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. ------------------------------------------------------------------ James Judge's Latest Top Ten Oh well, another year has passed and so it's time to look back into my Recycle bin and see what gems I've got lying around that have kept me quiet and content for the past twelve months (well, content, at least). The last time I wrote my Top Ten I was bored by the availability of games, and at the poor quality of them. Well, this past year has, thankfully, seen a slight end to that. However, a quick glance down my list and you'll see a lot of new games (only two are present from my old list) but you'll note that they are, on the whole, strategy games with only one RPG and no text graphical adventures. Why's this? Basically it's because I now find text games to be too soporific (probably because I'm become too Generation MTV and want my thrills big, loud, bright and fast), there have been no notable graphical games that I've played and the complete and utter failure on the behalf of games companies to release an RPG that's worthy of staying on my HDD for more than a week. So, sorry if this isn't a true 'adventure' top ten, but otherwise I'd have to be mentioning games from the dawn of time which are of little relevance today... Even with what has come to pass in the last few months, the future seems to be bright (as it often does). I'm still eagerly waiting the release of Return To Krondor (which has now changed its name, I think) as well as Dungeon Keeper, which both seem to promise to be good games for the summer/autumn (probably of 1999, but what the hell). Also the budget sector has opened up a lot, meaning that bigger and better games are being recycled quicker at lower prices - I've got a few young(ish) graphical adventures earmarked for impulse purchasing in my local HMV. Also Red Alert 2, X Wing Vs Tie Fighter, Jedi Knight, Monkey Island 3, Quake 2, and Lands Of Lore 2 all promise something special, so let's hope that I get a pay rise to buy all of this fun-inna-box. To the Top Ten!!! 10) Theme Park - Bullfrog This is an old game, and has even been on the EA Classics label for a while, but I've only been recently introduced to it. Still, this has all the elements that a good sim needs - you've got complete control over everything you want from peoples' wages through to positions of fairground rides as well as how much salt you put on your chips. What I like is the total customisation ability that Theme Park gives you. If you just want to build a theme park to watch the kids get mauled in a hundred different ways then you can select Sandbox, which has all of the more detailed elements turned off. On the other end of the scale you can go the whole hog and look after every single thing in the park, making for a very challenging game. The graphics and sonics are big and bouncy VGA affairs which are still passable and, most importantly of all, the game offers limitless possibilities. It has been superseded by Theme Hospital, but for œ10 how can you go wrong with quality like this? 9) Mechwarrior 2: The Clans - Activision Every since I was a kid and watched a film called Crash And Burn I've wanted to pilot big, hulking robots over a battlefield, dealing death with an awesome arsenal of weapons. So much better than hanging around in the air above an ocean and shooting targets that are miles off... Mechwarrior 2 is the computer equivalent of this, and so automatically becomes one of my favourite games around. What I like is the hugely strategical element in the game, from selecting your Mech through to kitting it out and then selecting a method of attack when you are actually on a mission. Another good thing is the difficulty in controlling a Mech with any degree of finesse. In simulation games such as these I prefer to be challenged at every step, instead of being given a Quake type interface and told just to get on with blasting things. Yes, it does make the game harder, but it gives you so much of a buzz when you perform a cool manoeuvre that totally loses your opponent. When plugged into a network the game gets even better, utilising pre-made levels specifically for network play, and this adds even more allure to this great game for me. 8) Betrayal At Krondor - Dynamix RPGs still are my favourite type of game, and probably will be for a long time. So it's sad that over the past year the only RPGs that I've had to keep me company has been Diablo (completed in a ridiculously short time) and Realms Of The Haunting (more of an FMV graphical adventure given the 3D overhaul to make room for some incredibly basic and monotonous fighting). So, as more of a token of respect to this (apparently) dead genre I've included BaK, which was one of the most enjoyable RPGs I've played thanks to the heavy tie-ins with the Feist Riftwar series of books. Now it looks archaic but still has all the fundamentals a good RPG should have - character development, a strong, unfolding plot. Logical and difficult puzzles. A sense of accomplishment when something goes wrong, and the ability to drag you in for more hours than you'd care to mention. 7) CivNet - MicroProse A couple of years ago Civilisation was my favourite game ever. The depth of the game left me gasping for breath and the awesome possibilities that Sid Meier had included in this epic were far too many to mention. However, the months go by and, gradually, you find yourself less forgiving of the computer player's idiosyncrasies as well as the numerous bugs (that were on the ST version I played to death). But now, thanks to a Windows overhaul and the bolting on of multi-player options CivNet has made a thunderous re-entry into my top ten. It still plays a mean single-player game, but when connected to a network, the game takes on a new lease of life, and vying against human opposition in a game that has kept you up well past the witching hour is something that is difficult to surpass. If this was Civ-2-Net it would be much higher on my list, but it is still great. 6) Syndicate Wars - Bullfrog With a dark, brooding atmosphere and a great plot (which is unusual for a strategic arcade game) mingled with huge amounts of the bloodthirsty explosions-and-flaming-people-running-down- streets-screaming-their-heads-off that I find so gratifying in my old age this is sure to be a winner. Maybe the mission structure should be made a little less linear, but once you are actually in a mission the diverse ways of actually completing it make any other weakness in the game drift way into obscurity. This is the third game so far to have multiplayer options in my list and, again, it benefits greatly from this option. 5) Warcraft 2 - Blizzard A real time strategy game with a great sense of humour (now, everybody, what does the human church chant when you click on it?? Hmmmn, that's what I thought too...) and brilliant graphics. I've played this far more in a multi-player format than I have single player, but both aspects of the game are equally strong, especially with the expansion sets that are available, giving more and better levels in which to wreak havoc. The ability to take on a troop of rocs, instead of the usual faceless tanks makes for a great respite and the tactics needed for this game are different than the other real-time affairs on the market, which is a Good Thing (TM). 4) Magic The Gathering - MicroProse The most recent game in my Top Ten and one of the best single-player blasts I've had in ages. The huge number of permutations available in the game and the unstructured and limitless flow of the game makes it an ideal way to waste precious time. I've just completed my first real game and I can't wait to jack up the difficulty level and try again, but spending more time on deck construction this time round. The game would have been higher if there was a greater selection of cards, the multi player options had been implemented and the graphics weren't, well, so abysmal. 3) Quake - iD Software At last, the ultimate in first person blast-athons is with us. When I first saw this game single player on a 486 it, literally, blew my head off and I was just standing there for ages admiring the graphics and the way everything moved. But then playing it over a network of Pentiums showed what a shallow experience single player games had been. With the multitudes of free patches and levels available on the Internet (as well as cover CDs) the possibilities of this game are limitless and everything about it reeks class, even down to the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack. If the single player aspect had been stronger then this game would probably have been higher, but getting in at three just because of its multi-player aspect is pretty good going. 2) Civilisation 2 - MicroProse Once again I find myself returning to this God of a game to fill out my top three. Even without multiplayer options the computer AI gives you a good run for your money and you can lose yourself for days, literally. I don't play it as much as I used to, but I know that if I have nothing to do for a few hours then sitting down and plugging away at this game will prove to be far more rewarding than any other games that I have ever played. The only reason why this has dropped down a place is that there are no multi-player options, which means I still have to compare percentage scores with other players to see how well I am doing against them. When (and if) the multiplayer version is released I honestly don't think that this game will ever be removed from my number one spot. 1) Dungeon Master - FTL No, only joking (again). 1) Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Westwood Studios Real-time strategy game of the millennium, in my book. Westwood broke the mould with Dune 2 and have gone from strength to strength until they released this crowning jewel. The graphics are superlative, the plot in the single player missions is one that has been rarely equalled by any other intrinsically linear game and the multiplayer aspect has kept me coming back for more and more, time and time again. The control interface is intuitive which makes the game so easy to play and get into, and the variety of tactics make this one of the most exciting games I've played - rarely have I been in a game where the same old strategies are played time and again, to the same old tired conclusions. Excellent - can't wait for the sequel, which promises to be even better. So there you have it, the new games that make me go mmmmmmn! As you can see multiplayer options have played a big part in this top ten, and rightly so. I believe that the age of single-player only games is going to come to a halt over the next couple of years and they will become the exception to the rule, instead of vice versa. In light of this, I'd like to make one honourable mention of a game that has had a two player mode in it for a great many years now. Lemmings 2 has proven to be great fun against a friend and, against insurmountable odds, has just been released for the Atari ST. Unless that was just a vicious rumour that I read.... @~He's never going to let me forget that ... hehe ... Sue ------------------------------------------------------------------ @~The Top Ten for 1996/97 is, so far: 33 pts Dungeon Master 24 pts Lands of Lore 23 pts Secret of Monkey Island 18 pts Chaos Strikes Back 15 pts Magic the Gathering, Might and Magic series 14 pts Secret of Monkey Island 2 11 pts Stonekeep 10 pts Gabriel Knight 2, Ultima VII:The Black Gate, Sentinel, Mordens Quest, TimeQuest, Ultima Underworld 2, Command and Conquer:Red Alert 9 pts Day of the Tentacle, Aliens, Civilization 2, Ultima VI, Anvil of Dawn, Prisoner of Ice, Bard's Tale 8 pts Dungeon Master 2, Guild of Thieves, Ultima V, Lords of Time, Colossal Cave, Civilization, Quake 7 pts Ravenloft 2: The Stone Prophet, Lurking Horror, Jet Set Willy, Hammer of Grimmold, Sam and Max, Zork Zero 6 pts Ishar 2, Elite, Frontier:Elite 2, Discworld, Veil of Darkness, Pirate Adventure, Toonstruck, Ultimate Doom (Doom/Doom 2), Warcraft 2 5 pts System Shock, Nord and Bert, Ultima Underworld I, Eye of the Beholder Trilogy, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Zork 1, Settlers 1 and 2, Syndicate Wars 4 pts Ultima 8: Pagan, Populous, Lords of Midnight, The Dig, The Four Symbols, Black Dawn 2 3 pts Little Big Adventure, Wolfenstein 3D, Ishar 1 Full Throttle, Transport Tycoon, CivNet, Betrayal at Krondor 2 pts UFO:Enemy Unknown, Sim City, Drakken, Gabriel Knight 1, Death Gate, Eric the Unready, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Shadow of Yserbius, Descent, MechWarrior 2 The Clans 1 pt Captive, Emerald Isle, Theme Park, Midwinter 2, Larn, Fool's Errand @~Votes so far by Alex van Kaam, Laura Duncan, Adrian Sill, @~Greg Lord, David Stocks, Arnie, Steve McLaren, @~John Ferris, Sue Medley and James Judge - o -