[J-Boo]

So when my sister died a year ago I ended up with all of her PC games. A lot of games we shared an interest in and often played together, like The Lost Crown and Black Mirror II. But over the last year of her life, my sister played many more games than I did because she had more time for them (she was down to working part time, whereas I had a baby to take care of). So she had many games that I myself never played.

Our interests divided a bit in that she enjoyed casual games, hidden object games, and lots of puzzles, whereas those aren't really my thing. BUT I'd really like to go through all of her games, eventually. So I thought I would list the ones she left that I have never played, and get everyone's take on which ones are the better ones, and play those first.

Okay, if you've read this far, thank you! And the list is a bit long, but here goes:

Mata Hari
Hotel
Martin Mystere
Return to Mysterious Island
Delaware St. John
Barrow Hill
Everlight
Drawn
Niburu
Penumbra: Overture
Missing
The Art of Murder Games
Agatha Christie mystery games
James Patterson's The Women's Mystery Club
The Watchmaker
Jazz and Faust
Secret Files of Tunguska
Paradise
Shutter Island
SIlent Hill 3
Ceville
Dream Chronicles
Hidden Secrets: The Nightmare
Abra Academy: Returning Cast
Mystery Case Files games
Escape the Museum
Ghost in the Sheet
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Midnight Mysteries (Edgar Allen Poe)
Murder in the Abbey
Portal

So which ones would you recommend I play first?

[Fantasysci5]

First off, sorry about your sister.

If you liked "The Lost Crown", I think you'll like "Barrow Hill". The creators know each other, and there's even a place in Lost Crown that was first mentioned in Barrow Hill.

Portal is more puzzle-based, using physics to overcome obsticles, but it really is a classic to at least try.

I can't really comment on the other games, since I haven't played some of them.

[MoonBird]

Nibiru is one of the greatest adventures ever Try that especially if you loved Black Mirror games Also Secret Files -series and Lost Horizon were great

[kaicooper]

awww so SAD
God Bless her in shallah

i just played some of them..the first is the best then lower

First of all, u should play Amnesia the Dark Descent..
and also Machinariuem witch is the best Adv/Puzz game ever

Portal 2 (so much better cus portal 1 was just for testing)
silent hill 3
Barrow Hill
Penumbra: Overture
The Art of Murder
Return to Mysterious Island
MISSING

they r Great games

[inm8#2]

All great suggestions in here.

[J-Boo]

Thank you so much everyone.

Losing my sister was one of the worst things that could have ever happened. Since we both loved PC games and books, those are what help me feel the closest to her.

She worked in a bookstore, so in addition to her computer games, I also took ALL of her books...between her books and our own we now have 6 bookshelves packed full in this house! And I intend to read every single one too, even though it will take quite a while. I have my work cut out for me.

[Matt Berkeley]

If the "Missing" you have is "Missing: Since January" you should give it a go, ASAP.

I loved it and it's sequel, "Evidence: The Last Ritual"; they are special games to me. And they are indeed special games in that they are played in the "real world". This is why you should play them! And this is also why you should do so ASAP, because there are (?were?) real assets and clues in the real world (on the internet) that may not be around for long (or may be gone already).

Dark and disturbing, for sure. But also, more importantly, challenging!

...

I was going to recommend these to kaicooper after seeing how "Safecracker" went... but see that it is not necessary

[maladroid]

That story made me sad. My sympathies.

As for the task at hand, I have only played a handful of those, so here goes.

Missing (since January) is indeed a very special and intriguing gaming experience. As already mentioned, the puzzle-solving requires some real-life internet search in both existing and "fabricated" pages, some of which have been taken down since, I hear. You can still make progress in the game, but you will miss part of the clue-hunting and you will have to consult a walkthrough as well. STILL, I highly recommend this game along with its sequel Evidence.

Ghost in the Sheet is a quirky, supernatural dark comedy with a unique twist in gameplay as you are required to manipulate objects and solve puzzles using your "ghostly" powers. The story is fun, the writing is ok and the atmosphere retains its horror charm despite the goofiness of the situation. I believe you will have a good time playing it and it only lasts about 8-10 hours, if I remember correctly.

Murder in the Abbey (which I will assume is the American title for The Abbey, by Alchasofa Soft) is based on The Name of the Rose, the seminal murder/mystery by Umberto Eco. It also has many satirical elements but the story and dialogues are well written (if not a bit on the long side) and the cartoonish graphics look quite charming. It is not very challenging puzzle-wise but overall a worthy 20 hour adventure in my opinion. If you also have the book, I would highly recommend you read that too

Portal is a first-person puzzler not to be missed and Drawn is an atmospheric hidden object game which is heavier on the adventure elements than most of its relatives.

Hope you enjoy the ones you'll end up playing.

[terhardp]

First of all, my sincere condolences.

I've played several titles from this list. They're mostly dark-themed titles, but I also see several "lighter" ones. I'll try to write a few words about the ones I've played.


Mata Hari

Nice graphic and music, but rather boring and uninspiring story and gameplay.

Return to Mysterious Island

Eye-candy graphic, charming world and characters, engaging puzzles. The sequel is IMO equally good.

Barrow Hill

I haven't played many horror adventures so far, but Barrow Hill is certainly one of the finest I've played. My personal preference in this genre are games by Johnatan Boakes. I would definitely recommend all of them if you like Barrow Hill.

NiBiRu

Atmosphere and locations are strong point of this game. The story is also rather intriguing. The similar games, at least when it comes to atmosphere, is Black Mirror triology.

Art of Murder

These are high-production titles for sure, but the characters, story and gameplay is full of cliches.

Agatha Christie triology

Personally, I didn't read much of Christie's books so far, so I'm not entirely sure about the accuracy of these games when it comes to story. To me, all three were interesting and captivating. Overall, these are good-looking and well-polished-up titles.

Secret Files: Tunguska

Despite it's high quality in technical sense, this title IMO is rather cheesy when it comes to story and gameplay. The voice-acting is also a red flag. Still, both Secret Files games means plain good fun. There is also the third game on the way, and if you like them I would also recommend The Lost Horizon.

Paradise

If you've played other Benoit Sokal games, namely Syberia, you would likely be intrigued by the screenshots of this game, because it also has his trademark design. Personally, I didn't even finished this game yet; I've found it boring and tiresome.

Ceville

Fun and colorful game, in the style of newer Monkey Island titles, though nowhere of the same quality. If you like this style of games, I would also recommend The Vampyre Story.

Portal


Though certainly not a typical adventure game, Portal is one of the biggest (pleasent) suprises I came across. The sequel is a must, and even much better then the original game. It is IMO pointless to describe this game, you simply have to experience it yourself.

[Schneckchen ^.^]

Out of those games, I really liked Ceville, Return to Mysterious Island, Barrow Hill, and Secret Files.

Drawn and the Mystery Case File games are good too but those are hidden object.

Penumbra and Portal are also fun but neither of them are adventure games so you'll just have to try and see if you like em

[diego]

That's a very noble, challenging and fulfilling quest! Your sis must have been a great person judging by her taste in games alone.

My recommendation of those are:

Ceville - one of the better comic-adventures in last couple of years. You're in the role of the anti-hero, cynical evil king but with a "change of heart" during of course of the game. He will be also joined by 2 other characters - little girl and a pompous knight.

Journey to the Center of the Earth and Return to Mysterious Island are solid retelling of Jules Verne stories.

Agatha Christie games could have been better, but if you're into Poirot and Christie stories you should try it.

Everlight has nice graphics and is similar to Simon the Sorcerer 4.

Nibiru and Secret Files of Tunguska are classic 3rd person mystery/conspiracy adventures with some flaws, but overall enjoyable.

Art of Murder games lack the originality but they're especially good for newcomers.

[Niko]

First off, Condolences to you & your family.

I've played a few of them in the list, and i'd say Everlight & Secret Files of Tunguska are definate's to put at the top of your pile to play.

Btw, ty for the list, i saw NiBiRu on there & gameplay looks good on Youtube, i might get that game myself, if it works with Windows 7

[J-Boo]

Thanks everyone, I am working on putting these games in order of how many recommendations they are getting here

And to the person who mentioned "A Vampyre Story", I actyally had already borrowed that game from her when she was alive but hadn't gotten around to finishing it. As I said I had a new baby in the house and didn't have as much time to play at that point, but my sister did tell me she definitely wanted me to keep playing that one when I had a chance. So I am planning on continuing that game where I left off later today

[skeeter_93]

I am very sorry about your sister... My brother and I grew up playing adventures and while I still play, he's moved on to shooters etc. I am often plying him with games and encouraging him to try them. You and your sister must've been close, and it's lovely how you are remaining close to her through her games and books...

I have played a few of the games, and I would recommend a couple to put at the top of the pile. The Delaware St John games were very good, as were the Agatha Christie games. With those, each game feels very different, so if you disliked one you wouldn't necessarily dislike the others. Missing since January and it's expansion and sequel are fantastic. I replay Missing only last year, and all the sites worked for me and I was able to proceed without a walkthrough. There may be one or two technical issues in the game, but I was able to solve those with the help of google. Barrow Hill and the Art of Murder games I didn't like personally, although I've heard a lot of people like them. Barrow Hill is first person in a lonely setting, Art of Murder was confusing to me, not letting me take things when I wanted... Ceville doesn't work well on my computer which is annoying and slows play, and also a little boring.

As for the casual games, Drawn is fantastic - practically a short adventure game. The Women's Murder Club games were very good, and the Mystery Case Files the best out of them all in my opinion. Dream Chronicles began well for me, but dragged as the series went on.

I hope some of this helps and you enjoy the games...

[gray pierce]

So sorry about your sister. As for games I can only tell you what I thought of some of them. However that's of course an opinion and not fact.

Martin Mystere: Cheaply made AG full of cliches and with very little real story te go round.

NiBiRu: One of the most horrible games I've played. no real characters, a story that never really sets off and very uneven puzzle design

AoM - FBI Confidential: A nice little game if you don;t expect to much. The main character's severely lacking characteristics but the story's quite allright and so are the puzzles.

AoM - Cards of Destiny: Better than the first title, a good story and even quite thrilling at times. Dialogues and voice acting on the other hand is not always as good.

Secret Files - Tunguska: One of my all time favorites. The game that brought back high adventure. Great story, really good puzzles and relatively well fleshed out characters. If you like it I recommend playing Secret Files 2 and Lost Horizon

Journey to the Center of the Earth: A Nice game that allthough not really based on the book does have a Jules Vernish feel to it. A bit thin on the story side but otherwise enjoyable.

[Matt Berkeley]

I replay Missing only last year, and all the sites worked...

That's great news!

So, again I say emphatically: get to this one first and fast, just in case it does all drop away tomorrow.

There are of course many other good games there (Portal {and its sequel} is one of the best game{s} ever) but they are not urgent in the sense that "Evidence..." is, you see.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by gray pierce

NiBiRu: One of the most horrible games I've played. no real characters, a story that never really sets off and very uneven puzzle design

Secret Files - Tunguska: One of my all time favorites. The game that brought back high adventure. Great story, really good puzzles and relatively well fleshed out characters. If you like it I recommend playing Secret Files 2 and Lost Horizon

Wow, there's really no accounting for taste. I get a really similar feel with these two games, only I loved Nibiru and found Tunguska tedious as hell. Trying to get my bimbo character past a bumbling guard just wasn't as fun as exploring archeological sites in the jungle.

[gray pierce]

Originally Posted by Oscar

Wow, there's really no accounting for taste. I get a really similar feel with these two games, only I loved Nibiru and found Tunguska tedious as hell. Trying to get my bimbo character past a bumbling guard just wasn't as fun as exploring archeological sites in the jungle.

What I disliked about NiBiRu was that the main character had really no personality of his own. The same goes for almost every other character in the game. A story that was interesting but never really fleshed out. Instead you kept getting randomn bits of info without ever getting the whole picture and an ending that was as sudden as it was bizarre. The puzzles I found so simple I think even a 5 year old could do them and then suddenly at the end they get so incredibly complecated you have to be a mathematical genius to solve them. Still besides the end puzzles which I solved with a walkthrough I played the entire game in a few hours which for me is never a good sign. Secret Files: Tunguska on the other hand had a really well thought through story in which every titbit was explained and had a really satisfying and grand finale. The main characters may not be as fleshed out as in Broken Sword perhaps but at least they had a personality. And the other characters were also wuite distinctive and at times very funny. And the puzzles were not too hard like at the end of NiBiRu but also not too simple like in the rest of the aforementioned game. Plus to me SF: Tunguska has style, the grand Indy/BS kind of atmosphere to be precise. Something that NiBiRu was severely lacking.

Anyway that's my opinion.

[millenia]

Originally Posted by gray pierce

What I disliked about NiBiRu was that the main character had really no personality of his own. The same goes for almost every other character in the game. A story that was interesting but never really fleshed out. Instead you kept getting randomn bits of info without ever getting the whole picture and an ending that was as sudden as it was bizarre. The puzzles I found so simple I think even a 5 year old could do them and then suddenly at the end they get so incredibly complecated you have to be a mathematical genius to solve them. Still besides the end puzzles which I solved with a walkthrough I played the entire game in a few hours which for me is never a good sign. Secret Files: Tunguska on the other hand had a really well thought through story in which every titbit was explained and had a really satisfying and grand finale. The main characters may not be as fleshed out as in Broken Sword perhaps but at least they had a personality. And the other characters were also wuite distinctive and at times very funny. And the puzzles were not too hard like at the end of NiBiRu but also not too simple like in the rest of the aforementioned game. Plus to me SF: Tunguska has style, the grand Indy/BS kind of atmosphere to be precise. Something that NiBiRu was severely lacking.

Anyway that's my opinion.

I pretty much agree with this. Despite the very interesting plot idea NiBiRu doesn't seem to have much to it. I didn't even finish it :/. I probably will some day just to see it through but the game isn't really that excellent when it doesn't hook me even with that story. It is just badly told.

To me Secret Files is very smooth and also safe, but in a good way. It is well done even if it's not the best adventure of its time.