Current Articles

Insecticide: Part 1

Insecticide: Part 1

Sometimes we seek a game that is a little bit different and fresh, yet at the same time we want to relish a game with the playability of a retro classic. This combination, which may seem unlikely to exist in a single title, is exactly what we get from Crackpot Entertainment’s Insecticide: Part 1. The game sets upon creating a new kind of gaming experience by intermixing 2 tried but radically…

review  Posted by Igor Hardy.
Resource Quest: hidden treasures in Sierra's adventure games

Resource Quest: hidden treasures in Sierra’s adventure games

In adventure games, many details can be easily missed by the player during gameplay. These may be as simple as an overlooked plot element or character, but there are subtler minutiae as well. There are randomly occurring events that are often completely unrelated to the plot of the game (such as the Batmobile occasionally speeding out of Hagatha’s cave in King’s Quest II: Romancing the Throne)…

feature  Posted by Jess Beebe.
The Last Express

The Last Express retro

Today we ride trains as a part of our everyday life. Yet, there was a time when riding a train was more than an optional means to arrive at a certain destination: it was a unique experience. The Orient Express was arguably one of the most famous train routes near the turn of the century, where a passenger could get from Paris to Istanbul in just a matter of days. To endure the long-distance…

review  Posted by Bruno de Figueiredo.
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner

Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner

In 2006, Telltale Games came up with a winning formula for creating episodic adventure game series. The first part of this formula involved finding a property with enough of a fanbase to provide an instant market for its game, but not enough to kill its development budget with licensing fees. Telltale Games would then depend on the creator of the franchise to provide the setting, personality,…

review  Posted by Kenneth Wilson.
Death Gate

Death Gate retro

Death Gate is a classic adventure game from the much revered Legend Entertainment. The studio is known for developing games that include exceptionally well crafted puzzles and a wacky sense of humor which frequently breaks the fourth wall and plays to a wide assortment of offbeat puns. Moreover, the company has emerged with a winning streak of fantasy and sci-fi games based on popular literature…

review  Posted by Igor Hardy.

Past Favorites

Roberta Williams

Roberta Williams

No adventure game designer had ever achieved the level of success as Roberta Heuer Williams (Roberta Williams) had. Born in 1953, she and her husband Ken Williams co-founded On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line, when she was only 26. Mystery House, which she wrote in 1979, was the first graphic adventure game ever created for the PC. Her portfolio of games, spanning over nearly 20…

interview  Posted by Philip Jong.

A guide to create the ideal adventure game

What is an ideal adventure game? The answer to this question has eluded adventure game designers, developers, and players. Many so-called adventure games of today have blurred the line that, in the past, has so clearly defined the adventure genre of yesteryear. Recently, I have taken an interest in the issue, mostly to see if it is possible to reestablish this missing line. The goal of this…

feature  Posted by David Tanguay.

Random Picks

Dracula: The Last Sanctuary

Dracula: The Last Sanctuary retro

For some time, many critics have believed that the much beloved adventure genre is dead. This is because there have not been many adventure games released in recent years, and those adventure games that have been released are neither imaginative nor inventive to attract new fans or command big sales. For the genre to survive, high quality adventure games are needed that deliver captive…

review  Posted by Zack Howe.