Replay: The History of Video Games (70 page)

Other point-and-click adventures of note:

• Cruise for a Corpse
  (1991, Delphine, Atari ST, France): As finely crafted as any of Lucasfilm’s work.
  
• Darkseed
  (1992, Cyberdreams, Amiga, USA): H.R. Giger did the artwork for this creepy horror adventure.
  
• I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
  (1996, Cyberdreams, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Disturbing sci-fi tale packed with ethical conundrums.
  
• Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars / Circle of Blood
  Da Vinci Code
  .
  
• The Last Express
  (1997, Brøderbund, Smoking Car Productions, Macintosh, USA): Jordan Mechner’s unique and beautiful tale of murder on the Orient Express. Cruelly overlooked.
  
• The Longest Journey
  (1999, Funcom, Ragnar Tørnquist, PC: Windows, Norway): One of the last great adventure games.
  

The embrace of full-motion video clips dominated mid-1990s adventure games, but few stand the test of time:

• Myst
  (1993, Brøderbund, Cyan Worlds, Macintosh, USA): Polished puzzle game set on a mysterious island that became one of the most popular games of all time. Its roots can be found in the kooky surrealism of
  The Manhole
  (1988, Cyan Worlds, Rand & Robyn Miller, Macintosh, USA) and
  Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds of the Mackerel
  (1989, Activision, Cyan Worlds, Macintosh, USA)
  

Jane Jensen’s southern gothic Gabriel Knight trilogy is both a fossil record of CD-ROM’s impact on video games and the highlight of the days of full-motion video:

• Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
  (1993, Sierra, Jane Jensen, PC: MS-DOS, USA)
  
• The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery
  (1995, Sierra, Jane Jensen, PC: Windows, USA)
  
• Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
  (1999, Sierra, Jane Jensen, PC: Windows, USA).
  

Cinemaware’s interactive movies, which predated the CD-inspired marriage of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, were better than almost all the full-motion video games that came after the pioneering company’s demise.
Defender of the Crown
(1986, Cinemaware, Kellyn Beck, Amiga, USA) defined the Cinemaware style, but the company’s later work was superior. See:
The King of Chicago
(1986, Cinemaware, Doug Sharp, Macintosh, USA),
Rocket Ranger
(1988, Cinemaware, Bob Jacob & Kellyn Beck, Amiga, USA),
Lords of the Rising Sun
(1989, Cinemaware, Doug Barnett, Amiga, USA) and
Wings
(1990, Cinemaware, John Cutter, Amiga, USA). Best of all:
It Came from the Desert
(1989, Cinemaware, David Riordan, Amiga, USA) and its expansion disk
Antheads: It Came from the Desert II
(1990, Cinemaware, David Riordan, Amiga, USA).

By 2000, the adventure game had faded away. Keeping the flame alive:

• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
  (2001, Capcom, Game Boy Advance, Japan): Legal eagle visual novel.
  
• Masq
  (2002, AlterAction, Javier Maldonado, PC: Windows, USA): Comic strip visuals, real-time decisions and available for free. Go to:
  www.alteraction.com
  
• Another Code: Two Memories
  (2005, Nintendo, Cing, Nintendo DS, Japan): Touch screen and microphone enhanced adventuring.
  
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215
  (2007, Nintendo, Cing, Nintendo DS, Japan): Excellent writing and pencil sketch artwork that echoes the video for A-Ha’s 1985 hit single
  Take On Me
  .
  
• Heavy Rain
  (2010, Sony Computer Entertainment, Quantic Dream, PC: Windows, France): A gripping serial-killer thriller that finally realised French game visionary David Cage’s efforts to reinvent the adventure game. Cage’s earlier attempts are fascinating if not as successful:
  
• Omikron: The Nomad Soul
  (1999, Eidos Interactive, Quantic Dream, PC: Windows, France): Sci-fi confusion starring David Bowie.
  
• Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy
  (2005, Atari Interactive, Quantic Dream, Xbox, France): Frustratingly flawed tale of occult conspiracies.
  

Arcade adventures

Possibly the broadest genre of all. Encompasses anything the mixes the story and puzzle-solving elements of adventure games with the action of the arcades. The earliest:

• Adventure
  (1979, Atari, Warren Robinett, VCS 2600, USA): Remoulded the text adventure into a text-free action experience.
  

Other notable arcade adventures not featured elsewhere in this guide:

• Dragon’s Lair
  (1983, Cinematronics, Advanced Microcomputer Systems & Sullivan Bluth Studios, Coin-op, USA): Figurehead of the short-lived laserdisc game craze. An interactive cartoon, but mainly a cartoon.
  
• Ghostbusters
  (1984, Activision, David Crane, Commodore 64, USA): Based on the hit comedy film. Manage the Ghostbusters firm and then go bust some ghosts.
  
• Another World / Out of This World
  (1991, Delphine, Eric Chahi, Amiga, France): Uncluttered and refined action adventure superbly told without the need for speech or text.
  
• Tomb Raider II
  (1997, Eidos Interactive, Core Design, PlayStation, UK): Lara Croft’s seminal globetrotting second coming. After that the series lost its way until
  Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary
  (2007, Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics, Xbox 360, USA) recaptured the magic of the first two games.
  
• Ico
  (2001, Sony Computer Entertainment, Team Ico, PlayStation 2, Japan): Awe-inspiring journey into a sun-bleached world. Truly magical.
  
• Okami
  (2006, Capcom, Clover Studios, PlayStation 2, Japan): Beautiful action game that replicates the look of traditional Japanese artwork.
  
• Shadow of the Colossus
  (2005, Sony Computer Entertainment, Team Ico, PlayStation 2, Japan): An emotional rollercoaster where journeys through desolate wastes are punctuated with epic battles against enormous Colossi. Ends with a brutal twist.
  
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
  (2007, Sony Computer Entertainment, Naughty Dog, PlayStation 3, USA): Bombastic action game that echoes the Indiana Jones films. Even more spectacular was the sequel:
  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  (2009, Sony Computer Entertainment, Naughty Dog, PlayStation 3, USA).
  
• No More Heroes
  (2007, Marvelous Entertainment, Grasshopper Manufacture, Wii, Japan): A punky and scrappy otaku take on
  Grand Theft Auto
  .
  

Puzzles

Tetris
(1984, Alexey Pajitnov, Elektronika 60 [Game Boy], USSR) remains the king of puzzle games: A hypnotic time-eater that is as compelling 25 years on as it was first time around. Those interested in what Alexey Pajitnov did after
Tetris
should try
Hexic
(2003, MSN Games, Alexey Pajitnov, Online: Browser [Xbox 360], USA). Two other Russian puzzle games that appeared soon after
Tetris
reached the west are also worth tracking down:

• 7 Colors
  (1991, Infogrames, Gamos, PC: MS-DOS, USSR): Goal is to take control of half the play area before your opponent by absorbing diamonds of a particular colour. Originally called
  Filler
  .
  
• Colour Lines
  (1992, Gamos, PC: MS-DOS, Russia): Tetris reimagined as a board game but with a dash of Reversi.
  

And while we’re at it, another Eastern European puzzle gem is the tomb-exploration challenge of
Quadrax
(1994, Ultrasoft, David Durcak and Marian Ferko, ZX Spectrum [PC: Windows], Slovakia).

Tetris
inspired many other games about lining up patterns or objects. The best:

• Klax
  (1989, Atari Games, Dave Akers and Mark Stephen Pierce, Coin-op, USA): Tile piling conveyor belt fun.
  
• Bejeweled
  (2000, PopCap Games, Online: Browser, USA): Pressure-free mixing and matching pleasure. Originally called
  Diamond Mine
  .
  
• Puzzle Bobble / Bust-a-Move
  (1994, Taito, Coin-op, Japan): Jaunty bubble matching spin-off from the
  Bubble Bobble
  series.
  

Saving things is another big theme in puzzle games:

• Lemmings
  (1991, Psygnosis, DMA Design, Amiga, UK): Save the charmingly cute and oblivious critters from 1,001 horrible deaths.
  
• Pipe Mania / Pipe Dream
  (1989, Lucasfilm Games, The Assembly Line, Amiga, UK): Frantic pipe-building to stop the ‘ooze’ escaping.
  
• LocoRoco
  (2006, Sony Computer Entertainment, Tsutomu Kouno, PSP, Japan): Wonderfully bright and cheery game where you roll wobbly jellies to safety.
  Rolando
  (2008, ngmoco, HandCircus, iPhone, London) ventured into similar territory, but with the added bonus of the iPhone’s tilt controls.
  

Sticking with gooey blobs, there’s the utterly satisfying construction challenge
World of Goo
(2008, 2D Boy, Wii, USA). Its forerunner:
Tower of Goo
(2005, Kyle Gabler, PC: Windows, USA). Both owe a debt to the challenging construction puzzle game
Bridge Builder
(2000, Alex Austin, PC: Windows, USA).

Managing air or rail traffic is another recurring puzzle game theme, although these are more about planning ahead than logic: Air traffic control sim
Final Approach
(1982, Apollo, Dan Oliver, VCS 2600, USA) and
The Kennedy Approach
(1985, Microprose, Andy Hollis, Commodore 64, USA) are two of the earliest, but
Flight Control
(2009, Firemint, iPhone, Australia) is much more fun, not least because of its pleasing finger-tracing mechanic. Also see the rail controller challenge of
The Train Game
(1983, Microsphere, ZX Spectrum, UK) and
Trains!
(2009, Armor Games, TigerTail Studios, Online: Flash, India).

Few of the above are, however, serious brainteasers. The real migraine-inducers:

• Sokoban
  (1982, Thinking Rabbit, Hiroyuki Imabayashi, NEC PC-8801, Japan): Maddening block-pushing puzzle. Its challenge – some of the toughest levels of the long-running series require hundreds of moves to complete – has made the game a focus of artificial intelligence researchers.
  
• Spacestation Pheta
  (1985, T&T Software, TI-99/4A [Macintosh], USA): Don’t be fooled by the
  Lode Runner
  looks.
  
• The Sentinel
  (1986, Firebird, Geoff Crammond, BBC Micro, UK): Unique game that demands Chess-like levels of concentration.
  
• Minesweeper
  (1990, Microsoft, Robert Donner & Curt Johnson, PC: Windows, USA): Alongside
  Solitaire
  the mine-spotting logic puzzle game is one of the world’s most played games thanks, primarily, to its inclusion in the
  Windows
  operating system.
  
• The Incredible Machine
  (1992, Sierra, Dynamix & Jeff Tunnell Productions, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Takes the crazy contraption building idea of the board game
  Mouse Trap
  and turns it into a fiendish test of ingenuity.
  
• Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training / Brain Age
  (2005, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Japan): A daily dose of Sudoku, math tests and word games to boost your ‘brain age’ (aka score).
  
• Professor Layton and the Curious Village
  (2007, Level-5, Nintendo DS, Japan): 135 brainteasers held together with a point-and-click adventure game about a strange village.
  The Fool’s Errand
  (1987, Miles Computing, Cliff Johnson, Macintosh, USA) also mixed challenging conundrums with a story.
  
• The mind-bending perspective blurring of the M.C. Escher-inspired
  Echochrome
  (2008, Sony Computer Entertainment, PlayStation 3, Japan) is also a must for those after a real brain wracking experience. Along similar lines is
  Illusions
  (1984, Coleco Electronics, Nice Ideas, Colecovision, France).
  
• Braid
  (2008, Microsoft Game Studios, Jonathan Blow, Xbox 360, USA): Devious puzzle-based platform game about turning back time. Ingenious and subversive.