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. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Sue's Revised Top Ten --------------------- Having nagged all of you to send in your Top Tens, I thought it was about time I took my own advice and revised mine which is very out of date, having appeared back in Issue 11! Then, I was an STer, and the games reflected that fact. From first to tenth place I chose Beyond Zork, Demon's Winter, Enchanter, Ingrid's Back, Manhunter 2, Sleeping Gods Lie, Lurking Horror, Jade Stone, Cortizone and Wizard's Tower. I still rate all those games highly now, but it's impossible to ignore the great strides that have been made since those days, especially with multimedia CD-ROM games. However, as we all know, flashy graphics maketh not a good game, and there have been some real turkeys released too. The hard bit has been picking just 10 games, as I'm sure the rest of you found too. And I know that as soon as this issue has gone out I'll think, darn, should have included >game x< in that list. Ah well, I can always do a #3 list another time - James is up to his 4th, after all! So, in reverse order: Fool's Errand - I first saw it on the ST, then Alan and I played it together on the PC. Then I replayed it to write the solution and enjoyed it all over again. This has got to be the best puzzle game with a weird storyline to hold it all together. I've played similar games since, including Puzzle Gallery from the same author, but none has touched it. Shadow of Yserbius - this game took me so long to play but I couldn't leave it alone. Tough in places and bugged badly in others, I plugged away at it for almost a year. Talk about value for money, and I STILL haven't started Twinion. It would have been rated higher if it hadn't been bugged and I would love to play it as a multi-user on-line game. Lost Eden - when I loaded this game and watched the introduction, I immediately felt that this game would be somewhere in my Top Ten unless it deteriorated drastically. It didn't, so here it is, at number eight! The intro gave me the same thrill as Jurassic Park and left me with a "how do they do those graphics?" feeling. The cut scenes were just as good. If you want to show off your PC, this is the game to do it. The graphics are stunning and I had no urge to turn off the music, unusually for me. In my book, the graphics are even better than Myst and the game certainly more enjoyable and playable. Maybe a tad easy but it's nice not to have to fight the controls or parser sometimes. Railroad Tycoon - this game still gets dusted off at regular intervals and I preferred the original, not the enhanced, version, first on the ST, later on the PC. I must be a frustrated train spotter. I know I've long had an urge to build a railway layout - thank heavens we haven't got room! My best line was from Italy, through the South of France to Spain, even across the Med onto Corsica. I've played most of Sid Meier's games and this is still my favourite. Lands of Lore - it must have been good on floppy but put it on CD and add Patrick Stewart as King Richard (though I still think he looked rather evil) and it was a winner. A great first RPG for those new to the genre but immense fun for those who have played a number of them too. Some frustrating bits (the ghosts and the Knowles/Xeobs section) and the inventory could have been better managed but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unnkulian Underworld - hard to pick just one Unnkulian game as the whole series was so well written. This was the first one I played so it has special memories for me. I liked the way certain themes went through the series like the monk with his fondness for eggs and all the cheez items from Acme. Text adventuring at its best. Zork Zero - my favourite Infocom game because it was so open. I have always enjoyed treasure hunt style adventures and this is one of the best I have played. It is also one of the few adventures that I have considered playing twice ... though I haven't yet done so. I was also pleased that I could answer the jester's riddles as I am usually useless at them. Under a Killing Moon - enthused about by the glossy mags when it was in the planning stage, this 4-CD extravaganza landed like a lead balloon when finally released. The main accusation was the poor acting, especially that of chap playing the hero, Tex Murphy, who was actually the game's designer. I thought he was better than the "stars" in it, especially Margot Kidder. It had a great tongue-in-cheek B-movie feel and I think it worked really well. Main moans would be the way some objects were too well hidden, the game of hide-and-seek played with the security droid and the bit resuscitating Eva which could only be done by trial and error. Might and Magic III : Isles of Terra - having given up on M&M2, I found M&M3 much more user friendly. Good puzzles, loads of places to visit, monsters galore, colourful graphics and some nice splashes of gore when you hit a monster with an arrow! I enjoyed M&M4 : Clouds of Xeen too but M&M3 pipped it to the post. Time Quest - Legend's best though not their funniest - Eric the Unready takes the prize for that, especially with its Star Trek take-off! I was hooked from start to finish as I wandered from time zone to time zone, fascinated by the changes wrought in one by my actions in another. Getting stuck, time after time (no pun intended) I always felt I was >that< close to the answer. A nicely balanced game. ------------------------------------------------------------------ @~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 Time Quest, Day of the Tentacle 17 pts Eye of the Beholder II 15 pts Bloodwych 14 pts Ultima V, Unnkulian series 13 pts Betrayal at Krondor, 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, Ultima VII - Part 2 9 pts Simon the Sorcerer, Amberstar, Ishar, Silicon Dreams, Zork 2, Might and Magic III 8 pts Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Cadaver, Descent, Ishar 2, Syndicate, Beneath a Steel Sky, Time and Magik, Under a Killing Moon 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, Zork Zero 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), Unnkulian Underworld 5 pts Hammer of Grimmold, Operation Stealth, BAT II, Pool of Darkness, Black Crypt, Gabriel Knight, Gnome Ranger, Crusaders of the Dark Savant, Lands of Lore 4 pts Wizard's Crown, Deja Vu, Abandoned Places, Jacaranda Jim, Shadowlands, Scapeghost, Zork 1, Doom, Railroad Tycoon 3 pts Trinity, Dungeons and Dragons (ASCII version), The Immortal, QFG4:Shadows of Darkness, Oklib's Revenge, Lemmings 2, Zork 1, Lost Eden 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, Shadow of Yserbius 1.5 pts WYSIWYG 1 pt Larry 2, Another World, Larry 1, Pirates, Space Quest 2, Fool's Errand, 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, Paul Vincent, Grimwold, James Jillians, Steve McGuire, John Moore, Phil Richmond, Bev Truter, Julian Gregory and Sue (some revised)) @~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 39 pts Enchanter 37 pts Lurking Horror 33 pts Wishbringer 32 pts Trinity 31 pts Enchanter 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 20 pts Eye of the Beholder I, HHGTTG, Sorcerer, Bard's Tale 1, Lords of Time 19 pts Time Quest, Red Moon, Day of the Tentacle 18 pts Journey 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 Humbug, Xenomorph, Infidel, Journey, Betrayal at Krondor 12 pts Larry 3, Uninvited, Ultima Underworld 2, Might and Magic III 11 pts Phantasie III, Spellbreaker, Eye of the Beholder III, Zork Zero, Emerald Isle, Beyond Zork 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, Zork I, Demon's Winter 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, Under a Killing Moon 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, Ingrid's Back, Unnkulian Underworld 5 pts Frontier:Elite 2, Darkseed, Ultima Underworld 1, Manhunter New York, Dragonflight, Hammer of Grimmold, Bard's Tale 2, Suspect, Shadowgate, BAT 2, Pool of Darkness, Black Crypt, Space Quest 1, Gabriel Knight, Gnome Ranger, Legend, Manhunter San Francisco, Lands of Lore 4 pts Wonderland, Rigel's Revenge, Abandoned Places, Wizard's Crown, Shadowlands, Scapeghost, Fool's Errand, Doom, Railroad Tycoon 3 pts Mortville Manor, Ballyhoo, Witness, Future Wars, Dungeons and Dragons (ASCII), The Immortal, QFG4:Shadows of Darkness, Oklib's Revenge, Lost Eden 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, Shadow of Yserbius, Dracula 1.5 pts WYSIWYG 1 pt Colossal (Level 9), Plundered Hearts, Jade Stone, Football Director II, Larry 1, Helvera, Another World, Space Quest 2, Liberation:Captive 2, Cortizone (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 -