Blade Runner (1997)

I just watched Prometheus. A little less sci-fi, a little more horror, if you ask me. Still, the first thing that pops to mind when you think of Prometheus is Alien. And the next is probably Blade Runner. This brings us to tonight's installment: the adventure game released by Westwood Studios in 1997. Before you get started ("sacrilege", "they made this game for money", "have they no shame?" and so on), let me present you one of the most critically acclaimed adventure game of all times.

The game picks up right after Deckard is assigned his mission in the film. This is one of the great things about this adventure. It is not a remake of the film, and is not changing the "world" of Blade Runner as we know it. Instead, the writers focused on writing a completely new script in a world full of Non-Player Characters that have their own dreams and aspirations and.. ok I took it one step too far. Let's just say that they move in the universe non-linearly. That is also the reason why the game has 13 (yes, 13, almost the number of times that you can turn on and off a PC before it just bursts into flames/tears) different endings. Each action you make, each mission you take up changes the way the NPCs interfere with you and lead you to other, new storylines. On top of that, you get the chance to visit a lot of the places that Deckard visited in the film without, of course, affecting his actions at all (which would pretty much destroy the film, and since that is impossible, it would destroy the game for everyone).

The game has stunning graphics, featuring a series of innovations as far as adventure games went at the time of release. However, let us also check the basic story of the game. You are Roy McCoy, a rookie blade runner. As we said, you pick up right after Deckard has started his own research and your goal is similar: detect and retire a series of replicants, responsible -it seems- for killing animals, which is apparently super illegal when there are only a handful left of each species. In your efforts, you have some help from another blade runner (played by Lisa Edelstein, House fans). This is how it starts. The way it plays out is completely up to you. And, did I mention that there is an almost real-time approach to the game? Be a little late and the girl leaves, the informant is killed or a bomb explodes. All, or none of these will happen in the game depending on your choices!

Why is it on this list?

Blade runner: 'Nuff said.

The 11th hour (1995)

Let us continue with a horror, puzzle-based adventure game. In 1993, The 7th guest was released. The game, though weird, was well-received and created a school of adventure games that were flirting to be non-sensical. In The 11th hour, the sequel to The 7th guest, you find yourself trapped in a huge, haunted mansion with a series of crazy puzzles along the way, set up it seems by a hands-on sadistic mastermind.

Once more, we are discussing for an FMV-based adventure game. However, the reason why it is on the list is very, very different. We are talking over here about a weird, weird game. Let's take a look at the plot. As usual, you have control over a journalist with a soft spot for mystery. Your girlfriend and TV show producer went around searching for a story in the infamous Stauf Mansion (ring a bell?) somewhere in the state of New York (never ever confuse NYC with the state, unless you want to be eaten alive by wolves) and now is lost. At that time, the hero receives a weird package called a gamebook, in (??) which you see your girlfriend screaming for help. Obviously you decide to go after her and investigate whatever is going on in that god forsaken mansion. Although, you must admit that it would be really funny if the hero decided to ignore her completely and start off for another adventure.

For those of you unfamiliar with The 7th guest, the Stauf Mansion is exactly the same setting in both games. If that hasn't already tipped you off, yes, we are discussing about a haunted mansion, even though it is more haunted in the Jack in the Shining meets unnecessarily evil guy from Saw than for example in the Paranormal Activity movies. However bear with me because this is where things get crazy. In a setting where ghosts seem to be floating around (even though you usually don't see anything weird), the weirdest part is a series of puzzles, as if someone is toying you around. And, if you play the game, you will realize that this is exactly the case..

The game became immediately a cult game, primarily for its out-of-this-earth finale, but also for its really intense puzzles. Puzzles fully logical (the chess puzzle, for example, was amazingly executed) that can keep you busy for days without boring the living hell out of you. FYI, the finale is one of the strangest scenes you must have ever seen in a game/movie and is guaranteed to stay with you..

Why is it on this list?


Because I needed a non-traditional, classic adventure game to showcase my experience. In all seriousness, it is here mainly for the way the atmosphere builds up (using puzzles and cutscenes wisely) to the final scene. An almost sick idea executed perfectly, a finale where (SPOILER ALERT) you realize that you cannot win.. However, whoever came up with the idea of a TV show game in that part of the adventure is  a genius!

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! The finale of the game, for those of you that have played the game and want to renew their WTF moment, or those of you (have you no shame?) that want to watch the earth burn.

Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (1995)

Gabriel Knight is one of those hipster characters in adventure games, dealing with werewolves, vampires and stuff way before it was cool. In addition to that, it is a weird series of adventure games, that has gone through many transformations. We will see all of them in time in this blog, but first I want to present my favorite, the second one. So, today (spoiler alert) we will be dealing with werewolves.

Before we get started, a few words on the character. Gabriel Knight is a stereotypical adventure game hero: bright, intriguing, arrogant-ish, bohem bookstore owner and mystery books author/journalist. He goes around in areas of "supernatural" interest in search of whatever he is in search of at that time. Alongside him, the player can also control Grace Nakamura. Grace, his all-so-trusting assistant, always gives the feeling that she literally does not believe even one of the things that are happening in the chapters, yet continues her quest to save Gabriel's ass. One more spoiler: she is so in love with him. Seriously though, Sierra and Jane Jensen (the designer of the series) went the extra mile to create an extremely annoying (to men) and impossibly attractive (to women) character, much like the guy Ryan Gosling plays in the Notebook. Minus the love story. And the notebook. Anyway, I hope you get a picture.

As you can see from the screenshot, we are discussing about one more FMV adventure game. It is a third person view, point-and-click adventure game which adds to the difficulty of designing, since the character needs to move in the area's video shot seamlessly (most FMV-based games are first person). And the game designers succeeded in this. However, at the heart of every adventure game, there needs to be a plot and, albeit, a good one. In this chapter of Gabriel Knight's adventures, the hero inherits a castle in Bavaria. When the murder of a young girl shocks the small village, Gabriel Knight finds himself trying to solve a mystery, that includes him going to Munich and the Neuschwanstein castle in search of the culprits. Of course, everything is not at seems (ok, from now on I will stop saying that everything is not as it seems. If an adventure game has a plot where everything is as it seems, I will let you know then) and Gabriel and Grace find themselves trapped in an area where werewolves have been secretly lurking. On the way to solving the murder(s), you will also come across the truth about King Ludwig and discover a lost Wagner opera.

By the way, the opera scene is simply magical. Even if you hate werewolves, the game is worth it just to reach this amazing finale!

Why is it on this list?


Weren't you reading? FMV-based adventure game that is also third person, point-and-click? Werewolves with one of the most annoying characters ever written? The music and the "lost opera" part? Or maybe a chance to see Bavaria under a whole new light? If the answers to the above are No, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, then I am really sad you didn't read the post, but do yourselves a favor and play the game. If the answers are Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Yes, then still go ahead and play the game: nobody ever liked Gabriel Knight!

PS: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! The opera scene near the finale of the game. Enjoy!

Ripper (1996)

Ripper is another classic, sci-fi adventure game of the 90s. The major difference with the games we have already seen? It is Full Motion Video.

And yes, Christopher Walken is in it! The year is 2040 in NYC and your hero is a reporter. A reporter with information that his girlfriend is the next target of The Ripper, a cyber-punk serial killer, who manages to choose his victims using cyberspace (let us say that it is a part where augmented reality meets the web and then they both get married with a greenish character from Tron). At that point, Ripper gets to your girlfriend but weirdly she manages to survive.. in a comma! Now, it is up to you and the police to get to the killer before.. well before it is too late. Corky? Yes. Cliche? Sure. But, also, really really well-written, very well-acted and full of small surprises along the way. 

Ripper was probably the first adventure game with a high degree of replayability. The killer is different at each time you start the game and is almost random. That means that there exist 4 different scripts with different cutscenes and different places. In addition to that, Ripper was an almost-impossible, kill-me-now game to finish. The puzzles have gained notoriety over the years. The 10/10 puzzle (the first one of the game) still haunts me today. I get more nightmares about Ripper getting me before I solve it than being in school in my underwear. 

Overall, a great game and one that started the fuss around fmv-based games again. They existed before it and they continued to sell after it, however it is not always that you get a cast led by Christopher Walken and including Paul Giamatti (before he became cool) and John Rhys-Davies (yes the dwarf).  

Why is it in this list?

Excruciatingly soul-breaking hard puzzles. They tend to make sense (after you solve them). Great plot and a great cast to support it. Since you probably cannot act, this is the closest you will ever get to starring in a movie. And what a movie! One full of suspense, blood, terror and a little bit of sex under the music of Blue Oyster Cult and co-starring Christopher-fucking-Walken. Heaven (in a very weird way since the game is taking place in a perverse future of NYC where an internet virus can kill you, but anyways, heaven)!

The Dig (1995)

What is the last masterpiece of Steven Spielberg? Before you hurry your reply with Indiana Jones or E.T. you should learn that an adventure game, released in 1995 by LucasArts (we will be seeing quite a lot of them actually), bore the signature of the director/producer.

The Dig starts off as an Armageddon-like movie with an asteroid out of the blue threatening humanity and the world as we know it. Luckily, there is no Bruce Willis to save the day (more luckily, there is no Ben Affleck). Instead, you have control of Boston Low (voiced by the Robert Patrick, known for his role in Terminator 2 and the i-want-to-be-x-files-when-i-grow-up last two seasons of X-Files). The asteroid is not what it seems and the plant a nuclear bomb and get the hell out of there mission soon becomes a fight your way back home from a universe far far away.

This adventure game is a purely point-and-click, puzzle game where you use clues and the old technology left on the alien planet to get yourself and your team back to Earth. There are quite some bumps on the way and as far as the script goes you will never be bored. The twists are pretty much expected, but it is well written and is not afraid to go deeper within philosophical questions (sometimes corky, mostly intelligent though). The alien world is greatly designed: the museum part where you get a hands on history lesson through images is one of the most powerful in any adventure game.

Why is it in this list?


Pure sci-fi for a change with a little more conversation, a little less action. The alien world is greatly conceived, never flirting with cult alien-y movie notions. Steven Spielberg and Robert Patrick in a good sci-fi setting for a change. Only negative: a little childish at times. Most important aspect: the awesome logical (and tough) puzzles you need to solve. I think that Riven is the only game that incorporated harder puzzles in a completely foreign setting just like The Dig.

Starship Titanic (1998)

 Douglas Adams. Terry Jones and John Cleese. And where was I, you might wonder. Well, you were probably not playing adventure games.

In 1998, Douglas Adams and The Digital Village released an innovative adventure game. The innovation laid with the “conversation” tool, which allowed the user to literally type in whatever they wanted to say. But, let’s take it one step at a time. The Starship Titanic is the most glorious, most perfect, most awesome and “unsinkable” starship ever created by Artifactovol, the greatest shipyards of the universe. Their luxurious attempt at intergallactic travel was also the first one to incorporate Improbability Physics, which should make it Infinitely Improbable that anything could go wrong (Murphy’s antilaw). Of course, something goes wrong and it falls literally on your roof. That’s where the adventure begins.

The player embarks on the Starship Titanic, having only a series of “luxurious” robots (butlers, waiters, receptionists) and a crazy parrot (played by Terry Jones) around to help. It is an amazing adventure game, worthy of the humor of Douglas Adams writing and fictional worlds. The Parrot is simply one of the best characters ever written in an adventure game.

Why is it in this list?

Douglas Adams. Innovative gameplay that can be pretty confusing but extremely hilarious. Nobody likes a smartass (a quote that will guide you through the trip). Last, the only adventure game that actually starts with you inserting the CD in the computer (I am not kidding, you have to put the CD in the computer in the beginning of the game!).