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Silent Hill

* American McGee's Alice - practically everything visual: art direction, character design, level design, weapons (all except for gameplay, which was mediocre). There was a big room in the level just before Skool Daze, where once Alice entered the checkerboard floor groaned and deconstructed itself into a giant kinetic platform puzzle; I slowly panned the camera around.....I was in heaven.

* Silent Hill - The first playable part, where Harry runs after his daughter Cheryl, and ends up in a labyrinthine alley. The air raid sirens sound, and darkness suddenly falls, with Harry striking a match for light. I thought this was one of the most perfectly orchestrated interactive cutscenes in history. I won't spoil it for yooz guyz who haven't played it yet, but when I got to the dead end: "Oh F#CK!! I have no weapons! Where the hell's the exit?!! No, No, NOO!!!!!"

I'm pretty easily pleased, so this thread is full of "Oh yeah!!! That was awesome!!!" material for me. Another World's introduction was pretty masterful with some really high-quality animation - and the game itself was just as good! The opening 'level' especially, with the big beast chasing you, was almost cinematic - you didn't just see the lion drop down in front of you as you would in a standard platformer, you saw it appear and roar in your face from your character's point of view. Little cutscenes like this were very well integrated throughout. The game was way ahead of its time - too bad it was very, very short!

Frontier on the Amiga didn't just have some 'amazing' - for the time - polygon-based 3D graphics, it had incredibly addictive gameplay and an exciting opening sequence. As a package, it kept me occupied for years - literally.

Shelling out an amount of money I wouldn't dream of today for my first 3D graphics card - I think I went temporarily insane for the first few weeks, everything looked so nice! Looking back, the 3D games I had were rubbish, but I couldn't stop playing 'em.

As for more recent games - there are still lots, but I'll nominate a few: Hardwar, set in the desolate future on Titan - the first time I fired it up after upgrading my PC and I was able to see across an entire 'crater', complete with AI spaceships buzzing about, was just "whoa". The Grim Fandango trailer: prior to the game's release I downloaded the 'basic' demo with no music, speech or sound and was a bit underwhelmed, but once I got the full-screen trailer on a coverdisc I didn't have to think twice. Most cutscenes in the game itself were completely awesome, especially the final cutscene which is probably my most-watched cutscene ever!

Oh, and the "Hola Manuel!" bit - macabre but very funny! One of the most memorable jokes - not to mention twists - in a game ever.

Finally, GTA3. The impact had dulled by the time Vice City came out, but seeing the sunset through the pouring rain while tearing around the sweeping streets was probably the culmination of most of the various "wouldn't it be great if someone made a game where..." daydreams I've had since I started playing games. ;)

And most recently, seeing how bloody huge the "ONS-Dria" map is on Unreal Tournament 2004! I looked at the map and thought my destination looked pretty nearby, so I decided it was quicker to walk than find a vehicle - yeah right! It was miles away! The level is so big that you can go for ages without meeting anybody, and it looks beautiful (very 'Mordor') to boot!

P.S. I keep trying to play Ocarina of Time, but I can't see past its age and its lack of manual camera control. Mohh. Maybe I'll try again soon...
P.P.S. Actually, based on this thread, I'll also add the following to my 'play for more than the five minutes you've managed so far, fool!' list: System Shock 2.
P.P.P.S. I'm sure that the number of lying phrases beginning with things like "finally..." and "lastly..." dotted around this post will tip you off that I've been editing it quite a bit! Sorry about that... the more I re-read this thread, the more I remember!

Deus Ex
Still the defining moment in PC gaming. Freedom I'd never seen. Pure, precise, principled - the game has it all. Defying convetional wisdom with a de facto grace, and influencing a whole generation of games, witness the obligatory stealth level in most bog standard FPS games. Truely a great moment in videogaming. By analogy, Deus Ex: Invisible War is to The Matrix: Reloaded what Deus Ex was to The Matrix; the original is still the most innovative, the most defined and free vision of the form. Yet to be toppled from the PC gaming throne.

Grim Fandango
The only game to make me cry. A slice of cinema, real life, biting humour and love. A perfectly crafted narrative, the culmination of decades of work, through an ethos refined and defined by the former great, LucasArts. With memorable characters, insane puzzles and still the most wonderfully sweet fable I've had the pleasure and honour to experience in a videogame.

Freelancer
Space. The Final Frontier. To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before. Exactly my type of game. Freeform. Responsive. Freelancer is not Elite. It brings the spirti of that giant to a third dimension, and a further generation. It is beautiful, it is operatic. It empowers the player. It's also got a gripping story, and some really fantastic battles.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Reach for the stars, for the impossible. Even if you do not reach them, you still have travelled far. Morrowind is not perfect, but so ambitious as to warrant the dropping of the jaw. The most beautifully crafted RPG to date, the game possesses character and style, and a diverse range of abilities and questions, when one includes the expansion packs. I'm still playing the game on my original character, such are the legions of factions and quests to be completed. A classic, and one for those who want to see the hours drip away.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars is a childhood dream. Computer effects and characters purged the vision. Computer games and stories have redeemed it. Standing as the best piece of Star Wars since the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books, the game is focused, professional, and wonderfully authentic. A delight to play, and a successful cross-platform development.

More to follow...

Technically, what you mean is that Invisible War is to Deus Ex what Reloaded is to The Matrix.

It is odd to find a fellow Irish person that:

1. Can type in entire sentences without resorting to Txt Talk.
2. Plays Adventure Games.

Heh, I'm going to go out on a limb here and postulate that those two points are possibly where your similarities to James end.

Oh.

Tell me about James.

Nah, I'd venture to say that you have quite a lot in common, except you're extroverted and James is pathetic. I have nothing against James nor do I have anything against pathetic people. Some of my best friends are pathetic.

Oh.

Oh well.

I guess that it's good to be extroverted.

If I recall correctly, you likened me to the unabomber or something.

What the heck? This Living Daylights song I just downloaded bought isn't The Living Daylights at all!

Your avatar reminds me, Steve, of a video clip in Encarta 95... of a frog getting caught by a frog-eating plant... it was so obvious that poor frog was pushed into that plant.

Heh, now this I've gotta hear...

I guess I'd be finding this a whole lot funnier if I knew James, right?

It's not so much funny, it's... Well, I guess when I think of you two in a room having a conversation with each other, it's more... What's the word... Okay, yeah, it's pretty funny.

I don't get it. Somebody explain it to me. Why is this funny? Is James pro-Bush? Perhaps he has some facial growth or surplus hair that I would find distracting while trying to speak to him? Perhaps you are just insanely jealous that I get to live on the same chunk of land as James, whereas you only get to live on the same chunk of land as the likes of Tim Schafer. Perhaps you secretly desire to be part of the European Union, too. Maybe James is the first in a new breed of Fundamentalist Catholic Regime. Perhaps--

Woah, thread going off topic! Here, allow me to--


Monkey Island 1

Spoiler:

The ending, with those closeups which were amazing back then, and the fireworks as LeChuck imploded romantically. So much awesomeness, crammed onto such a small disk.

As I was saying, you find this somehow funny, whereas I do not. Or at least, I probably do, but I haven't yet figured out why it is funny. I don't think it's nice of you to make fun of James if it has something to do with disfiguration. Not that I would be at all distracted by that. Now look, you've made me sound like-- never mind.

Why is it funny?

Just do a search for some of his recent threads. It's not really that funny.

Actually, randomly enough, I think so. Don't quote me on that though.

LOL.

Well that was an interesting aside. Firstly, Remixor, you are correct in your correction of my grammer - I posted after a night out and was rather tired, if not exhausted.

One
There are few Irish adventure gamers, at least few that make their presence felt on the internet, owing I feel to the somewhat solitary nature of adventure gaming. It's always a pleasure to meet another.

Two
Resource to txt speak, or its internet equivalent l33t speak, is below anyone who prides themselves on speaking English, or enjoys any form of literature. For the purposes of this point, anything from a broadsheet up constitutes literature.

Three
I resent the accusation that I am "pathetic." Further to my recent posts I pride myself on my literary works, and am experiencing a spiritual transition, quite outside the narrow confines of a literalist, conservative, and regressive doctrine known as "logic." This has not been an easy time for me, and I would appreciate your discretion therein.

Four
My percieved pretension or arrogance in written or electronic form does not translate to spoken word, nor held in conversation. There exists a duality between one's literary aspirations and inner thoughts, and one's public persona, as displayed by appearance, speech, and mannerisms.

Five
I am not "pro-Bush". Nor indeed am I "anti-Bush", as to be for or against a person is to diminish their humanity. The actions of the President are consistent with my perception of his politics, and maintain a clarity of focus and purpose that is stark contrast to what I percieve as a non-confrontationalist, indecisive and weak Democratic party, whose actions under the Clinton administration echo those of the current leadership, if only with further secrecy and compromise - peace talks with one hand, bombings with the other (Chinese embassy, Yugoslavia to name but one). A bi-party system that offers a choice of a right-centre party and a centre-right one can hardly be deemed expansive democracy or choice.

Six
I am not disfigured, at least not in any way of which the denizens of this particular forum are aware.

Btw, welcome to Adventure Gamers.

I already like Yufster.

I don't understand why anyone should be extroverted. I once was and it never did me any good. Of course, perhaps being extroverted is good if you aren't stupid. I just say "Mhhgf" to people.

Monkey Island 3

Yep, before it even had its final title. When I first saw a trailer in December 1996. I got it with a computer magazine, and I literally ran home to watch it. Several times. I think it is one of the ONLY videos I remember watching even now...

Woah there!!! hold up a sec, De Valera!

I can see why it might be a funny situation, should we come face to face some time. Don't get me wrong; I understood everything you just said. I just resort to a more straightforward way of communicating my thoughts and ideas; keep talking until something sounds right.

But it never does.

I have to phone work now, to tell them I can't come in tomorrow because my car is broken down and I have no other way to get in. Perhaps I should use James-style communication? While their heads are reeling, I can make a safe getaway, put-the-phone-down style!

Uhm,

In more on-topic news, you're probably all going to hate me, but the end of MI4 sent shivers of delight up my spine. Not because of what it was, but what it had the potential to be. The music, the voiceacting, the character designs... all had the potential to be awesome. But everything else sucked.

Hehe. I like this one. "James style communication" - a phrase is coined. I do apologise if I came across as abrasive (reading Law from 10am till now does that to you). MI4 isnt' of the same calibre as the other games, by a long shot, agreed, though it does have its moments.