October PC Gamer

***fov*** · 08-31-2005, 08:41 AM

I know we all love to complain about how much the mainstream media hates adventure games, but...

My coworker's kids subscribe to PC Gamer and she has been bringing issues in for me when they're done reading them. I usually just kind of flip through them and find maybe one review or preview I want to read. But she brought me October 2005 today (October already?!) and I was pleasantly surprised by how much AG coverage there is -- and not one single word about the genre being dead.

Pg 8 - People wrote in to say which cancelled games they'd like to see revived, and more than half of the games cited are adventures. People wrote in about Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury, Uru Live, WarCraft Adventures, and Sam & Max: Freelance Police. (The other games mentioned are Werewolf: Apocalpyse, Amen, and the Babylon 5 space sim Into the Fire - games I'm not familiar with, but I'm assuming they're not adventures.)

Pg 16 - Hands-on preview of Indigo Prophecy, that calls the game "an adventure game disguised as a third-person action title" and praises the game's maturity and style. ("But most importantly, the game feels grown up. And we don't just mean the nudity and profanity, which are surprisingly tasteful." They must have seen the pre-ESRB version.

)

Pg 18 - Myst V hands-on preview, which runs with the subtitle "Our last Myst hands-on preview ever... sniff." (Funniest line in the preview: "No wonder the D'ni disappeared -- they never learned how to jump.")

Pgs 20-21 - two page ad for Myst V

Pg 29 - Walmart ad in which a girlfriend has left a "Dear John" letter for her boyfriend that says "It's me or the games." The boyfriend is off to the side playing a game. This ad runs a lot, featuring different games -- in August it was Battlefield 2. This month it's Myst V.

pg 34 - A short article called "Have You Played a Good Book Lately?" that talks about IF and mentions The First Mile, Facade, and Galatea. "Far from being mere nostalgia or a spiteful middle-finger aimed at today's multimillion-dollar game budgets, I.F. is using the imaginative experience of fiction and the interactivity of PC gaming to find new ways of spinning a good yarn. And just as Zork hinted at what PC gaming could become back in the late Seventies, today's interactive fiction is telling us a lot about what PC gaming might be like tomorrow."

Pg 64 - Review of the First Mile. They gave it a 19% (

), but for what seem like valid reasons (like poor writing and typos)... not because it's a text adventure. The reviewer is Dan Amrich, and he seems to actually know a thing or two about text adventures. What a concept.

Anyway, just wanted to share. It was a really nice surprise to see this much AG-friendly coverage in a mainstream magazine.

Orange Brat · 08-31-2005, 08:56 AM

I seem to recall they gave TMOS a 13 or 19 percent or something really low like that. I'm in the middle of playing it, and I can't disagree more. Not really sure what the deal was with that one. I guess they're fair, but I'm not buying that review at all.

***fov*** · 08-31-2005, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange Brat

I seem to recall they gave TMOS a 13 or 19 percent or something really low like that. I'm in the middle of playing it, and I can't disagree more. Not really sure what the deal was with that one. I guess they're fair, but I'm not buying that review at all.

Yeah, they did.

But the very same reviewer gave Still Life an 85% a month later, so I'm not convinced it's some big conspiracy.

Terabin · 08-31-2005, 09:13 AM

I remember the first time I picked up a copy of PC Gamer was when LeChuck was on the front cover for their preview of CMI. I think they ended up giving the game 95%. Good times.

AFGNCAAP · 08-31-2005, 09:13 AM

I think a separate thread should be started about their MOS review.

...or not.

Anyway, great news. Did they really restrained from saying that adventures are dead (or boring, or flawed)? Even in a convoluted form along the lines of "Fahrenheit manages to avoid the typical traps of staying true to the genre conventions."?

Jazhara7 · 08-31-2005, 09:14 AM

I realized the same from the german edition of PCGamer. It looks as if I am going to get back to reading a Games magazine (The last and so far only one was discontinued).

I am really glad that my sister accidentally got a trial-subscription for a it (well, not really accidentally. The only thing accidental was that she thought it covered PS2 games too.)

The last issue had an article about "The Adventure-Hits of Tomorrow". It included Ankh, Runaway 2, Myst 5, Fahrenheit, and Tony Tough 2. They also have a page with the title "Then years ago". This time they also have "Kult-Game: Simon the Sorcerer" ("Kult"="Cult" as in: "Worthy of starting a cult for it." Or actually: "So good, it's already a cult." I don't think the word "cult" is used in this sense in English.)

The issue didn't have any reviews of adventures this month, but this is probably due to the fact that nothing new was recently released.

I am going to get the next issue, and probably a subscription too. Oooh, the September issue was released today!

EDIT: And I just noticed that the Caption of the Month (A photo of a girl getting her picture taken in front of a Spidey figure) has a very familiar caption as winner: "Oh, sure...and behing YOU there's a three-headed monkey!" - I guess that the readers like Adventures games too to some degree.

-

squarejawhero · 08-31-2005, 09:15 AM

Fantastic. I expect lurkers Botherer and the other fella will chime in too.

Soz, other fella, forgot your name.

Talas · 08-31-2005, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terabin

I remember the first time I picked up a copy of PC Gamer was when LeChuck was on the front cover for their preview of CMI. I think they ended up giving the game 95%. Good times.

I think I still have that issue somewhere... now that I saw this thread I remembered that I haven't buy a PC Gamer in years

But I am going to get the October issue for sure.

***fov*** · 08-31-2005, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

I think a separate thread should be started about their MOS review.

...or not.

Quote:

Anyway, great news. Did they really restrained from saying that adventures are dead (or boring, or flawed)? Even in a convoluted form along the lines of "Fahrenheit manages to avoid the typical traps of staying true to the genre conventions."?

Not one single disparaging word about the genre. Really! I read carefully to try to find some and came up empty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

I don't think the word "cult" is used in this sense in English.

Yeah, it is. It means something has a dedicated fanbase, but not necessarily among the mainstream majority. For example, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Reefer Madness are considered cult movies.

samIamsad · 08-31-2005, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fov

For example, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Reefer Madness are considered cult movies.

Or Brazil. Or Army Of Darkness. Or, er.. Lust In The Dust. The next time your PC Gamer US's are saying anything negative about adventure games(TM) -- (maybe because there hasn't been a really, really, *really* cool and well designed ((adventure)) game in years...) -- and Jane and Joe Adventuregamer (just married) start whining again, I'll post a link to this thread.

Consider this to be bookmarked!

Kolzig · 08-31-2005, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fov

Pg 8 - People wrote in to say which cancelled games they'd like to see revived, and more than half of the games cited are adventures. People wrote in about Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury, Uru Live, WarCraft Adventures, and Sam & Max: Freelance Police. (The other games mentioned are Werewolf: Apocalpyse, Amen, and the Babylon 5 space sim Into the Fire - games I'm not familiar with, but I'm assuming they're not adventures.)

Oh man, I remember that Werewolf: Apocalypse game, it was an Unreal engine game, and it was supposed to come out in 1999 or something like that. They advertised and hyped it as the first game to use morphing technology. The videos were cool where a guy morphed into a werewolf in realtime 3d, it was not pre-rendered or anything like that.

Captain Blondebeard · 08-31-2005, 12:57 PM

I subscribe to computer gaming world and they seem to give a pair share of attention to the adventure genre.

They have had small columns on Beneath A Steel Sky 2, RIP columns about Freelance Police nad Full Throttle as well as previews and in depth looks at the bigger adventure games coming out.

Scoville · 08-31-2005, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fov

People wrote in about Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury, Uru Live, WarCraft Adventures, and Sam & Max: Freelance Police. (The other games mentioned are Werewolf: Apocalpyse, Amen, and the Babylon 5 space sim Into the Fire - games I'm not familiar with, but I'm assuming they're not adventures.)

While not adventures, Amen and Babylon 5 have strong relevance to adventure games. Amen was a story-driven first person shooter in development by Ron Gilbert's Cavedog Entertainment, and one of Sierra's reasons for cancelling Space Quest 7 was so they could divert much of it's dev team over to the Babylon 5 game.

08-31-2005, 08:38 PM

This is the year.

SKOPE · 09-01-2005, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamNMax

This is the year.

2007. Maybe.

The adventure genre is in the best shape in years, but it still doesn't look strong. Only the flight simulator genre is worse off.

This year we get Indigo Prophecy, Myst V and, and... a whole lot of low budget games that appeal only to hard core adventure game fans. And I question just how committed Atari, which is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection, is to promoting Indigo Prophecy. I would mention Bone, but since the developer couldn't find a publisher and has to resort to episodic, Internet distribution, that game is automatically out of the mainstream.

Next year, Dreamfall and Broken Sword 4 are surefire hits; Paradise, and Vampyre Story will be big with adventure fans but may or may not go over well with the mainstream; and just about everything else fits into the "low budget games appealing only to hardcore adventure fans" category.

Still, if all the upcoming, big budget adventure games are successful, the genre could see a resurgence in 2007.

Tramboi · 09-01-2005, 01:14 AM

The IF article is presently being discussed on the raif newsgroup

God those magazines are so dependent on so few people.
They just need an adventure lover who pushes content about adventures.
And it seems that's what happened at PCGamer. Good.

insane_cobra · 09-01-2005, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKOPE

I would mention Bone, but since the developer couldn't find a publisher and has to resort to episodic, Internet distribution, that game is automatically out of the mainstream.

I thought that was their deliberate choice and a long term plan?

dazsin · 09-01-2005, 02:28 AM

Money Island 5! Thats what we need - that would surely make headlines, and would obviously be a smash hit.

insane_cobra · 09-01-2005, 03:28 AM

But who would make it? None of the big adventure names are in LucasArts anymore. Just forget about LucasArts already.

Kurufinwe · 09-01-2005, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazsin

Money Island 5!

If the people at LucasArts made the same freudian slips as you do, maybe they'd consider doing it.

08-31-2005, 08:41 AM	#1
*fov* Rattenmonster Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 10,404	October PC Gamer I know we all love to complain about how much the mainstream media hates adventure games, but... My coworker's kids subscribe to PC Gamer and she has been bringing issues in for me when they're done reading them. I usually just kind of flip through them and find maybe one review or preview I want to read. But she brought me October 2005 today (October already?!) and I was pleasantly surprised by how much AG coverage there is -- and not one single word about the genre being dead. Pg 8 - People wrote in to say which cancelled games they'd like to see revived, and more than half of the games cited are adventures. People wrote in about Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury, Uru Live, WarCraft Adventures, and Sam & Max: Freelance Police. (The other games mentioned are Werewolf: Apocalpyse, Amen, and the Babylon 5 space sim Into the Fire - games I'm not familiar with, but I'm assuming they're not adventures.) Pg 16 - Hands-on preview of Indigo Prophecy, that calls the game "an adventure game disguised as a third-person action title" and praises the game's maturity and style. ("But most importantly, the game feels grown up. And we don't just mean the nudity and profanity, which are surprisingly tasteful." They must have seen the pre-ESRB version. ) Pg 18 - Myst V hands-on preview, which runs with the subtitle "Our last Myst hands-on preview ever... sniff." (Funniest line in the preview: "No wonder the D'ni disappeared -- they never learned how to jump.") Pgs 20-21 - two page ad for Myst V Pg 29 - Walmart ad in which a girlfriend has left a "Dear John" letter for her boyfriend that says "It's me or the games." The boyfriend is off to the side playing a game. This ad runs a lot, featuring different games -- in August it was Battlefield 2. This month it's Myst V. pg 34 - A short article called "Have You Played a Good Book Lately?" that talks about IF and mentions The First Mile, Facade, and Galatea. "Far from being mere nostalgia or a spiteful middle-finger aimed at today's multimillion-dollar game budgets, I.F. is using the imaginative experience of fiction and the interactivity of PC gaming to find new ways of spinning a good yarn. And just as Zork hinted at what PC gaming could become back in the late Seventies, today's interactive fiction is telling us a lot about what PC gaming might be like tomorrow." Pg 64 - Review of the First Mile. They gave it a 19% (), but for what seem like valid reasons (like poor writing and typos)... not because it's a text adventure. The reviewer is Dan Amrich, and he seems to actually know a thing or two about text adventures. What a concept. Anyway, just wanted to share. It was a really nice surprise to see this much AG-friendly coverage in a mainstream magazine. Share Share this post on Twitter Last edited by fov; 08-31-2005 at 08:48 AM.

08-31-2005, 08:56 AM	#2
Orange Brat OB Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 662	I seem to recall they gave TMOS a 13 or 19 percent or something really low like that. I'm in the middle of playing it, and I can't disagree more. Not really sure what the deal was with that one. I guess they're fair, but I'm not buying that review at all. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ The Disenfranchised™ - A Film Noir adventure series for the PC. Coming later.

08-31-2005, 09:13 AM	#4
Terabin Tell me This is It Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 538	I remember the first time I picked up a copy of PC Gamer was when LeChuck was on the front cover for their preview of CMI. I think they ended up giving the game 95%. Good times. Share Share this post on Twitter

08-31-2005, 09:13 AM	#5
AFGNCAAP Dungeon Master Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Poland Posts: 4,152	I think a separate thread should be started about their MOS review. ...or not. Anyway, great news. Did they really restrained from saying that adventures are dead (or boring, or flawed)? Even in a convoluted form along the lines of "Fahrenheit manages to avoid the typical traps of staying true to the genre conventions."? Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ What's happening? Wh... Where am I?

08-31-2005, 09:14 AM	#6
Jazhara7 Ale! And keep 'em coming! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Beyond the Pattern of Reality...or Germany Posts: 8,527	I realized the same from the german edition of PCGamer. It looks as if I am going to get back to reading a Games magazine (The last and so far only one was discontinued). I am really glad that my sister accidentally got a trial-subscription for a it (well, not really accidentally. The only thing accidental was that she thought it covered PS2 games too.) The last issue had an article about "The Adventure-Hits of Tomorrow". It included Ankh, Runaway 2, Myst 5, Fahrenheit, and Tony Tough 2. They also have a page with the title "Then years ago". This time they also have "Kult-Game: Simon the Sorcerer" ("Kult"="Cult" as in: "Worthy of starting a cult for it." Or actually: "So good, it's already a cult." I don't think the word "cult" is used in this sense in English.) The issue didn't have any reviews of adventures this month, but this is probably due to the fact that nothing new was recently released. I am going to get the next issue, and probably a subscription too. Oooh, the September issue was released today! EDIT: And I just noticed that the Caption of the Month (A photo of a girl getting her picture taken in front of a Spidey figure) has a very familiar caption as winner: "Oh, sure...and behing YOU there's a three-headed monkey!" - I guess that the readers like Adventures games too to some degree. - Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ - "esc(x) cot(x) dx = -csc(x)!" Dennis added, and the wizard's robe caught on fire. "Gosh," Dennis said, "and some people say higher math isn't relevant." >>>Inventor of the Mail order-Assassin<<< And This...is a Black Hole - BYE! Last edited by Jazhara7; 08-31-2005 at 09:21 AM.

08-31-2005, 09:15 AM	#7
squarejawhero Epinionated. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: London Posts: 5,841	Fantastic. I expect lurkers Botherer and the other fella will chime in too. Soz, other fella, forgot your name. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Starter of Thread Must Die.

08-31-2005, 12:57 PM	#12
Captain Blondebeard Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tornado Alley Posts: 1,541	I subscribe to computer gaming world and they seem to give a pair share of attention to the adventure genre. They have had small columns on Beneath A Steel Sky 2, RIP columns about Freelance Police nad Full Throttle as well as previews and in depth looks at the bigger adventure games coming out. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Glad to have my old username back. GhostPirateLechuck no longer.

08-31-2005, 08:38 PM	#14
SamNMax Guest Posts: n/a	This is the year. Share Share this post on Twitter

09-01-2005, 01:14 AM	#16
Tramboi Barroom hero Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Paris, France Posts: 525	The IF article is presently being discussed on the raif newsgroup God those magazines are so dependent on so few people. They just need an adventure lover who pushes content about adventures. And it seems that's what happened at PCGamer. Good. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Where are they now?

09-01-2005, 02:28 AM	#18
dazsin Knights Templar Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Derbys, England Posts: 279	Money Island 5! Thats what we need - that would surely make headlines, and would obviously be a smash hit. Share Share this post on Twitter

09-01-2005, 03:28 AM	#19
insane_cobra gin soaked boy Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Virovitica, Croatia Posts: 4,093	But who would make it? None of the big adventure names are in LucasArts anymore. Just forget about LucasArts already. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ What you piss in is yours for life.

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