Most disappointing adventures

[SSH]

What adventure games disapppointed you most? I must say, having just finished it, Syberia is awful. OK, the graphics are great and the story is interesting, as far as it goes, but:

Gameplay is terrible: why are there so many useless hotspots (esp. in Valadiene?)

Dialog system is not great: the relationship between the topic and what is said is often tenuous.

Too much walking through empty screens

Has the feeling that they meant for there to be more to it, but ran out of money or time

Cryptic cursors... O-, 3O, O WTF?

No look-at options for hotspots

[Matt Brown]

I would say KQ7. sure, it was pretty, but the puzzles were random, it froze a lot, and the weird saving system created walking deads. plus, it had the hated one click does all GUI. I think it was made for little kids....but then the dialog wouldn't have made sense. all confused....

[Eggie]

I recently picked up KQ7...I quickly vowed never to play it again...
A magic water purifieing statue? WTF??
A SONG!!! A BLOODY DISNEY-STYLE SONG IN THE BLOODY INTRO!!!

That does it, if sierra are trying to impress me they've failed! They've FAILED!

Walking deads,
Twiddle puzzles,
More walking deads!

*Kicks Sierra in the groin repeatedly*

[12431]

I agree with all of you, but nothing sucks more than EMI!!!

[Eero]

Voyeur II... It takes 20 minutes to play thru, picture is worser than the picture of the cheapest webcam's, actors are so bad I just want to puke... And you can't save either...

[TheYak]

I'm a bit shocked that anyone expected anything from any Voyeur game.  They're absolute crap with that being their total ambition.

Anyway, Syberia was more FMV and dialogue than puzzles from what I understand.  

KQ7.  This is a sad chapter in my adventure gaming life.  A KQ in SVGA! Wow, I hafta purchase this now!  However, you install the thing (and note how long it takes due to all the crap it throws in there) and fire it up.  You're greeted with the disney-style song and cutesy animations. The writing is horrid (I think Roberta Williams handed the idea to her kid and asked them to write it), the puzzles are terrible and the game's buggy as hell.  Even bad guys aren't remotely menacing (like in the other KQ's:  Evil witches, Mordac, the Genie and the Sultan (or prince or whatever he was)).  I'm sorry to say I don't believe I ever played past when you first enter a forest and confront  a bear or wolf or whatever it was.  

KQ8 - Noone's mentioned this one?  After the crap that was KQ7, we hoped they'd revitalize the series.  Okay, they're going 3d.. maybe it'll add something.  AFter all, it worked for Lucasarts with Grim Fandange.  It seemed to have a darker tone and more adult atmosphere.  Excellent.  However, you fire up the game and the first couple minutes of gameplay you're able to actually influene is combat.  A combat engine in a KQ game?!?  action-adventures have been done better than this...  I think even Tomb Raider.  I, sadly, haven't finished this one either.  I'll hafta buy it bargain-bin somewhere or d/l it to see if the story-line's at least worth a crap.

Other adventures.. well, we haven't seen too many recently.. I loved The Longest Journey.  QFG 5 was playable but was utter crap compared to any of the others.. with a horrid combat-system, dumbed-down puzzles and a 3d-engine that only depicted a 2d world, thus making that 2d world look that much less detailed.  Why didn't they just do a sprite-based game in hi-res?  ARgh. Then, it seems, the only adventures being released are Myst clones or pre-rendered rail-walking quest games.  I've purchased a few out of desperation for adventure.  How sad is it when the best adventure game to be released for sale in the past couple years is from an Amateur from AGS? (Fatman is a wonderful return to adventure roots, highly recommended).

[m0ds]

E F D

[Nacho]

Escape from Monkey island... and I am not a purist who doesn´t like non-Ron Gilberst sequels. MI3 is great.

[Pesty]

Besides the ones mentioned (what was with that save function in KQ7? Otherwise I liked it a lot), I'd have to say Fable. That game had so many spots that it could've branched out and done way more with, but it was just a straight way through, without any deviations. If there were more to it, it would've been a really good game, but as it is, it's sub-par and I'd say wasn't really worth buying. My sister and me finished it in one day. Bleh.

[Trapezoid]

CMI is loved and praised now that it's not the most recent game... When it came out it many people complained that it just rehashed the humor and style of the original games. EMI comes out and they complain that its humor and style are not in the spirit of the previous games.  

A lot of people have said that EMI is just fine as a stand alone game, but as a MI game it's terrible. I think that's ridiculous. Nobody takes anything at fzcking face value anymore.

[Nacho]

CMI is loved and praised now that it's not the most recent game...

Well, Trapezoid, I loved CMI since I saw it... It has differences between MI and MI2, well, but... EMI is a totally different.

I´m not against 3-d games... I love Grim Fandango, but for MI4 they should went on with the point´n´click adventures, I think...

[Trapezoid]

You weren't around to defend it when it first came out though, were you?
And likewise, all the people who were disappointed with CMI seem to have disappeared. Think history would repeat itself if they made MI5?

[Eggie]

I was dissapointed with CMI...

But I loved it right up until that (fantastic) dialog with Lechuck ended. Two short, stupid chapters leading up to one of the worst game endings I have ever seen...

...sad... :'(

[neighbour]

I didn't like the ending in MI2, and i still don't understand how guybrush could continue after the worst ending ever in a monkey islandgame!
agree?

[Privateer Puddin']

oh man i fricken loved the mi2 ending, it was sooo great

[neighbour]

I seriosly hope that was a joke

[Privateer Puddin']

no, i was 6 when i completed mi2, and it was such a wonderful ending which left me thinking about whats really happening, a bit like the new matrix

[Raggit]

Hmmm... Nothing really comes to mind for me...

If I had to pick the adventure game I liked the least it would probably be KQ7.  I don't hate it but it could have been much better.  Never played KQ8, it just look too much "shoot 'em up" and not enough King's Quest.

I never purchased QFG5 becuase I knew it would be the same stuff as KQ8.

It's so sad that Sierra's last adventure games were so poor. I miss the good old Sierra.

[Adamski]

Joke? :
The MI2 ending is quite possibly the best game ending ever. Could anyone else think up a more insane twist?

[Barcik]

oh man i fricken loved the mi2 ending, it was sooo great

I'm with you on this one, especially after 'cheating' and reading the most probable 'solution'.

[TheYak]

I don't know.. I absolutely loved all of CMI, no disappointment for me. And, I loved EMI.  I was disappointed with the 3d-look & feel but after I got over the initial reaction, I sat back and enjoyed more MI humor and inane puzzling.  I'd take any of the MI's over it but really, with the current crop (or should I say crap) of adventure games on the market, I'm not gonna complain about that one.

I know one thing though, I'm gonna buy sam and max 2 for myself and anyone I know who plays adventures.  Then, I'll buy FT2 and if that's any good I'll do the same.. gotta encourage these guys to keep making adventures..     I mean, just look at Sierra.  They won't touch adventure because there's not enough profit in it.

[Barcik]

Forget adventures, has Sierra done ANYTHING good lately?

[m0ds]

The Feeble Files.

Not just dissapointing, pure shit!


m0ds

[Esseb]

CMI is loved and praised now that it's not the most recent game... When it came out it many people complained that it just rehashed the humor and style of the original games. EMI comes out and they complain that its humor and style are not in the spirit of the previous games.  

A lot of people have said that EMI is just fine as a stand alone game, but as a MI game it's terrible. I think that's ridiculous. Nobody takes anything at fzcking face value anymore.

I am one of those persons who complained when CMI came out that it just rehashed the humour and style of the original games, yet I liked it. It's a great game, just not a Monkey Island game.

As for EMI, it just rehashed the humour and style of the original games, and I didn't like it either. I suppose it's a half decent adventure game but not one I care to replay unlike CMI, plus it's not a Monkey Island game.

You've used your "CMI is loved and praised now that it's not the most recent game" argument a few times before, but I don't agree with you. Sure, EMI is the most recent game and thus we bash it. Doesn't mean CMI has become flawless in our eyes. I don't see anyone post a "CMI was crap" thread these days, so there's no real point to post my views on it. I do see "EMI was crap" threads though.

Woop.

As for dissapointments: EMI and BS2.

[Trapezoid]

I was around when CMI hit the public, and it got as much backlash as EMI did. When EMI came out, however, I noticed that CMI's bashers waned out. It's just an observation. I don't know if anyone actually changed their minds about CMI, it just seems like everything shifted. It makes me realize that even if something is generally agreed upon in an Internet community, it doesn't mean jack and can change in several months.

[Las Naranjas]

The Feebles Files is always sucked off by the crew at Adventuregamers, but I thought it was plain irritating.

[remixor]

For what it's worth, I was (and am) disappointed by CMI.  It doesn't feel anything like MI to me.  The atmosphere is really good, I just think it belonged in another game, not a MI game.  That being said, I guess I have split feelings towards CMI.  I thought it was quite well-done and had everything a good adventure should, it just really didn't belong as part of the MI franchise.

I only played a bit of EMI but didn't particularly enjoyed the bit I played.  I'll form a better judgment if I ever complete it, but as it stands I'm not too confident about it.

On the MI2 issue I loved that ending.  My very first reaction was "What the hell?!" but after a bit I started to appreciate it in an off-beat sort of way.  I've since read the various hypothesis on its meaning and I think the most commonly accepted one makes the most sense, but even without such an explanation I think it's a great ending in and of itself.

As far as other adventures I've been disappointed in, the old Sierra adventures were always rather hit and miss for me, compared to those of their big rival LucasArts.  I suppose I can't hold it against them, since they released so damned many that there were plenty of great ones too.

KQ7 also really disappointed me, especially considering how much I loved many of the earlier games (KQ6 in particular is one of my all-time favorites).

[Matt Brown]

i thought kq5 and 6 were the best ones. I never played kq8...having lost faith after 7. i heard it sucked

[Nacho]

You weren't around to defend it when it first came out though, were you?

I don´t know if you were trying to be sarcastic, but you´re right   I was not very into internet forums when CMI came, so all that that it was quite blamed when it was released is quite new for me, believe me, the news I had were that, even without being a totaly "Ron Gilbert´s Monkey Island saga", it was good.

But EMI dissapointmed me fro the very first scene. Guybrush tied till Eliane fights for him? Ok, Elaine is a good swordwoman, but Guybrush is good also, his clothes in MI2 show that he´s a real pirate. Guybrush bringing Elaine´s luggage up and down? Is he just a stupid kid under Elaine´s thumb? Why must he trip to one Island to another doing her things? I think that MI and MI2 were games for people from 17 to 22 years old.  MI3 was also a game for teenagers (the problem was that many of the original players of MI and 2 were older, the saga did not grow with us, but it was still suitable...) But MI4 is a game for kids, too shy...

I still hope they will do something better in MI5, but I would preffer LA not doing MI5 if they´re going to make some rubbish like the 4th game.

[Raggit]

Forget adventures, has Sierra done ANYTHING good lately?

No, Sierra hasn't done anything good since they QUIT making adventure games.  

Sierra was intended to do adventure games.  Just like Maxis was intended for simulators.

At very least I wish they'd sell their old games.

[DGMacphee]

Phatasmafuckinggoria!

[Ali]

I really liked the story to the Feeble files, and the voice acting. But it took TEN MINUTES for the tiny guy to move from the right of one screen to the left! What kind of game doesn't let you skip through the maze once you've completed it?

Worst game:
Chronicles of the Sword. You've probably never heard of it and you're lucky. Every time you die (which is often) you have to listen without skipping to the same story told by a shrill, welsh, badly animated narrator for about 15 minutes.
Plus, one of the 4 acts is about saving the life of a girl who will guide you somewhere - at the act conclusion (when you've saved her) she gets killed by a fireball without taking you anywhere! You're back EXACTLY where you started but a whole act later.
And all the male chars. are the same 3d model with different coloured hair. And the Dragon is just a triceratops which has clearly been lifted from a library of 3d objects.

I hate that game, yet I spent years playing it.

[Timosity]

Full Throttle

Heard too much good about it, so it let me down.

I like thewhole MI series including 4, I don't know what people complain about the game, the interface may not be ideal but the game is very challenging.

[n3tgraph]

meh, the feel of EMI just wasn't good

compare the atmosphere of mi2 with 4

but I don't want to go in this discussion again

[GarageGothic]

I must say that I enjoyed the ending of MI2 as well. I haven't read any explanations for it (and I don't remember CMI very well, but wasn't it the same theme park?), but I thought little Chucky's glowing eyes indicated that this was just another of LeChuck's tricks. I can't really judge EMI since I only played it once, and probably won't finish it again because of the Monkey Kombat, that was just too stupid.  

As for disappointing games, I must say Phantasmagoria 2. Apart from the acting I really liked that game - it seemed like a game version of Jacob's Ladder - but what was with that ending? And the puzzles where you had do combine the strange creatures, was that supposed to make sense?

I think a lot of games have great potential, but ruin it with the ending. It's as if they make up the final part somewhere along the line, hoping that it'll fit together somehow. Even superb games such as GTA3 (what's up with that ending, paying a $500.000 ransom for some girl you've barely met?) and GTA: Vice City had rather disappointing endings. (I know these aren't adventure games, but they are heavy on story).

Other games are disappointing because they are part of an otherwise great series. I think QFG5 has already been mentioned. Although I don't think it's as good as some of the other QFG games, I think  it's a pretty good game. But QFG3 was a disappointment: It lacked atmosphere, the color scheme was boring, the plot had no scope. It was obviously designed for the fighter/paladin character class, and there was very little to do for the thief. And unlike the other games, you could only do the quests of the class you had chosen (no matter whether you had the skills of the other classes), so you were bound to miss out on something when you imported the character in QFG4. Also, I seem to remember that you couldn't get all points. I ended up importing my character directly from QFG2 to QFG4 to keep him as all-round as possible.

[Eggie]

Everyone can form their own therory (or Theorys in my case)about the MI2 ending and I'm pretty sure that's what Gilbert intended and I'm certain that he hadn't come up with a proper soloution either.

The Bit with Elaine at the end of the credits does sort of explain part of it, though.

The feeble files is tedious, illogical and tedious.

[Gonzo]

Hey, The Feeble Files isn't all bad. I enjoyed much of it. Having to walk a lot was stupid, and some of the puzzles were illogical/frustrating (the arcade sequence for example), but I thought it deserved to do better than it did. I'm not just saying that because of the years of effort that went into it, I think a lot of the end product was quite funny and entertaining. Maybe I'm easily pleased though. IMO, it was just too ambitious to do as well as Simon The Sorcerer, AdventureSoft ought to have cut it in half and focussed on making it really good, rather than making it a patchy, very long game.

[Nacho]

the people who were disappointed with CMI seem to have disappeared. Think history would repeat itself if they made MI5?

Mmmm... I´m not sure, it will deppens on MI5. If it is good, that will be a definitive hit to MI4, and it will become into something like "an oddity inside the saga".

If MI5 is bad, It could be a definitive hit to the franchise.

[Nacho]

I thought little Chucky's glowing eyes indicated that this was just another of LeChuck's tricks.

It is quite known that the rays in Chuckies eyes and Elaine in the final scene are shortcuts added without Ron Gilbert´s total agreement for carrying the series. Trust me... Guybrush is a guy whose escaped in a park and imagined the whole 2 games, like Calvin and Hobbes.

[SSH]

I've realised that this is the only thread about adventure games in which Seasons of Sakura hasn't been mentioned....

aaarrrgh! too late  :

[Trapezoid]

Farlander, I've heard that Ron intended the ending to be ambiguous. It could mean either the whole thing was young Guybrush's imagination, or that it's just a curse in case a MI3 was made. I'm not sure how it could be added without Ron's agreement, he was the project leader and game production was very tight knitted back then...

[Privateer Puddin']

and it was intended for MI but other talked him out of it

[Dave Gilbert]

I enjoyed Feeble Files a lot.  The voice acting was great, the storyline was pretty deep for a comedy game, it had a nice ending, and the graphics/animation were pretty good for the time.  I loved all the little touches that were put in - like when Feeble walks out of the administrative office and hops down the stairs with a big grin on his face (but first looks sheepishly left and right to see if anyone is watching).  The NPCs were fun - Sam the homicidle killer robot is one of my favorite characters in adventure gaming history.  

But I agree with the other comments - he walks SOOO SLOOWWW and some of the puzzles took me to levels beyond mere frustration.  The arcade game puzzles nearly had me giving up.  If it wasn't for a saved game I found online, I probably WOULD have given up.

As for a real disappointing game... has anyone played "The Ward?"  I played the demo and it looked pretty intriguing.  I purchased the game, and indeed it WAS kind of intriguing... for about 1/3 into the game.  Then it began making no sense at all.

[Shattered Sponge]

I've realised that this is the only thread about adventure games in which Seasons of Sakura hasn't been mentioned....

aaarrrgh! too late  :

You act like it counts if someone other than DeeGee mentions it.

[remixor]

Farlander, I've heard that Ron intended the ending to be ambiguous. It could mean either the whole thing was young Guybrush's imagination, or that it's just a curse in case a MI3 was made. I'm not sure how it could be added without Ron's agreement, he was the project leader and game production was very tight knitted back then...

Farl meant that certain specific parts  such as the ones he mentioned were added.  And it seems that Ron indeed did have a pretty specific meaning for MI2's ending.  He may have intended it to SEEM ambiguous to the players, but he definitely had something definite in mind, which he would have continued in the third game had he made it.
And, as custard says, MI2's ending was indeed intended for MI1 but the rest of the LA guys convinced him not to put it in.

[Nacho]

Trapezoid, I´ve had a discussion like this is a Spanish channel, and these are the conclussions:

MI saga is a very sensitive matter. For me, CMI is good, has allways been, but EMI results very odd for me in this franchise, so I finally started to "hate" it. I can understand that you want to save the integrity of the saga, there are two communities, the "purists" and the "mythomans", whose could be happy with any of the future games of the series.

But we´re in fact in the same ship, we all love Monkey Island series.

For me, MI3 is good because if Guybrush has imagined the two previous games, he can go on with his fantasy... but MI4 is too much for me.

but re-play the two first games imagining he´s in a theme park, and you´ll see how many things fit... sentences like Carla saying "I don´t want to become one more of the attractions of Melêe Island" "We´re actors and this world is a stage" "People talked like that in that century"...

The only points against the "theme park" theory are the rays in Chuckie´s eyes... and I´ve read severall time that Ron was not sure to include it...

BTW, to start a new discussion of which is the Secret is usefull... till Ron says which whas the secret he had in mind.

Anyway... I agree with you that the series are very special.  

[DGMacphee]

I've realised that this is the only thread about adventure games in which Seasons of Sakura hasn't been mentioned....

aaarrrgh! too late  :

You act like it counts if someone other than DeeGee mentions it.

* DGMacphee feels his head exploding!

Just because some people don't like lovey-dovey adventure games and I do...

Fine!

Go play "Space Quest CMIV: Roger Wilco's Colostomy Bag"!

See if I care!



BTW,  

[eVOLVE]

GarageGothic, worse about GTA 3 was paying 500,000 for the girl, then shooting her as the credits came up I loved it though, totally amusing. Vice City had a good story imho.

As for disappointing adventures, I guess Syberia kind of disappointed me, but I hadn't paid a lot, and enjoyed all of the locations... shame the puzzles were crap/non existent.

As for EMI and CMI, I loved em both. I just enjoyed the continuation of the others. I remember when I finished MI2 for the first time, the only reason I disliked the ending was because I felt it screwed them up for a sequel and I wanted to play more Oh, and don't forget that great main theme.