Top Ten Adventures @~A new year, a new Top Ten. If no-one objects, I've decided to @~start completely from scratch this issue and run the Top Ten @~until the end of 1996. To refresh your memories, the Top Ten @~adventures (okay, 12, due to ties) according to SynTax readers @~up to the end of 1995 were: 62 pts Dungeon Master 30 pts Monkey Island I 22 pts Civilization 21 pts Chaos Strikes Back, Monkey Island 2 19 pts Time Quest, Day of the Tentacle 17 pts Eye of the Beholder II 16 pts Simon the Sorcerer 1 15 pts Monkey Island 2, Bloodwych, Humbug @~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. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To start 1996, here is a Top Ten from the person who started it all way back ... he's even included a competition this time! Alex's Top Ten -------------- 1 - Dungeon Master 1. I know it is old but I still have fond memories of it: going down the stairs, opening the gate, getting killed by that mummy, just great. I have played it with a full party but also with only 1 and his name was Hisssa (the same Hisssa that came out as worst player in one of BMK & JJ's Dungeon Master files.. a long time ago). In the end the difficulty level was always right, either with 4 or just with 1, they don't make games like that anymore :( 2 - Chaos Strikes Back. After the puzzles of Dungeon Master 1 you got the combat and the devious puzzles of Chaos Strikes Back. In my view it was a sequel that did justice to Dungeon Master 3 - Dungeon Master 2. By far not as good as Dungeon Master 1 or Chaos Strikes Back, it points much more towards the combat part but it was just fun to play, it did not pretend to be something special or new; it was just a right down to earth RPG, and therefore very enjoyable 4 - Ravenloft 2 Stone Prophet. Take the engine of Ravenloft 1, make it that bit better, add a good story, good music, good graphics and you get a great game, if it just had some more puzzles it would have reached the 3rd place 5 - Ishar 2. The best in the Ishar series, I played it a few years after Dungeon Master and it was the first game after Dungeon Master that had me so involved that my heart skipped a few beats when I turned around a corner and there was this huge red dragon, great stuff 6 - System Shock. I never would have thought that this game would have me hooked, the start was not easy but as soon as my equipment grew so did my fun. It reminded me of Xenomorph on my old ST, the same atmosphere, the weapons, the fun of blasting an alien away with a much too big gun :) 7 - Ultima 8 Pagan. In my opinion the best Ultima game, it was not toooo big and was fun to play, although the combat part was more luck than wisdom 8 - Little Big Adventure. Yes I know it points more to the arcade side than to the adventure side but it all comes down to the fun I had, and I had a lot fun helping Twinsen overthrow Dr. Funfrock 9 - UFO Enemy Unknown. Again a game that build up a very good atmosphere, you know the aliens are there ... but where ...? 10- Death Gate. A nice entertaining adventure, just right for me, I mean I can't even finish Oklib's Revenge !!!!!!!! Games that just didn't make it: All other SSI RPGs, they are all good fun but it would make my Top 10 a bit one sided. Full Throttle, far too easy. Star Trek TNG, Good fun ... but what did I really do ... can't really remember. Worst game of the Year: Ecstatica, tell you what, the first one who knows what 'Borimir' really is gets it. @~So the new Top Ten for 1996 is, so far: 10 pts Dungeon Master 9 pts Chaos Strikes Back 8 pts Dungeon Master 2 7 pts Ravenloft 2: The Stone Prophet 6 pts Ishar 2 5 pts System Shock 4 pts Ultima 8: Pagan 3 pts Little Big Adventure 2 pts UFO: Enemy Unknown 1 pt Death Gate @~Votes so far by Alex van Kaam (and that's it!) - o -