What would stop you from buying a new adventure game?
 

Over the years I've discovered that I'm much pickier about my adventure games. At one time I would buy almost any adventure. Now I'm much more particular about what I buy. Puzzles, story and exploration used to be enough, but I find I'm skipping over promising games because of some details that don't appeal to me. My biggest restriction is only playing mouse driven games. Next would be avoiding action sequences, combat in particular.
I know that some people won't get a game with Starforce, others are put off by less than state of the arts graphics or poor voice acting. For some it's bad reviews at the forums or in magazines. What would stop you from getting a new adventure game?

being compared to myst :r
having a crap demo :frusty:
having uninteresting...
...story :Z
...descriptions of stuff:Z

Many timed / action sequences. I skipped on Fahrenheit and Atlantis -Evolution for those same reasons. I can handle a few but if it is a major gameplay mechanic, then count me out. Other than that, I'm not a very picky adventurer. I enjoy solitary myst-alike games just as much as 3rd person comedy adventures.

...bysmitty

I'm reluctant to buy anything that's not a sequel of a good adventure game at this moment because i've got a thing implanted in my brain where most new commercial adventure games are generic and suffer bad translation to english from about 3000 different eastern european languages.

I don't buy games that have thin, sexy female protagonists in them.

I avoid games with action. Like bysmitty said, it's OK with a little, but I don't like fighting or timed sequences.
I also think twice before I get a cartoony style game.

So only games with fat female antagonists?

I actually would buy more new adventure games if I owned a PC that could run them.

Availability. We have to remember that adventure games are pretty scarce these days. I've noticed that it takes stores around 2-3 months before they finally carry a couple of copies on their shelves, if they do at all.

What stops me? Shitty Publishers stop me playing good adventure games. :P

High price

Nonono, fat male antagonists. Which reminds me, I'm still waiting for that E. Honda adventure game...

Ironically, I don't buy sequels to great adventures because they end up being... well, shit, basically.

Bad Graphics

No voice overs

Realistic settings (cliched Victorian houses in DaVinci Code doesn't strike me as a place I want to visit for 30 pounds)

Boring character designs (I'm looking at you Macroids)

Being first person...it just doesnt do it for me the same way a good 3rd person game does.

Also...lack of character interaction. If i know i will run around clicking stuff and thats it, my desire to play suffers. I like meeting new people in adventure games, its one of the recipies that makes the cake that much more tasty.

Erm....and often price as oppossed to length. GTA San Andreas may not be a classic, but for my 30 pounds it has lasted a good 2 years....whereas an adventure often makes me play more and more until its finished. Usually in afew days, and then it wont be revisited for some time.

Usually, it's the price, availability, length, and what my computer can play...

I don't have a preference when it comes to first or third person and I don't care too much about the quality of graphics. I just like playing anything that I can get my hands on.

I don't have a 1st or 3rd person preference. I'm OK with bits of action (I was all right with the combat/stealth in Dreamfall) but if it seems to be a major part of gameplay, I'll probably not go for the game. I have really put off playing/buying Fahrenheit. I think the people who didn't have a huge problem with it probably had some action gaming experience.

Probably the biggest thing for me is a good sounding story and the possibility of exploring lots of interesting places.

Although I would still buy a pricier adventure game, I know I am much more forgiving of the cheaper games. For Example, I recently enjoyed Scratches. I Paid $18 CDN and was totally satisfied with the experience. If I paid $60 I would be mad - too short, too much text without voice, and dated gameplay and graphics.

To be honest, the main thing that would stop me from playing a game would be consistently bad reviews everywhere (people on forums, adventure games sites, etc. - more than just a bad review on Gamespot).

I only buy games that I think is good. That's about it really. So what could stop me from buying a new adventure is the notion that it will suck. ;)

These days, I usually look for reviews on a game, and if too many classic adventure gamers find all sorts of niggling but unimportant faults with a game, it goes on the list of games I have to play very soon. Good screenshots might even take it to the top of the list. I'm a contrary kind of guy.

All of that is unless what they are complaining about is stuff that aggravates me too, like senseless puzzle implementation, really bad dialogue or voice acting, terrible animation, or bug-ridden software. Life's too short. If they release a patch soon enough, I might mellow, but nothing makes me turn off of a game faster than bad voices or seriously clunky animation, and really bad puzzle implementation is worse than too much puzzle implementation, even in my books.

So, Paradise, basically. But I have that too. I've just been putting it off.

I'm playing And Then There Were none right now. So far, so good. Looking forward to Experiment 112 and Undercover: Operation Wintersun.