[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by Kazmajik

At the time it came out, King's Quest VII really let me down, especially after the unparalleled excellence of VI.

Then Mask of Eternity came out, and I started to like The Princeless Bride...

[youfightlikeadairyfarmer]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

Then Mask of Eternity came out, and I started to like The Princeless Bride...

I loved VII, it might be my favorite. As a KQ fan, I wanted to like Mask of Eternity and I did for a while, but it now ranks as one of the biggest disappointments, an end to a series which to my parser-hating self had 3 great entries.

[Lasus]

Originally Posted by marshal99

Why did you buy it in the first place knowing that it was FMV ? Loved the first Phantasmagoria , swapping discs were a pain in the ass , cheesy sure but loved fmv and loved horror , so a game like phantasmagoria is made for me.

I bought it when it first came out. Also FMV does not mean it is an interactive movie.

[colpet]

I had high hopes for Dracula Origin, but I found it boring and have put it on the sidelines.
One game that I really was terribly disappointed with was Myst 4. The beginning was very good, but once I got to Serenia, I found it confusing and really hated the more 'action' oriented puzzles. Because of it, I've been holding off playing Myst 5.

[jfcwilson]

Crystal Key II. Terrible. Just...terrible. The original was great, but...not the second. Not at all.

[WeeJee]

Originally Posted by colpet

One game that I really was terribly disappointed with was Myst 4. The beginning was very good, but once I got to Serenia, I found it confusing and really hated the more 'action' oriented puzzles. Because of it, I've been holding off playing Myst 5.

I agree about Myst IV. It was so beautiful and almost started reminding me of Riven in Tomahna, but yes, when it got to Serenia it was all this spirit-guide existential metaphysical stuff that so utterly and completely does not fit in the Myst world. And Sirrus' whole plan belongs in The X-Files, not in Myst.

Uru and Myst V returns to the Myst feel, since the original masters (good ol' Cyan Worlds) developed those. I actually see Myst III and IV as spin-offs and Uru and Myst V as the true sequels to Riven.

Another recent adventure game that disappointed me? Overclocked. I honestly don't get how it got some of the reviews it got. Shaky story, silly graphics, uninteresting puzzles... oh well.

[Sik]

A lot of my favorite games have been mentioned already. I guess the games that are a let down for some, have something special about them that might make them a gem for others.

I usually know what I'm in for when I buy an adventure game. I play a lot of mediocre games without being let down because I get what I expect. In fact the only game I've expected to like, and ended up hating was Overclocked. It sounded perfect for me concept wise, but ended up just being painful to get through. It wasn't a bad game. I just had such high expectations I didn't bother to read up on anything other than initial impressions.

It's tempting to mention Still Life 2, as well, but I've only played the demo. The demo was a huge let down, but if I do end up playing the full game, my expectations will be lowered so much I can't possibly be let down.

[Gonzosports]

The Longest Journey and Broken Sword.

TLJ has some great things about it, but some horrendously, embarrassingly bad dialogue and attempts at humor - the future society is, outside out of the art studio, a total mess of misbegotten dystopain humor.

Bleah!

Broken Sword. Not Scary. Not Mysterious. Inexplicable puzzles. Inexplicable locations. (Why am I going to to the pub right now?) Bizaare solutions. The Templars, in the end, don't seem particularly sinister - they make the Templars in Dan Brown's pedantic literature seem like Monsters.

Will play sequels out of masochistic curioisity.

[noknowncure]

Dreamfall. Hated it. I hated the fact that it was just a patchwork quilt of pre-existing popular culture, with a meandering story that, to my mind, had no real direction.

[Agent5]

Monkey Island 3 was quite letdown for me as I had to wait several years to play it, as I had played all of LucasArts' prior releases on my Macintosh. It stood up well as a game, and I found myself laughing at one or two points, but the shear amount of pent up expectation for a Monkey Island game did little to endear me.

Not surprisingly I felt Escape from Monkey Island was a train wreck. The gameplay seemed to range from passable to poor, and the humor was literally difficult to stand. Which is to say I was playing a Monkey Island game despite the humor.

[Foozwah]

Another nomination for The Dig.

The combination of LucasArts in their prime and Spielberg promised so much, but for me it remains the very definition of meh-ness.

[Kazmajik]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

Then Mask of Eternity came out, and I started to like The Princeless Bride...

When I first saw Mask of Eternity I was really baffled. I mean, to follow up the Disney-like girlishness of VII with such a dark and violent game was bizarre. It took me awhile, but eventually I got into it and even liked it (more than most here, it seems) but it took me years to finish the 7th King's Quest game. I played it all the way through for the first time last year, and still, after Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow it remains for me a major disappointment.

And then there was Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude...

[Fantasysci5]

For me, it would have to be Syberia and Myst 3. Syberia was so hyped up for having a wonderful story, beautiful graphics, a must for all adventure fans. When I got it, I was sorely disappoined. The plot seemed dry and the characters stiff. I was just bored by it. I also looked forward to playing Grim Fandango, because I heard the characters were amazing, but I couldn't get into that either. I'm attributing that to not liking comedy games, but that's not an excuse for Syberia!!

And Myst 3, although graphically wonderful, just didn't hold a candle after Riven. Riven was just so amazing in it's scope, and even though it was still pictures, it blew me away. The background story that I didn't even get the first time I played the game, I actually had to go online and figure out all the backstory, which made the 'front' story even richer. It was hard to live up to Riven, and Exile just fell a bit fla, even though it was still amazing to me.

[ggreen737]

Originally Posted by WeeJee

Another recent adventure game that disappointed me? Overclocked. I honestly don't get how it got some of the reviews it got. Shaky story, silly graphics, uninteresting puzzles... oh well.

Oh yeah, me too. I just finally played it like 3 or 4 weeks ago, seriously don't know how it got great reviews. It was kind of a poor-man's Indigo Prophecy.

[ncf1]

The Longest Journey - a laughably bad game that I honestly felt embarrassed playing.

Monkey Island 3 -- was bad, and 4 was even worse.

Starship Titanic -- as much as I hate to say it this was a huge letdown after such classics as Hitchhiker's and Bureaucracy.

Loom -- just couldnt get into it at all no matter how hard I tried.

Runaway -- after seeing the screenshots I thought great, we're in for a treat here. Awful game wiped the smile off my face pretty fast though.

[WeeJee]

Originally Posted by ncf1

The Longest Journey - a laughably bad game that I honestly felt embarrassed playing.

Monkey Island 3 -- was bad, and 4 was even worse.

TLJ laughably bad? MI3 bad?! Crikey, I must be in a different dimension! O_O

Aside from my rather drastic difference of opinion there, I might point out another uber adventure gaming disappointment: Syberia. After hearing all the good things about it, I naturally expected something awesome; unfortunately the running around after nothing much and learning all about mammoths didn't do it for me. MILD SPOILER, MAYBE: It doesn't help that what you're looking for drops out of the sky for no reason and completely NOT because of everything you've been through to find it. Thankfully, Syberia II was vastly superior (to me, anyway) and actually had a ridiculously satisfying ending. Inon Zur's music in that pivotal scene... <sigh>

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by ggreen737

Oh yeah, me too. I just finally played it like 3 or 4 weeks ago, seriously don't know how it got great reviews. It was kind of a poor-man's Indigo Prophecy.

Ah, yes. Indigo Prophecy. I had a bit of expectations for that game because I liked Nomad Soul a lot, and it was supposed to be innovative. However, it proved to be just an exercise at hitting buttons with a boring, cliched storyline.

[skurken]

I'd say KQ6

I was expecting so much more after all the hype (Played it only 4 years ago)

Seriously cliched story (that goes for all the KQs I've played btw.), jerky animation..... IMHO just far from the masterpiece it was supposed to be according to the hype. Nice backgrounds though.

[ggreen737]

Originally Posted by ncf1

The Longest Journey - a laughably bad game that I honestly felt embarrassed playing.

I totally accept different points of view, but the way you describe TLJ makes me think you didn't play past the first hour. Give it another try, and put some effort in.

I've played every classic and TLJ honestly brought me back to the original thrills of playing my first adventure games, combined with with an amazing arcing story.

[Jadefalcon]

Sherlock Holmes:Nemesis. After years ago playing the EA Sherlock Holmes games, I snapped this up and was let down by poor graphics and crappy puzzles.

Nikopol. Looked okay, but just......uninspiring.