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My 2012, adventurewise :)
Well the year ain’t over yet so I still have a couple of days to finish off some games i’m playing but so far i’ve played 46 games this year (http://www.adventuregamers.com/forums/viewthread/36/) of which
6 = 3rd Person Action games
1 = Driving game
6 = First Person Shooters
2 = Role Playing Games
1 = Space Sim
and more important 30 adventure games
Jurassic Park 2/5
Grim Fandango 5/5
The Longest Journey 5/5
Gabriel Knight 2: Beast Within 5/5
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (Director’s Cut) 4/5
Riven 3.5/5
Portal 2 5/5
Day of the Tentacle 5/5
The Last Express 4.5/5
Stacking 4/5
Secret of Monkey Island SE 5/5
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 4/5
Still Life 4/5
Still Life 2 2.5/5
Syberia 4/5
Walking Dead Ep 1 3.5/5
Syberia II 4/5
Runaway: A Road Adventure 3.5/5
Under a Killing Moon 4.5/5
Pandora Directive 5/5
Walking Dead Ep 2 4/5
Lost Pig 2/5
Monkey Island 2 : Special Edition 5/5
Tex Murphy Overseer 4/5
Walking Dead Ep 3 4.5/5
Walking Dead Ep 4 4/5
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes 4.5/5
Walking Dead Ep 5 5/5
Resonance 4/5
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask 3.5/5
17 games from the Top 100, including all of the top 10.
An adventure game is nothing more than a good story set with engaging puzzles that fit seamlessly in with the story and the characters, and looks and sounds beautiful.
Roberta Williams
Well, it seems I have a lot to reply to in this thread… 
It just makes me so sad to look at the game’s concept art, because it really was beautiful… what possessed them to change that beauty into the plastic muppets found in the final product is beyond me. If there’s any Lucasarts adventure that begs for a proper 2D HD remake, EfMI is it.
Well, the same approach worked wonders with Grim Fandango, and EfMI was two years of 3D-technology later.
I agree that it’s ugly, but it really only is ugly by today’s standards. I really didn’t mind the graphics when the game was just released. (And truthfully, I still don’t.)
You’re never going to top CoMI’s graphics with 3D, but it could’ve been a lot worse. Just look at Simon 3D’s graphics in comparison.
And I can look beyond even Simon 3D’s graphics…
Awesome graphics are a bonus, but bad ones are never going to detract me from a game. Which is mainly why I still consider EfMI one of the most underrated games of all time.
Last Express
... given it’s relatively short playtime.
Maybe if you beeline for the ending, but if you want to explore *every* option to get the full story, surely you’re going to have an incredibly lengthy game?
Or have I been deceived???
4/5
3.5/4
3/4
4/5
Why do you rate some games on a scale of 5 and some on 4??? 
</off-topic> (why is that tag not working?!)
It needs square brackets instead of pointy brackets…
D’uh! 
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
Completed
Primordia: Very pedestrian puzzles and inconsistent graphics. Too bad because the story is mostly engaging. 2.5/5
To the Moon: Very little gameplay, story is a bit overwrought and corny. Has its moments. 2/5
A New Beginning: Liked this a lot. Great adventure game atmosphere, interesting story (except ending), well-designed puzzles, very long to balance out the fact that it isn’t overly challenging (no random wacky puzzles though). VA is terrible. 4/5
Gray Matter: Doesn’t start very well with an ugly art style and takes a while for the story to get started but when it does a very competent and innovative adventure. Hoping for a sequel. 4/5
Dear Esther: Not a game, etc, we get it. It does have an interesting premise and some nice graphics but the decision to limit movement speed to a snails pace to artificially inflate the game duration is unforgivable. Overall tedious. 1.5/5
Yesterday: Interesting, some attempts at innovation when it comes to interface (although not successful), the game’s biggest problem is its incoherent narrative where it feels like you are playing scenes from different games altogether. Characterization suffers as a result and the game ends up not being very involving. 2.5/5
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav: Great fairy tale with a good ending, fantastic graphics, average to good puzzles, terrible VA. 4/5
Still Life: Overrated blast from the past. Great atmosphere but lackluster puzzles, some startlingly racist writing and the main character can sound like she’s been written by Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. Also you don’t get a satisfying ending - and never will. 2.5/5
Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney (original trilogy): Visual novel more than game and yet surprisingly addictive and fun. Fantastic character design and dialogue. Some weak cases but the payoff is amazing. Also, very time consuming so a plus if you’re in public transport with your DS a lot. 4/5
Jurassic Park (Telltale): QTE-driven non-game. 1/5
Walking Dead: See above. 1/5
Replay
The Dig: Still the most underrated LucasArts game. Fantastic music and retro graphics and a true cinematic sci-fi atmosphere. Great voice acting. Bit short and not that great an ending. 4.5/5
Monkey Island 1: Timeless classic, funniest LucasArts game, etc etc. 5/5
Full Throttle: Short, some bad puzzles, overall overrated. Great graphics and voice acting but far from LucasArts’ best gameplay-wise. 3/5
Alpha Polaris: Outstanding atmosphere in this overlooked gem, third act a let down but there’s nothing like those strange nights in the arctic under aurora borealis. 3.5/5
Started
Resonance: Some great ideas, not very far in so won’t rate yet.
The Longest Journey: Liking this so far, surprisingly solid for a 2.5D game from the late 90s.
Syberia (won’t finish): I just hate the graphic style and atmosphere in this game and the puzzles aren’t good enough to keep me interested. Doesn’t look like a bad game by any means put pushes too many of the wrong buttons for my taste.
Whispered World (won’t finish): Too many illogical, random puzzles and I can’t stand the VA in this.
Art of Murder: Hunt for the Puppeteer (won’t finish): The worst kind of adventure game. See here.
Notable non-adventure games
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition: The best game in years. Brings mystery, skill and exploration back to videogames. Obscure narrative to unravel through hints hidden around the world. Beautiful art direction especially when it comes to enemies. 5/5
Walking Dead: See above. 1/5
Even I, who despises every form of QTE (except in Dragon’s Lair, that is, for purely nostalgic value), would say it’s utterly insane to claim that The Walking Dead is a QTE-driven non-game.
Senscape // Founder // Designer | Working on: Asylum | Twitter: @AgustinCordes
Walking Dead: See above. 1/5
Even I, who despises every form of QTE (except in Dragon’s Lair, that is, for purely nostalgic value), would say it’s utterly insane to claim that The Walking Dead is a QTE-driven non-game.
We’ve had this argument before and I’m not going to go over it again.
Walking Dead: See above. 1/5
Even I, who despises every form of QTE (except in Dragon’s Lair, that is, for purely nostalgic value), would say it’s utterly insane to claim that The Walking Dead is a QTE-driven non-game.
We’ve had this argument before and I’m not going go over it again.
Fine. I wasn’t there. But since I roughly counted 1-2 QTE sequences per episode, to say that the whole series is QTE-driven is, quite frankly, bollocks. It might be the case with Jurassic Park, sure (I haven’t played it), but The Walking Dead is nothing like that.
Senscape // Founder // Designer | Working on: Asylum | Twitter: @AgustinCordes
@Tim
Unfortunately, I feel the same way about Grim Fandango. I also felt that way when they were just released.
The thing is, I began drawing and painting at an early age. As the visual presentation in adventure games developed from 1-color, crate-sized pixels to beatiful masterpieces of handmade art, adventuregames became not just a huge source, but my main source of inspiration. So for me, as much as I love the satisfaction of solving a puzzle, the real reward is when I get to access new screens, and feast my eyes upon another gorgeous work of art (I can zone out and just stare at a background for hours). Thus, it’s never really been about graphics per se, but whether or not the backgrounds inspire me to draw/paint. Around 1998, new releases stopped doing that (until I discovered Runaway, many years later).
This doesn’t mean I’m entirely unable to enjoy adventures that doesn’t look like a collection of beautiful paintings, just that one of the more important elements I enjoy about them is missing.
I have a similar relationship to music. If it doesn’t inspire me to play the guitar, I usually don’t find it very interesting. Adventuregames “advancing” from 2D to 3D is for me like Mozart “advancing” from a full orchestra to the kazoo
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
Don’t you find the background art in GF and EfMI gorgeous to look at?
It’s only the characters that are blocky 3D…
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
Grim Fandango’s background art is especially breathtaking. That airship…
And the character’s blockiness not so much a problem in that game, I found.
It really is a beautiful-looking game, though.
Grim Fandango’s background art is especially breathtaking. That airship…
And the character’s blockiness not so much a problem in that game, I found.
It really is a beautiful-looking game, though.
Agreed. Grim Fandango had amazing graphics - both backgrounds & 3d models - which hold up excellently even today.
4/5
3.5/4
3/4
4/5Why do you rate some games on a scale of 5 and some on 4???
Hmmm I must have been in a hurry to get back to my game when I made this post. I have corrected it so that my ratings are all on a scale of 4. This way your head won’t explode when you try to figure out my ratings 
Replay
...
Alpha Polaris: Outstanding atmosphere in this overlooked gem, third act a let down but there’s nothing like those strange nights in the arctic under aurora borealis. 3.5/5
Adventure, how did you hear about Alpha Polaris? I found it because the Amazon.com algo recommended it to me, and I bought the dig download due to nice $5 price tag 
Don’t you find the background art in GF and EfMI gorgeous to look at?
It’s only the characters that are blocky 3D…
Well, I guess if I squint quite a bit… well, they look pretty darn good compared to the characters but still, no… those backgrounds evoke no (useful) emotion in me, it’s just nowhere near the same as a handpainted background.
Grim Fandango’s background art is especially breathtaking. That airship…
I do see what you mean, and I’ve seen some of Peter Chan’s concept art for that airship, and THAT was truly breathtaking, a whole lot more than what’s seen in the actual game.
Again, to try and explain what I mean, I’ll make a comparison to music:
Listening to Andrés Segovia demonstrate his emotional and technical brilliance playing the classical guitar, brings tears to my eyes, provides a stream of inspiration and an uncontrollable desire to pick up the guitar. However, if you program the same score into a music-maker or notation program, then press play and listen… You can still hear if it’s a good tune and identify the quality of the composition, but none of the things that made me emotional and impressed enough to cry when Segovia played it, would be audible in a programmed version.
That’s about the same way I respond to backgrounds. Once they become “programmed” (i.e converted to 3D), I feel they lose their artistic and organic touch, and that would rarely inspire me to pick up a pencil (unless maybe to write an angry letter ). This doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy the jokes/story/puzzles, but I struggle getting rid of the notion that something better has been replaced by something worse.
I don’t expect anyone to agree or identify with this, it’s just the way my brain works I do believe there’s a slight portion of sense to it though.
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
Adventure, how did you hear about Alpha Polaris? I found it because the Amazon.com algo recommended it to me, and I bought the dig download due to nice $5 price tag
I think from a forum somewhere, it’s not on Steam and I rarely buy from Amazon. As for the Dig I found a boxed copy for a few bucks in a garage sale years ago.
And… I managed to finish Kaptain Brawe with an hour left in the year. Woohoo!
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