[subbi]

I agree.
I also played it when it came out back in 1996 and for me it was a special experience, very unlike previous AG's before:

- Very colourful hi res visuals
- Fantastic animation of characters
- Diverse locations and countries
- Epic thriller storyline with crime/mystery elements blended. Especially in AG's such a "serious" storyline was not common, save for Indiana Jones and Gabriel Knight.
- Fantastic ending, brilliantly animated and LONG;-)
- Memorable scenes: "shocking" the assassin in Syria, the train sequence in Scotland and many more
- A few nicely integrated timed sequences, in order to enhance immersion, but well implemented.
- Great soundtrack
- Great voice over work
- Do I need to go on? ;-)

Of course, nowadays, you'll find more games that deliver on the above, but you have to go -back- to 1996 to really appreciate it, as at least to my memory there was no similar game with so much going for it.

Together with gabriel Knight 2, these were the games that introduced a real cinematic quality to Adventure games, that was unseen before.

DOTT and Gabriel Knight 1 did came close in terms of delivering a cinematic quality, but were ultimately held back by hardware restrictions and low res artwork, although DOTT may have squeezed as much as possible out of those 300x200 frames ;-)

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Tiocfaidh

I didn´t know that there are people in this community who couldn´t get into Broken Sword at all.

I wish someone would make me see why other players enjoy BS1 so much because I honestly don’t understand. Sure, the graphics are very nice. Great intro with the clown. Story... okay, not real interesting. Puzzles... okay, not very original. Characters... I find George almost as bland as Brian in Runaway. Nico is only marginally better. The NPCs are either caricatures (that idiotic inspector) or boring (flower lady, Irish lad). Voiceacting... George and Nico okay, the rest is over the top, which would be fine in a humorous game, but this one is a mix of fantasy and realism with a little humor thrown in. Other 3rd-person adventures manage to pull that combination off, whereas BS1 is neither flesh, nor fish, nor good red herring.

IMO. IMO. IMO.

[River]

My prediction is The longest journey for N1 and Grim Fandango for N2.

[Cellardoor]

I agree completely with Fien on BS1. Sure, it was a nice game, but somewhat overrated. Also, for me, the Templars-story (specifically: the evil-conspiracy plot) felt like a cliche even back in the 1990's.

[subbi]

Well, I'm not sure what elements the story needs to have to be called "Cliche", but I did not find it in the least cliche back in 1996.

To my knowledge there were at least no other games with a similar storyline. I can't even remember any films that overly used Templar like themes.

I do agree that with Dan Brown, who turned the templar legacy into a pseudo-historical tale, it became more clicheed, with spin-off films, books and games.

In 1996, Broken Sword was a breath of fresh air.
A game with a mature storyline was not that common within the scope of AG's, save for perhaps Indiana Jones and Gabriel Knight.
The graphics and animation were nothing short of spectacular and finally we had a game with a grand finale.
The feeling of immersion was enhanced by a few timed sequences that were implemented quite well. I still remember the scene in Syria where you "shock" the assassin. That was a quite tense moment.

[Tiocfaidh]

Originally Posted by Cellardoor

I agree completely with Fien on BS1. Sure, it was a nice game, but somewhat overrated. Also, for me, the Templars-story (specifically: the evil-conspiracy plot) felt like a cliche even back in the 1990's.

must be a Dutch thing then

but seriously, I can see where you´re coming from.

Personally this game (as George Lucas would put it) "brings warm feelings to my heart".
I must have been in the perfect mood for this game when I played it the first time.
For me most of the characters (chemistry between George & Nico is great) are very charming, the choice/variety of locations (especially in Paris) is just perfect IMO and the sparsely used soundtrack is as good as it gets. The German localisation is also pure joy, I haven´t played the English version from beginning to end yet.

Only downright negative is the goat "puzzle".
An awful game-stopper like the dreadful baking intermission from Still Life

Originally Posted by subbi

The feeling of immersion was enhanced by a few timed sequences that were implemented quite well. I still remember the scene in Syria where you "shock" the assassin. That was a quite tense moment.

I agree !
Despite being a "cute" game - sequences like this have a certain edge to them and caught me completely
off-guard

[Arial Type]

Probably the first time ever Gabriel Knight being so underrated And not including Death Gate is like a crime. It's simply the best book adaptation and one of the best-written adventure games.

[Tiocfaidh]

I think both Lost Crown & Gray Matter deserve to be in this Top 100.

Furthermore Space Quest 5 is a much better game than part 4.
But I prefer Larry 6 over Love For Sail so what do I know ...

[Cellardoor]

Don't get me wrong, I do think BS1 is a good game. It certainly belongs in a top 100 list of best adventure games. I just think it's somewhat overrated, but that's just my opinion.

@Subbi: I don't think it's the part about the Templars per se that I thought was clichéd. It's the somewhat bland "evil conspiracy" plot in which the BS1's Templars play a role that I found overly familiar and predictable. And again, for me, that doesn't mean it's a bad game at all.

[Jackal]

Gee, you're all having so much fun guessing and debating that I'm tempted not to post the top ten for a while longer.

(But okay, I will. Soon.)

[aimless]

Originally Posted by Jackal

Gee, you're all having so much fun guessing and debating that I'm tempted not to post the top ten for a while longer.

(But okay, I will. Soon.)

I thought that was the reason you agonized for years over this, so we could get cranky and have fun.

[Tiocfaidh]

Originally Posted by aimless

I thought that was the reason you agonized for years over this, so we could get cranky and have fun.

Mission accomplished

[ozzie]

So, after going through the list again I realized that both Azrael's Tear and Death Gate were "you might also"-liked. I think I need to some take time after New Year solely to formulate all my gripes about this list, because they just turned huge! Unconstructively and simply said, I don't like it!

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by aimless

I thought that was the reason you agonized for years over this, so we could get cranky and have fun.

Nah, I agonized for years because I knew what a big job it would be. I stretched the article out over ten days so you could get cranky and have fun.

Speaking of which, the top ten are up!

[ozzie]

Originally Posted by Fien

I wish someone would make me see why other players enjoy BS1 so much because I honestly don’t understand. Sure, the graphics are very nice. Great intro with the clown. Story... okay, not real interesting. Puzzles... okay, not very original. Characters... I find George almost as bland as Brian in Runaway. Nico is only marginally better. The NPCs are either caricatures (that idiotic inspector) or boring (flower lady, Irish lad). Voiceacting... George and Nico okay, the rest is over the top, which would be fine in a humorous game, but this one is a mix of fantasy and realism with a little humor thrown in. Other 3rd-person adventures manage to pull that combination off, whereas BS1 is neither flesh, nor fish, nor good red herring.

IMO. IMO. IMO.

I always thought that Broken Sword was a lot like Indiana Jones (Fate of Atlantis and the first three movies), but more down to earth and less intense. I mean, George and Nico are more like normal people than Indy is. As a result maybe, the game is never as funny, action-packed, exciting or exotic as Indy. I always felt that Indy was all the things that Broken Sword was, but Broken Sword was always a bit less than Indy.
But now that I write this down, I feel that there's one aspect that Broken Sword has that Indy hasn't: those quiet, mundane, every-day moments. The Irish pub. The street scene with the construction workers. The visit to a hospital. Don't you have to unplug a vacuum cleaner as a part of a puzzle there? I do like these moments somewhat. They work.
But I agree somewhat that a lot of the side characters are caricatures. You have these pretty well-formed protagonists that come into contact with all these characters devoid of depth. It clashes, especially with the realistic protrayal in other instances.

I appreciate Broken Sword a lot more than I like it. It's a very well crafted game, there's little bad about it, and it's never boring or dull either. It's just not entirely to my taste.

[aimless]

You're brilliant! I'll never doubt you again, Jackal! Grim Fandango finally got the recognition it deserves! And look, there is no 'you might also like'...following it and no wonder. There is nothing like it!

I'll even forgive you #2 for that.

[Jackal]

There are no "also like" recommendations for any of today's games. I figure the top ten all-time games really have no peers (besides each other).

[lostwolfe]

been watching for the last several days as this unfolded [i think i found it on day two, or so.]

thankyou, jackal and the rest of the staff for doing this, it was very fun to watch unfold, and while my top hundred adventure games would clearly be different, it's been a pleasure seeing someone else's go at the idea.

to everyone going "BAAAAH. THIS IS UNPROFESSIONAL AND WRONG!"

you know what? it's /their opinion./ it doesn't have to be /your opinion./

adventure games are like anything else - we all have our own personal tastes and we're not all going to agree with each other on what is "the best adventure game, ever."

so, instead of foot stomping, just relax and enjoy what has been a fine, fine endeavour by a group of people with their own particular tastes.

[iqzulk]

Longest Journey? #2? NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!

Aside from that... did Riven become 5th solely because of the importance of number "5" for its in-game world?

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by iqzulk

Aside from that... did Riven become 5th solely because of the importance of number "5" for its in-game world?

Ummm... yes!* Wasn't that synchronicity some incredible planning on our part?

* And by yes I mean no.