Top 10 Games - #6
17/09/09 14:09 Filed in: Gaming Goodness
Recap time:
#10 - Prince Of Persia - MAC/PC
#9 - Bloodnet - PC
#8 - The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past - Super Nintendo
#7 - Mass Effect - Xbox 360/PC
When I was 6 years old, I begged my parents to let me see "Temple Of Doom". But they weren't sure if this was the kind of material a 6 year old should be viewing so they decided to see it first without me. I would be allowed to see it only if they deemed it appropriate. I waited on pins and needles for them to return from their viewing. When they got in the door I asked what it was like. I believe the words "fantastic", "terrific", and "amazing" were in there somewhere in their description. "So can I go?" I pleaded. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" was their response. I think I threw a tanty and cried some real tears. But that was 24 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy. Anyways, a few years later I was able to see it on video, and I think it was during the "Snake Surprise" scene that I came to agree with their decision.
When my brother and I were a little older, my dad started taking us to the Hillcrest drive-in. It was there that I saw my favourite movies of my youth. And being the healthy young age of 10 meant my dad thought that it was time for me to "man up" and watch great kids films like Die Hard and Robocop. True story, I watched Robocop a couple months ago and actually shielded my eyes in some scenes. I guess I never did "man up".
You are prolly wondering when I'm getting to the game. Well it was at Hillcrest that I saw "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" And a few months later I was able to play through the same adventure that I fell in love with on the big screen. This time on my Mac Plus. "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" was not only my first foray into SCUMM games, but the first time I ever played an adventure-style game. "Last Crusade" was one of those great games that really honoured the franchise and gave players something that was faithful to the subject matter in all the right parts, and took some liberties when necessary. It was a great game and I loved it. But no matter how good it got, I still always knew what was going to happen next. And I knew the ending before popping the first disc into my comp.
It was another 2 years before Indy would grace my computer screen again. This time it was on my Mac IIsi. And it wasn't a movie tie-in anymore. It was an all-new adventure in the Indiana Jones world. "Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis" came out in 92, and I was able to snatch it up shortly after it's release. How could I not? "The Last Crusade" turned me onto adventure gaming. After "Last Crusade" I dabbled in many other adventure games, but none had the same effect on me as my first adventure with Indy.
I fired up "Fate Of Atlantis" on my comp...used the weird copy protection decoder system, and was in. And I didn't get out again till the game was over and done with. Man what a world. I'm going to come out and say this right here and now..."Fate Of Atlantis" stands as the best example to date of how to treat a videogame adaptation of a venerable franchise such as the Indiana Jones series. The dialog, locations, humour, puzzles, and action were so faithful to the franchise. I loved this game.
But what made it great? Well for one it had 3 different ways to play. One could play it the "Wits", "Fists", or "Team" way . Each played differently from one another. The "Wits" gameplay was puzzle heavy. The "Fists" style was more action-centric. And in the "Team" way, Indy was aided by the lovely Sophia Hapgood. I played through the game all the way only once("Team" if you're wondering). But I still like to fire it up from time to time when I'm feeling nostalgic, sinking a few hours in here and there.
So what can we learn from this game? I think it's pretty clear. The reason why "Fate Of Atlantis" worked so well was because the subject matter was a perfect fit for this game genre. There were plenty of other Indy games out there, but most were utterly terrible. But why did they suck?
Indiana Jones films are all about the adventure. When people play a game based on a licensed property, they want it to feel right. In the case of Indy, they want to don the fedora, travel around the world, solve puzzles, get into a few fights, and in the end save the girl and find the artefact. "Fate Of Atlantis" did this perfectly.
Another reason why I loved this game was because it, like many other adventure games, didn't dumb itself down for the lowest common denominator. Early adventure games forced players to think real hard about how to solve some of the puzzles. Games now seem to just roll along without there ever being any doubt about how to complete your objectives. Old adventure games could get frustrating as hell, but there was this great sense of accomplishment every time you figured out a tough puzzle. I would love to see how kids today would fare in some of the early adventure games. Games were so difficult back in the day that we had hint hotlines dedicated to handing out hints to all the top games....granted...they weren't given out for free. True, the reason why games were so tough back in the day was in order to sell the strategy guides, hint-lines, and magazines. But most the time if you really applied yourself you could figure it out on your own. Hint-lines were for the lazy and weak.
So how can you play it now? Steam. Yup, both "Last Crusade" and "Fate Of Atlantis" are available on Steam for the PC. You can even buy the "Lucasarts Adventure Pack" for $9.99US that comes with both Indy games, "The Dig", and "LOOM". If you're an Indy fan you owe it to yourself to try these games out.
#10 - Prince Of Persia - MAC/PC
#9 - Bloodnet - PC
#8 - The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past - Super Nintendo
#7 - Mass Effect - Xbox 360/PC
When I was 6 years old, I begged my parents to let me see "Temple Of Doom". But they weren't sure if this was the kind of material a 6 year old should be viewing so they decided to see it first without me. I would be allowed to see it only if they deemed it appropriate. I waited on pins and needles for them to return from their viewing. When they got in the door I asked what it was like. I believe the words "fantastic", "terrific", and "amazing" were in there somewhere in their description. "So can I go?" I pleaded. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" was their response. I think I threw a tanty and cried some real tears. But that was 24 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy. Anyways, a few years later I was able to see it on video, and I think it was during the "Snake Surprise" scene that I came to agree with their decision.
When my brother and I were a little older, my dad started taking us to the Hillcrest drive-in. It was there that I saw my favourite movies of my youth. And being the healthy young age of 10 meant my dad thought that it was time for me to "man up" and watch great kids films like Die Hard and Robocop. True story, I watched Robocop a couple months ago and actually shielded my eyes in some scenes. I guess I never did "man up".
Indiana Jones films are all about the adventure. When people play a game based on a licensed property, they want it to feel right. In the case of Indy, they want to don the fedora, travel around the world, solve puzzles, get into a few fights, and in the end save the girl and find the artefact. "Fate Of Atlantis" did this perfectly.
So how can you play it now? Steam. Yup, both "Last Crusade" and "Fate Of Atlantis" are available on Steam for the PC. You can even buy the "Lucasarts Adventure Pack" for $9.99US that comes with both Indy games, "The Dig", and "LOOM". If you're an Indy fan you owe it to yourself to try these games out.