[Jackal]

Well, the month-long deluge of E3 coverage is now over... okay, ALMOST over. Having had the chance to roll up our sleeves and get up close and personal with many of these games, it's time to give the ol' Hype-o-Meter a shakedown and see where we stand.

#1 and #2: Dreamfall, Indigo Prophecy. Oh, come ON! This is getting dull. But these games deserve their lofty status, and don't look ready to be supplanted until they're actually released.

#3 - #5: Paradise, Myst V, and Bone should need no introduction by this point, and each jumps up two slots. Their design team pedigrees are among the best in the business, and I'm tempted to call each of these a "cant-miss" prospect. I won't, though. I'll just imply it by saying what I did in a non-committal fashion, so don't quote me on it.

#6: VOYAGE. Everyone loves an underdog. When Return to Mysterious Island came out to zero fanfare last year, no one knew it would become a sleeper hit that injected just enough clever innovation and style to a very familiar formula to make it all feel fresh and new and a whole lotta fun. Now Kheops Studio is taking all the best elements of that game, adding even more creative gameplay ideas, and sending them to the moon. We're ready to follow the developers on that trip.

#7: 80 Days. Debuting at a fairly splashy #7 is the newest game from Frogwares. But with good reason. This wildly ambitious offbeat adventure set in a full 3D world has all kinds of potential. It's sure to raise the "action-adventure" debate again, but it looks ALL adventure to us, based on what we've seen. Be sure to check out the recently released trailer for the game so you'll know what the fuss is about.

#8: Runaway 2. I think I'll save my breath on this one. You either agree or you don't. You know who you are.

#9 and #10: A Vampyre Story, Juniper Crescent - Sapphire Claw. These will now officially be known as the "tick everyone off" slots... Okay, let's be clear on one thing: BOTH these games would be higher on the list if they were in full production. We love the concepts, we love the art, we love the teams, but neither is in full-scale development like the other titles on the list (and many that aren't). So... they make the list because we can't bring ourselves to leave them off, but they're lower than other games whose releases appear more certain. If either signs with a publisher, look for Mach-3 acceleration up the charts.

Outgoing

On their way out the door singing "So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night" are two games. The first was easy, as Another Code should be releasing in Europe in 4... 3... 2... 1... NOW! (Yes, North Americans have to wait longer for the retitled Trace Memory, but the anxious types can buy it overseas.)

The second is Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. This one hurt, as we really ARE looking forward to it, having confidence that developers AWE Games and writer Lee Sheldon can do the classic mystery full justice. Unfortunately, the E3 demonstration was less than overwhelming, and in the screenshot department, a better name would be And Still There Are None. At some point, we have to stop bringing ATTWN to Show & Tell when we have nothing to show, so for now, off the list it comes, making way for games more deserving of the public spotlight.

And so concludes yet another round of Hype-o-Mania. As always, some pretty great sweet looking games didn't make the cut, but there's always next time!

[gillyruless]

Does that mean we can now officially start whining, bitching, and moaning about the list, Jack?



I'd love to have seen games that are further along development than AVS on the list. Scratches and Tony Tough 2 for example. I just can't personally get hyped about AVS since we still know nothing about it with the exception of a few pieces of concept arts and characters.

[Legolas813]

My personal list:

1) Paradise
2) Dreamfall
3) Runaway 2
4) A Vampyre Story
5) Indigo Prophecy

[AFGNCAAP]

*cries at the loss of the Agatha Christie game, but understands*

*sniff*

I was kind of sure both Voyage and 80 days will find their way to the list (and I approve they did), but where is Metronome? I suppose it's not a question of genre purity or whatever, as Dreamfall occupies #1 slot since can't-remember-when?

Also, Law and Order: Criminal Intent seemed rather promising from the review. But it's low-profile in a way, so I can't honestly pinpoint a game that should be removed from the list to make place for it (well, except one that Jack saved his breath on. But I know who I am. ).



*sniff*

[Kolzig]

Ok then, my personal list:

1) Dreamfall
2) Juniper Crescent - Sapphire Claw
3) Bone
4) Vampire Story
5) Paradise
.
.
.
6) Runaway 2


Ok and I forgot Metronome, but it's belongs in this list

[Jackal]

Ah, Metronome, right. Unlike Dreamfall and Indigo, Metronome is really more concept than anything at this stage. I'm as enthused about it as anyone, actually, but it really is too early to know much about how it will turn out (if it ever gets made). And that includes where it might fall on the action scale. Anyone want to lay bets that a potential publisher will ask them to tone DOWN the action elements?

[NemelChelovek]

I really want to be excited about Bone, but somehow, there's just something about Telltale that makes me skeptical. I don't know what it is, but the company's always seemed doomed to fail in my eyes. Maybe it's because they're devoting an entire game to the least-eventful entry in the Bone series when they could easily have combined the first two; maybe it's because of their statement that they want to acquire licenses rather than make original (and by this I mean new, not "creative," because their current work does look very creative) titles, but I've always felt kinda skeptical about them. I think perhaps it's the fact that they've projected the game's release as late 2005, when they only announced it in March. That just seems a bit rushed to me. I want to be wrong about this, and I really hope it ends up being a great game and you all laugh at me for thinking otherwise once it's released, but until then...I just don't know.

[Zack]

My List of Anticipated Adventure Games:

1. Runaway 2 (Because I really liked the first one).
2. Paradise (Because it's created by Benoit Sokal
3. Dreamfall-The Longest Journey (mainly because the first game is one of my all-time favorite adventure games)
4. Indigo Prophecy (it sounds really intriguing)

That's all of the E3 Games I can think of that I'm really looking forward to playing.

[Kolzig]

Originally Posted by NemelChelovek

I really want to be excited about Bone, but somehow, there's just something about Telltale that makes me skeptical. I don't know what it is, but the company's always seemed doomed to fail in my eyes. Maybe it's because they're devoting an entire game to the least-eventful entry in the Bone series when they could easily have combined the first two; maybe it's because of their statement that they want to acquire licenses rather than make original (and by this I mean new, not "creative," because their current work does look very creative) titles, but I've always felt kinda skeptical about them. I think perhaps it's the fact that they've projected the game's release as late 2005, when they only announced it in March. That just seems a bit rushed to me. I want to be wrong about this, and I really hope it ends up being a great game and you all laugh at me for thinking otherwise once it's released, but until then...I just don't know.

But the reason why they are making the first game/chapter only about the first album is that the game will have 9 chapters, every book gets a chapter.

[squarejawhero]

I'm not so sure of Voyage, but the rest is fine with me. Voyage looks rather formula and the design work isn't very strong compared to Kheops last title. It looks muddy and confused, even with the strong colours. It might be a solid adventure, but nothing about it would get into my own personal hype-o-meter! Yet!

[Ninth]

Cool Hype-o-meter. The only game here that hasn't got me excited yet is Fahrenheit, but it still deserves its place, and all the other ones are promising in one way or another.
I'd say it's the best hype-o-meter in a long while. (probably because Wanted is out of it )

[Filmman]

I can not wait to play Runaway 2