Or the last, or the last, or the last...

You get the picture. :)

Gamespot is rubbish & do not have anything of value to say about adventure games. IMHO of course.

Let's face it, right now the adventure genre does matter less than even rhythm games to at least 90% of general gaming population. That has to be saying something about the depths this once glorious genre has fallen to.

Gamespot awarded best Adventure and story to a rhythm game last year. Gamespy awarded best story to F.E.A.R last year, Dreamfall this year. They say stories are getting better, and games are more "cinematic", but what you actually get is The Matrix Reloaded, all action scenes, and incompetent character building, with a stupid pseudo-philosophical message.

The storytelling of Grim Fandango or The Longest Journey has been flushed down the toilet, for cheap, vapid, unintelligent nonsense. Probably because it doesn't sell, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines or Beyond Good and Evil didn't sell, I guess neither did Grim Fandango. A good story doesn't sell a game, badly animated necrophilia on an abandoned subway train carriage does.

Is it society? Is it the game industry? Has God forsaken us?

I like Gamespot and I think they're about right when it comes to Dreamfall. The voice actors are great but otherwise there are too many problems, including not being up front about this not being a complete game.

True, but it doesn't hurt it either. There are games with reasonably good stories - at least as good as those found in most recent adventures - that sell well (MGS, FF, KOTOR, Silent Hill...). It's just that people care more about compelling gameplay and what I'd call the badass factor, and most current adventures seem to be lacking in both.

But I don't want to turn this into another "what's wrong with adventure games" type of thread, I just wanted to say it's no wonder GameSpot got rid of the Adventure category.

You have quite a mix of examples there. KOTOR does really have a good story, but the other three are just a bunch of cliches wrongly told and put together to impress in the most superficial ways. They are very far to the characters, universe, charm and whatever from KOTOR and, well, all those adventures mentioned avove.

Just like Black Mirror, Secret Files: Tunguska and so on. Their stories have nothing significant to say, they exist only to satisfy the needs of mystery fans. They're cheap and ultimately disposable.

Screw Gamespot, we should have our own awards ceremony here at Adventuregamers.com! :) An awards ceremony where us forumers get to vote for the best and worst adventure games of the year!
Huh, how about it, does that sound like a good idea? :)
Yes, it does. ;)

Thats a great idea!

True. Though the way the story is told is slightly better in Black Mirror, which took full advantage of the gothic setting and usherian house.

IGN named Culture Shock as Best Adventure game.

Did gamespot have a puzzle game category at least?

Yup, it did have that category this year

This is so tiring.

(Period).

I always refer to gamespot, but NEVER for adventure.

But not quite tiring enough to prevent you from posting about how tiring it is, ey?