcade game, more of a flight-sim into your dreams. I can remember being totally enthralled by the magic of Star Wars and the adventures of Luke Skywalker (I had loads of the little plastic toys too!) and now my dreams have come true thanks to the programming skills of the Lucasarts team. Hop into an X-Wing and go Tie Fighter mangling, or nip into the nippy A-Wing and do a bit of scouting, all for the good of the rebels. Brill! Darth Vader watch out !!!!! 4) Ultima Underworld 2 - Origin This (and its father, Ultima Underworld) is, to me, the turning point for RPGs. This game showed that you could have a great RPG with a nifty fighting system, loads of spells, millions of monsters and a VERY detailed plot all with a full 3D first person view, detailed graphics (as long as you didn't look too closely at items) and spooky sounds. One day I shall complete it. One day... 3) Descent - Interplay Well, I had Doom so I had to have the Doom destroyer, didn't I? Just like Doom but better 'cos it's with spaceships, claustrophobic mines and FULL 3D motion!!! Roll on Descent 2... (and it's got a fully freeware demo too). 2) Civilisation - MicroProse Now I've got the PC and the PC version of the game it has sprung right back to the top of my table. There are none of the bugs I suffered in the ST version and it runs much quicker. At last now I can build spaceships, have a palace and not worry about intermittent crashes. For strategy/sim buffs there is no other company other than MicroProse and this is their crowning achievement from the mighty Sid Meier. Roll on Civilisation 2... (ooh, I have a funny feeling of deja vu!) 1) Betrayal At Krondor - Dynamix Maybe I'm just a little bit biased - being heavily addicted to Raymond E. Feist books and all, but I truly love this game. I haven't had it for long and I know Mongoose feels I should have completed it in a week (or some other ridiculously small amount of time) but I just love the game. The graphics aren't great, the sound isn't too special and the interface is OK. It's the story that I love, just in the proper Feist style too. Hmmmm, bring me more. Roll on Betrayal At Krondor 2... (this feeling of deja vu is back again, but this time stronger!!!) Well, that's it folks. Seems I'm in luck, though, what with Civilisation 2, Descent 2, Return To Krondor and Quake all coming out this year. And of course, there are still games such as Magic Carpet and Transport Tycoon I have yet to try out. And there's Dungeon Master 2 as well. My, what a busy time will be had by one and all this year... ------------------------------------------------------------------ @~And the second is ... Top 10 Adventures by Julian Gregory 1. Ultima 7 Part 2 Wonderful story and atmosphere. 2. Timequest A different story-line for a change. I found it quite hard in places. 3. Monkey Island What can one say about a legendary game. 4. Monkey Island 2 More of the same. 5. Shadowgate An early attempt at a graphical game. Would print out a certificate when finished. 6. Journey An early 'point & click'. Nicely put together. 7. Ultima 7 Yet another great game from Lord British. 8. Zork I A nostalgic choice. I had heard so much about Infocoms that I just had to buy it when I sold my BBC for a PC. 9. Elite This game sold so many BBC computers by itself in the early days it deserves to be included. 10. Ultima 6 The start of the better Ultimas. Still good today. ------------------------------------------------------------------ @~The running total for 1994/1995 is: 52 pts Dungeon Master 30 pts Monkey Island I 22 pts Civilization 21 pts Chaos Strikes Back 19 pts Day of the Tentacle 17 pts Eye of the Beholder II 15 pts Bloodwych 14 pts Ultima V, Unnkulian series 13 pts Monkey Island 2 12 pts Journey, Uninvited, Ultima VII 11 pts Shadowgate, Captive, Emerald Isle 10 pts World of Xeen (Clouds and Darkside), Lords of Time, Level 9 adventures, Eye of the Beholder Sam and Max, Lancelot, Red Moon, Betrayal at Krondor, Ultima VII - Part 2 9 pts Simon the Sorcerer, Amberstar, Ishar, Silicon Dreams, Zork 2, Time Quest 8 pts Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Cadaver, Descent Ishar 2, Syndicate, Beneath a Steel Sky, Time and Magik, 7.5 pts Excuse Me ... 7 pts Bard's Tale 1, Dungeon Adventure, Eye o/t Beholder II, Knightmare, Jewels of Darkness, Price of Magik, Ultima Underworld 2, Multi-dimensional Thief, Frontier:Elite 2, Monkey Island II 6 pts Drakkhen, Space Quest 3, Xenomorph, Hitchhiker's Guide, Faery Tale Adventure, Humbug, Heimdall, Mountains of Ket, Ingrid's Back, Dunjin, X Wing, Chaos (PD) 5 pts Hammer of Grimmold, Operation Stealth, BAT II, Pool of Darkness, Black Crypt, Gabriel Knight, Gnome Ranger, Crusaders of the Dark Savant, 4 pts Wizard's Crown, Deja Vu, Abandoned Places, Jacaranda Jim, Shadowlands, Scapeghost, Zork 1, Doom 3 pts Trinity, Betrayal at Krondor, Dungeons and Dragons (ASCII version), The Immortal, QFG4:Shadows of Darkness, Oklib's Revenge, Lemmings 2, Zork 1 2 pts Return to Zork, Future Wars, Eye of the Beholder III, Deja Vu II, Space Quest, Golden Fleece, Four Symbols, The Test, Liberation:Captive 2, Space Quest series, Dracula, Ultima VI 1.5 pts WYSIWYG 1 pt Larry 2, Another World, Larry 1, Pirates, Space Quest 2, Helvera, Planetfall, Legend, Ultima VI 1/2 pt Enchanted Castle, Castle Elsinore (Votes so far by Alex van Kaam, Greg Lord, Brian Burke, BMK, David Stocks, James Judge (revised), Paul Vincent, Grimwold, James Jillians, Steve McGuire, John Moore, Phil Richmond, Bev Truter and Julian Gregory) @~The all-time SynTax Polls, which are updated each issue as new @~votes come in, or readers amend their votes, are as follows: 128 pts Dungeon Master 48 pts Chaos Strikes Back 46 pts Secret of Monkey Island I 41 pts Lurking Horror 39 pts Enchanter 33 pts Wishbringer 32 pts Trinity 28 pts Leather Goddesses 26 ots Secret of Monkey Island II 25 pts Loom 24 pts Eye of the Beholder II 23 pts Lemmings 2 22 pts Guild of Thieves, Civilization 21 pts Planetfall, Beyond Zork 20 pts Eye of the Beholder I, HHGTTG, Sorcerer, Bard's Tale 1, Lords of Time 19 pts Red Moon, Day of the Tentacle 18 pts Journey, Demon's Winter 17 pts Jinxter, Captive 16 pts Ultima IV, Zork 2 15 pts Bloodwych, Crusaders of the Dark Savant, Stationfall 14 pts Price of Magik, Ultima VII, Ultima V, Unnkulian Series 13 pts Ingrid's Back, Humbug, Xenomorph, Infidel, Journey, Betrayal at Krondor 12 pts Larry 3, Uninvited, Ultima Underworld 2 11 pts Phantasie III, Spellbreaker, Manhunter San Francisco, Eye of the Beholder III, Emerald Isle 10 pts World of Xeen (Clouds and Darkside), Level 9 Adventures, Sam and Max, Lancelot 9 pts Drakkhen, Ishar 1, Amberstar, Simon the Sorcerer, Pirates, Jacaranda Jim, Fish, Silicon Dreams, Timequest, Zork I 8 pts Zak McKracken, Bard's Tale III, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Cadaver, Dungeon Adventure, Four Symbols, Ishar 2, Syndicate, Beneath a Steel Sky, Time and Magik, Descent 7.5 pts Excuse Me ... 7 pts Corruption, Sorcerer, Deja Vu 1, Operation Stealth, Knightmare, Jewels of Darkness, Multi-dimensional Thief 6 pts Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes, Space Quest 3, Faery Tale Adventure, Larry 2, Heimdall, Mountains of Ket, Zork I, Dunjin, Chaos (PD), X Wing 5 pts Frontier:Elite 2, Darkseed, Ultima Underworld 1, Manhunter New York, Dragonflight, Sleeping Gods Lie, Hammer of Grimmold, Bard's Tale 2, Suspect, Shadowgate, BAT 2, Pool of Darkness, Black Crypt, Space Quest 1, Gabriel Knight, Gnome Ranger, Legend 4 pts Might and Magic III, Wonderland, Rigel's Revenge, Zork Zero, Abandoned Places, Wizard's Crown, Shadowlands, Scapeghost, Doom 3 pts Fool's Errand, Mortville Manor, Cortizone, Ballyhoo, Jade Stone, Witness, Future Wars, Dungeons and Dragons (ASCII), The Immortal, QFG4:Shadows of Darkness, Oklib's Revenge 2 pts Keys of the Wizard, Spellcasting 101, Infestation, Legend of the Sword, Camelot, Bureaucracy, Deja Vu 2, Return to Zork, Golden Fleece, The Test, Space Quest series, Dracula 1.5 pts WYSIWYG 1 pt Colossal (Level 9), Plundered Hearts, Wizard's Tower, Jade Stone, Football Director II, Larry 1, Helvera, Another World, Space Quest 2, Liberation:Captive 2, (Votes by Alex van Kaam, Neil Shipman, Alan Beer, Mark Bradshaw, Sue, Colin Campbell, Graham Wheeler, Kathy Taylor, Ian Taylor, David Stocks, Roy Sims, Theo Clarke, Matthew Pegg, Steve Cook, Grue, Steve McLaren, James Judge, James Jillians, Mongoose, Greg Lord, Brian Burke, BMK, Paul Vincent, Grimwold, Steve McGuire, John Moore, Phil Richmond, Bev Truter, Julian Gregory) - o -