[foxhound71]

Hi,

I'm new to adventure games and I came here (great site btw) to discover some good ones that may interest me.

Being fed up by the countless FPS and action games I've played over the years I recently gave Fahrenheit/ Indigo Prophecy a try and I loved it. I understand it's not much of classic point & click adventure game but more of an interactive movie. Nevertheless I thought I might try a few other adventure games as well.

Anyway, I like games with great stories and actions/puzzles that make sense in the context of the story. So, I guess that's a priority for me. With that in mind I searched the reviews from 2004 until now and picked most 4/4 and a half-star games that seemed to fit the themes I like (generally mature/serious games. No cartoony stuff).

I would greatly appreciate your individual opinions on these games. Additional recommendations are also welcome as long as the games are not pre-2004, or at least not too ugly (what can I say, I got spoiled by pretty graphics :p).

Here's my list:
-Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin
-Overclocked: A History of Violence
-The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript
-Scratches
-Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
-The Moment of Silence
-Still Life
-Return to the mysterious island
-Syberia 2
-Dracula: Origin (I put this one here mostly because I like vampire stories as well)
-Barrow Hill
What I also want to know is how lenghty (or short) these games are on average. I don't like paying full price for a game I will finish the same day.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

EDIT: Added Barrow Hill

[MadTricks]

If You liked Indigo Prophecy, you will like Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, but then you have first to play Longest Journey.

And about Syberia 2, again first game is recommended to play, it has same story.

I would give a try to Secret Files: Tunguska.

[misslilo]

And of course there's Perry Rhodan (The Immortals of Terra: A Perry Rhodan Adventure) for the amazing graphics.

[crabapple]

Originally Posted by foxhound71

I would greatly appreciate your individual opinions on these games. Additional recommendations are also welcome as long as the games are not pre-2004, or at least not too ugly

-Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin - For some reason this game is giving me much worse motion sickness than Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, even though both seem to use the same 3D game engine. So I have to play it in short sessions. If you haven't played The Awakened, you might try that. Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsene Lupin has you solving a lot of Arsene Lupin's riddles, which can involve searching around a museum for clues. You need sharp eyes to spot some of the clues, which can be difficult with the 3D engine. I thought he puzzles in The Awakened were more suited to a 3D engine.
-Overclocked: A History of Violence - I haven't played this one.
-The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript - Maybe if you enjoy historical adventure games. I thought it was a bit slow.
-Scratches - Has some scary moments. Also has some terrible pixel hunts, but these may have been fixed in the Director's Cut version.
-Dreamfall: The Longest Journey - Nice use of "glow" with the graphics. Badly implemented combat sequences. Some tricky stealth sequences. Tedious timed matching puzzles overused to open doors. Memorable characters and story. Cinematic feel. Annoying cliffhanger ending

Spoiler:

where nearly every main character is apparently killed or about to be.

Supposedly the story will be continued as downloadable episodes, but Funcom isn't working on making them at the moment.
-The Moment of Silence - Interesting premise for the story. Puzzles could be a little fussy.
-Still Life - Switching back and forth in time between the characters was interesting, though I much preferred playing as Gus in the past to playing as Victoria in the present. The end of the game is abrupt because the developers ran out of money.
-Return to the mysterious island - Interesting inventory system that allowed you to assemble and disassemble inventory items to solve puzzles. Some alternate solutions to puzzles. Game is especially interesting if you've read Jules Verne's book "The Mysterious Island." The game isn't story-driven though.
-Syberia 2 - Don't bother with it unless you've played the first Syberia. If you've played the first Syberia, you know pretty well if you want to play the second half of the game.
-Dracula: Origin (I put this one here mostly because I like vampire stories as well) - It isn't particularly scary. It's good if you're looking for a traditional old-fashioned adventure game. There are some logic puzzles that you have to do to open locks and such.

What I also want to know is how lenghty (or short) these games are on average. I don't like paying full price for a game I will finish the same day.

I think it took me the longest to finish Moment of Silence. Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin is taking me a long time, but that's mainly because I have to stop playing after about an hour.

[foxhound71]

Originally Posted by crabapple

-Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin - For some reason this game is giving me much worse motion sickness than Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, even though both seem to use the same 3D game engine. So I have to play it in short sessions. If you haven't played The Awakened, you might try that. Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsene Lupin has you solving a lot of Arsene Lupin's riddles, which can involve searching around a museum for clues. You need sharp eyes to spot some of the clues, which can be difficult with the 3D engine. I thought he puzzles in The Awakened were more suited to a 3D engine.
-Overclocked: A History of Violence - I haven't played this one.
-The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript - Maybe if you enjoy historical adventure games. I thought it was a bit slow.
-Scratches - Has some scary moments. Also has some terrible pixel hunts, but these may have been fixed in the Director's Cut version.
-Dreamfall: The Longest Journey - Nice use of "glow" with the graphics. Badly implemented combat sequences. Some tricky stealth sequences. Tedious timed matching puzzles overused to open doors. Memorable characters and story. Cinematic feel. Annoying cliffhanger ending

Spoiler:

where nearly every main character is apparently killed or about to be.

Supposedly the story will be continued as downloadable episodes, but Funcom isn't working on making them at the moment.
-The Moment of Silence - Interesting premise for the story. Puzzles could be a little fussy.
-Still Life - Switching back and forth in time between the characters was interesting, though I much preferred playing as Gus in the past to playing as Victoria in the present. The end of the game is abrupt because the developers ran out of money.
-Return to the mysterious island - Interesting inventory system that allowed you to assemble and disassemble inventory items to solve puzzles. Some alternate solutions to puzzles. Game is especially interesting if you've read Jules Verne's book "The Mysterious Island." The game isn't story-driven though.
-Syberia 2 - Don't bother with it unless you've played the first Syberia. If you've played the first Syberia, you know pretty well if you want to play the second half of the game.
-Dracula: Origin (I put this one here mostly because I like vampire stories as well) - It isn't particularly scary. It's good if you're looking for a traditional old-fashioned adventure game. There are some logic puzzles that you have to do to open locks and such.


I think it took me the longest to finish Moment of Silence. Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin is taking me a long time, but that's mainly because I have to stop playing after about an hour.

Thanks for taking the time to tell me what you think for all these games.

It's kind of hard to decide which one I would like the most. Maybe I should try them all but I don't suppose there are demos for most of them.

[Aubstopper]

-Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin: I played this and i loved it. If you're going to play this one i suggest that you also play Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. It made me feel like a detective.

-Overclocked: A History of Violence: I think that it was a good idea with an interesting storyline, BUT the gaming was tedious...especially when you had to listen and look through the recordings on your PDA to trigger responses from the patients.

-The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript: haven't played

-Scratches: This is a must play. This game scared the crap out of me when i was playing it....it was a psychological sort of scary rather than a bloody sort of scary...which i think is worse in a way. I put the rest of this game on hold because i'm waiting until i feel unscared enough to finish..(i just dont want to go back in that darned basement!)

-Dreamfall: The Longest Journey: AMAZING story...talk about an interactive movie...it ends on a cliffhanger. I think if you want to play this one. play the longest journey first...i liked the longest journey better and plus it helps you understand the story of dreamfall a little better.

-The Moment of Silence: never played

-Still Life: I liked this one...though there was one puzzle that frustrated me ( the one with the lasers). I liked the FBI agent's story being tied into her grandfather as an old PI living in prague.

-Return to the mysterious island: I've heard good things...i just recently got it, but i haven't played it yet.

-Syberia 2: Play Syberia 1 first. BOTH are equally good. I'd say, excluding the longest journey series that this series is THE best in regards to story and puzzle integration.

-Dracula: Origin: I played the demo and it seemed boring...i wasnt really intriged enough to buy it.

[foxhound71]

After searching the net these are the best prices I could find for these games:
-Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin: 30E
-Scratches: Director's Cut: 25E
-Still Life: 30E
-Overclocked: 30E

I also found a Sherlock Holmes trilogy which includes The Mystery of the Mummy, The Silver Earring and the Awakened for 30E. Is this a good deal? Are these games as good as the latest Sherlock Holmes game?

One game I forgot to mention is Barrow Hill. Do you recommend it? It's only 18E.

More opinions are always welcome.

[AndreaDraco83]

Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin: a good game, with a good story and an average graphics. Tricky puzzles and a rarefied atmosphere. If you find it with all the previous chapter, it could be a good bargain, but only if you're a Sherlock fan. Otherwise, I'll skip them.

Scratches: I didn't like the game at all. Story way too retrieved and annoying protagonist. A good scare or too, by the way. I've read that you're also interested in Barrow Hill, and I vividly recommend you to play it: very well designed puzzles, and intriguing story. Maybe too little interaction, but very scary.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey: a must play. Obviously, you've to play The Longest Journey first, which I also recommend even if the graphics aged pretty bad.

The Moment of Silence: I didn't like this game for many reason, both technical and narrative. But if you like Good Brother-y sci-fi you may like it.

Syberia 2: Like Dreamfall, you've to play Syberia 1 first, which again I recommend - the graphics, if this is your concern, are equally beautiful and the story/storytelling was, in my opinion, better in the first installment.

[MystGirl]

Originally Posted by foxhound71

Hi,

I'm new to adventure games and I came here (great site btw) to discover some good ones that may interest me.

Being fed up by the countless FPS and action games I've played over the years I recently gave Fahrenheit/ Indigo Prophecy a try and I loved it. I understand it's not much of classic point & click adventure game but more of an interactive movie. Nevertheless I thought I might try a few other adventure games as well.

Anyway, I like games with great stories and actions/puzzles that make sense in the context of the story. So, I guess that's a priority for me. With that in mind I searched the reviews from 2004 until now and picked most 4/4 and a half-star games that seemed to fit the themes I like (generally mature/serious games. No cartoony stuff).

I would greatly appreciate your individual opinions on these games. Additional recommendations are also welcome as long as the games are not pre-2004, or at least not too ugly (what can I say, I got spoiled by pretty graphics :p).

Here's my list:
-Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin
-Overclocked: A History of Violence
-The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript
-Scratches... I played it, and it's not terribly scary. More a "creepy vibe" then anything. But it's still a decent game and enjoyable. You spend most of the game trying to solve a mystery in an old mansion.
-Dreamfall: The Longest Journey...This is a sequel to The Longest Journey which you HAVE to play. Even though TLJ is a bit older, the story is great with lots of dialog. Dreamfall was an excellent sequel. Very involved stories in both games.
-The Moment of Silence
-Still Life...Another excellent game. Probably the best murder mystery I've played so far about a very creepy serial killer. Very involved story line and Still Life 2 is coming out soon. You play this game in two time eras.
-Return to the mysterious island
-Syberia 2...Excellent sequel to Syberia (and it is a direct sequel from the first Syberia) Very sweet, and engaging story, wonderful graphics in both games. I highly recommend Syberia but that's because I loved both of them so much.
-Dracula: Origin (I put this one here mostly because I like vampire stories as well)
-Barrow Hill...I liked Barrow Hill better then Scratches. Barrow Hill, like Scratches is a more "simple" point and click mystery game but it had a nice creepy feel to it.
What I also want to know is how lenghty (or short) these games are on average. I don't like paying full price for a game I will finish the same day.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

EDIT: Added Barrow Hill

If you're getting into the mystery type games, try out the Dark Fall games. You might enjoy those too. (Dark Fall 1: The Journal and Dark Fall 2: Lights Out) Second one, in my opinion was much creepier and harder then the first one.

[magicarb]

Originally Posted by foxhound71

It's kind of hard to decide which one I would like the most. Maybe I should try them all but I don't suppose there are demos for most of them.

Demos:

Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin
http://www.gamershell.com/download_24158.shtml

Overclocked: A History of Violence
http://www.gamershell.com/download_25504.shtml

The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript
http://www.gamershell.com/download_18593.shtml

Scratches
http://www.gamershell.com/download_11348.shtml

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
http://www.gamershell.com/download_17064.shtml

The Moment of Silence
http://www.gamershell.com/download_7396.shtml

Still Life
http://www.gamershell.com/download_8479.shtml

Return to Mysterious Island
http://www.gamershell.com/download_7332.shtml

Syberia 2
http://www.gamershell.com/download_5239.shtml

Dracula: Origin
http://www.gamershell.com/download_26800.shtml

Barrow Hill
http://www.gamershell.com/download_13437.shtml

[Gabe]

Originally Posted by foxhound71

Hi,

I'm new to adventure games and I came here (great site btw) to discover some good ones that may interest me.

Being fed up by the countless FPS and action games I've played over the years I recently gave Fahrenheit/ Indigo Prophecy a try and I loved it. I understand it's not much of classic point & click adventure game but more of an interactive movie. Nevertheless I thought I might try a few other adventure games as well.

Anyway, I like games with great stories and actions/puzzles that make sense in the context of the story. So, I guess that's a priority for me. With that in mind I searched the reviews from 2004 until now and picked most 4/4 and a half-star games that seemed to fit the themes I like (generally mature/serious games. No cartoony stuff).

I would greatly appreciate your individual opinions on these games. Additional recommendations are also welcome as long as the games are not pre-2004, or at least not too ugly (what can I say, I got spoiled by pretty graphics :p).

Here's my list:
-Sherlock Holmes versus Arsene Lupin
-Overclocked: A History of Violence
-The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript
-Scratches
-Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
-The Moment of Silence
-Still Life
-Return to the mysterious island
-Syberia 2
-Dracula: Origin (I put this one here mostly because I like vampire stories as well)
-Barrow Hill
What I also want to know is how lenghty (or short) these games are on average. I don't like paying full price for a game I will finish the same day.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.

EDIT: Added Barrow Hill

Consider you are a veteran action gamer unfortunately games on your list will bore you to death coz there's nothing like Fahrenheit.Best bet would be shenmue,blade runner or new titles like Penumbra games.