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 Top Ten links with a letter from Laura, printed @~first, which explains the absence of Dungeon Master from her @~list. Dear Sue, The recent debate about RPGs has urged me to put cursor to screen and chip in with my top ten adventures. First of all I have to confess that I too belong to the Dungeon Master clan. I think it is a classic. It has a tremendous creepy atmosphere and is elegantly put together. After all, this huge game fits onto one ST sized floppy. Though it is very linear, it is the original and develops progressively so that the player becomes better as time goes on. The linearity makes the game more focused, thus avoiding periods wandering around almost aimlessly without a real target. Linearity can be frustrating, but John Barnsley's excellent booklet is an ideal companion to help you through the maze of dungeons. To conclude, I think that Dungeon Master is justly the number one. However since it is in a league of its own and to avoid being boring I have not included it in my list. My Top Ten Adventures (ex Dungeon Master) by Laura A. Duncan 1. Ultima Underworld II creates a convincing reality with great atmosphere and special effects. The attention to detail is second to none, e.g. roasting corn to make popcorn. The well planned series of quests keeps the interest going and the only complaint I have is that you have to work with a single character rather than a group of adventurers. 2. Day of the Tentacle is a hilarious cartoon B-movie and provides excellent light relief from more serious games. The graphics and sound are a joy and really show off the potential of the CD-ROM to the full. All that and time travel too to satisfy the withdrawal pains of Dr Who fans. 3. Civilisation is a fascinating game, simple to play (in spite of the huge manual) and very addictive. The rather plain graphics don't really matter as it is the depth and gameplay that keep you hooked. 4. Lurking Horror proves that you don't need graphics at all to be terrified and completely absorbed by a game. Perhaps text adventures have seen their day but they were probably the most mentally challenging games you could wish for. 5. Elite. Now this is an oldie but I enjoyed it so much and spent enough hours playing it that it has to be on the list. My favourite bits were the trading and strategy elements. The fighting was hard and I did most of my shooting through the rear window! 6. Monkey Island. Haven't you always had a secret longing to play a pirate? A great adventure to play with (or without) children. When you're in need of a good laugh, reach for this one. 7. Populous was such an original and well-crafted game that it was a joy just to look at, never mind to play. Endless variety kept the interest going and the challenging aspect would suit anyone. 8. Lands of Lore. Ah, back to Dungeon Master. This is a slick DM clone that perhaps is a tad too easy but nevertheless big enough in scale to last a reasonable amount of time. There is a good plot line and interesting characterisations. 9. Sim City. Another original classic that contained the magical, unpredictable and elusive quality of having great gameplay. It also works well in the updated versions. 10. Captive. (or Gabriel Knight or Myst or The Pawn or Sam and Max Hit the Road?). Another DM clone gets the vote. The great thing about droids is that when they get their limbs shot off you can just pop round the local shop and buy new ones. That's it, at last. From the list I see that it's good gameplay that is most important, a fact that the big games' producers seem to have forgotten in their rush to produce boring interactive movies. Let's hope there are still some original thinkers out there. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Adrian Sill's Top Ten --------------------- Here's my top-10 adventure games: Sentinel. The ultimate adventure of all time. This sadly missed game was the first to cause severe heart problems. Aliens. And this was the other. The first game to make me jump! (I nearly soiled my underwear the first time I was jumped by an Alien. The thickest atmosphere ever recorded). @~Ah, memories of the first time I met a screamer in Dungeon @~Master - it screeched at me, I yelled back, almost fell off my @~chair, and Alan came racing in to see what was up! Happy days!! @~...Sue Guild of Thieves. Magnetic Scrolls at their best (and a spring loaded bed). Jet Set Willy. Wow! This platform adventure was so simple and addictive that it caused my game addiction. Frontier:Elite 2. Desktop VR at its best. Awesome. Nord and Bert. I would like to see a producer veto this far out classic pun-fest nowadays! Lords of Midnight. Another vast virtual world adventure game, which gave the player the power to command armies in a tense battle-torn land. Brilliant. Wolfenstein 3D Wolf was really cool when it was first released, featuring some of the best map puzzles ever. Descent (networked). This 3D-immersive adventure is quite phenomenal in multi-player network mode. Emerald Isle. My first ever adventure game, and which caused (via the near loss of my computer from an upstairs window) my incessant urges for more than decent parsers. The storyline was good. The characters / landscape were fine. But the input system and parser were Level9-atrocious. ------------------------------------------------------------------ @~So the Top Ten for 1996 is, so far: 10 pts Dungeon Master, Ultima Underworld II, Sentinel 9 pts Chaos Strikes Back, Day of the Tentacle, Aliens 8 pts Dungeon Master 2, Civilisation, Guild of Thieves 7 pts Ravenloft 2: The Stone Prophet, Lurking Horror, Jet Set Willy 6 pts Ishar 2, Elite, Frontier:Elite 2 5 pts System Shock, Secret of Monkey Island, Nord and Bert 4 pts Ultima 8: Pagan, Populous, Lords of Midnight 3 pts Little Big Adventure, Lands of Lore, Wolfenstein 3D 2 pts UFO:Enemy Unknown, Sim City, Descent 1 pt Death Gate, Captive, Emerald Isle @~Votes so far by Alex van Kaam, Laura Duncan and Adrian Sill. - o -