[mataku]

I nearly finished FOT , but i got stuck at the end, If i remember correctly. it was after the huge circular maze, i used a bunch of things (something you collect) then i read in the walkthrough that i had to go back and get everything i used back just to advance. I dropped it that instant, but i did watch a playthrough of the rest on youtube, so that's something.

[rayvio]

that was actually something I liked about Indy (although it did get annoying having to backtrack once or twice before getting into the habit of retaking every item). most games each item has exactly one use and is never needed again, even if it would make sense to use it again. some games try to get around this by having one token reusable item, which instead only emphasises how silly it is that other items are not reusable
Fate of Atlantis had a LOT of puzzles where the same item would be reused
as far as I remember you'd rarely have to backtrack more than a few screens either

[ZeframCochrane]

Originally Posted by rayvio

Fate of Atlantis had a LOT of puzzles where the same item would be reused

I've recently played IJ:FoT with a friend, and that particular quirk has generated a funny in-joke among us. Whenever we find ourselves to need a specific but unavailable item in real life, we invariably say "I could sure use that Ship Rib right now".

It's one of the several examples of how a game's quirk may be hated by some people, but will have pleasant influence on the game experience of other people. I myself often think "symbolic images, or ancient graffiti?" whenever I see unusual street art... but that's another story.

[rayvio]

I think that's both a strength and a weakness of the genre. for example I'd imagine most players of first person shooters could agree on how satisfying it is to line up a perfect headshot, or fans of beat-em-ups at mastering the perfect combos (the cynic in me suspects the majority may actually be comprised of those who prefer mastering the perfect upskirt shots with the female characters) but the adventure genre has a lot of sub-genres and different kinds of fans
first person or third?
serious or comedy?
emphasis on inventory based puzzles or dialogue puzzles?
classic point and click or keyboard shortcuts?
menus with multiple options or just left click to look and right to use?

it makes us and our games a lot more diverse, but at the same time makes it harder to make a game we'll all love

[diego]

Room of some true FoA fan:

[DustyShinigami]

Wow. Those are cool! Where did you get those from? I bet they weren't cheap either.

[diego]

Unfortunately - these are not mine , i've stumbled upon it here and was pretty amazed myself.

[xiao.mao]

Originally Posted by Stonez

It seems though that I must be the only person in the world that absolutely loves The Dig?

I loved it so much I played it twice and bought the novel based on the game. It was a pretty good read.

Originally Posted by ZeframCochrane

I myself often think "symbolic images, or ancient graffiti?" whenever I see unusual street art... but that's another story.

One of my other favourite games

And to keep this post on topic, I've attempted FoA twice now...the first time, about 10 years ago I just got stuck, and gave up. I think it was near the end, it was too long ago to remember. The second was a couple of years ago now, and I just lost interest...

[WitchOfDoubt]

Even among greats, this sort of thing isn't rare. Even Steven Spielberg sometimes suffered from Third Act Syndrome, that disease where a movie, game, or book starts falling apart or becoming generic as it nears its resolution. The worst case in adventure games may be Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, but FoA gets hit pretty hard, too. Up until the endgame, it's incredibly good.

Some games manage to hold up all the way to the climax, but fail to give a sufficiently good resolution afterwards. The Broken Sword games are frequently guilty of this.