Adventure Gamers Blog Posts

E3 2009: Day 2 Wrap-Up | blog

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:38:59 -0500

Almost inconceivably, Day 2 at E3 was bigger and crazier than Day 1. It was open for more hours, there were more people attending, I got more swag, I saw many more adventure games, and I even represented Adventure Gamers in a human interest piece for Slate Magazine. In every way imaginable, today was all about more.

E3 2009: Day 1 Wrap-Up | blog

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:50:16 -0500

It�s time once again for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known to its friends and admirers as E3. Just those two little digits can send a video game enthusiast�s heart aflutter....

Control Freak | blog

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:08:13 -0500

A recurring theme in the forums is control systems. Which is your favourite? What do you think of this new game's setup? Isn't point-and-click an antique that should be consigned to history? For me, all of these questions miss two vital aspects of player character control that are both more important than the mere mechanics. The first is that the control method should be easy to use. This goes some...

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube | blog

Wed, 06 May 2009 05:22:40 -0500

We've just introduced some new ways for readers to stay up-to-date with Adventure Gamers. Firstly, we are now firmly on the Twitter bandwagon! If you are an existing Twitter user and wish to receive links and responses to the latest adventure game news, you can now follow us. Our Twitter name is, appropriately, @AdventureGamers. Facebook...

A world of little hopes for the genre | blog

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:15:47 -0500

Since I finished my three-part �sky is kinda falling� blog series a while back, we�ve mourned a major publisher going bankrupt, witnessed the high-priced Wii and DS launch of Broken Sword Director�s Cut,...

When one Sierra door closes, a new Gateway opens | blog

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:11:28 -0500

It was 1997. On a sunny afternoon, near the end of the summer, two seemingly unrelated things happened in my house that, in hindsight, proved instead to be indivisibly connected. First, after a sleepless night, I finally finished A Gabriel Knight Mystery: The Beast Within. Secondly, convinced by a friend of his, my father subscribed to our first � extremely slow � internet connection. Let�s...

Broken Sword looking sharper than ever | blog

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:48:05 -0600

When it comes to adventure game ports to consoles, many struggle to make the transition from the PC format without some sacrifice in quality. Recent adventure games for the Nintendo Wii have fared better in this respect � in particular the Sam & Max and Strong Bad series suiting the console and its remote point system well � but for every decent release, there have always been...

Troubling adventure forecast: the last Wii storm cloud | blog

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:36:42 -0600

What�s that expression about bad things coming in threes? Following the two dangers detailed in my previous blogs, that means there�s still one more ominous storm cloud hanging over the genre. Thank goodness for small mercies, as this last one is probably the least threatening of the three. On the other hand, it�s perhaps the most disappointing. Today�s threat to the health of adventure games:...

Casual invasion: Concealing hidden dangers | blog

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:21:03 -0600

Note: This article's subtitle has been changed from "Killing a genre softy" to avoid any potential confusion. The original phrase was purely facetious, and was never meant to be taken literally. The threat is real, but any adventure fan knows the genre will never die! And certainly not if Adventure Gamers has anything to say about it.

Whither the publishers? (or "Publishers wither") | blog

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:47:52 -0600

I mentioned in my new year's post that I saw three very ominous trends forming in 2008 that could seriously jeopardize the future of the genre. Not "kill" it... let's for once abandon the overused rhetoric about ever being dead. But you don't need to be dead to be suffering. Badly. And without some unforeseen boons in the coming months, that could very well be what we're facing. Of course,...