I'm back into adventure games!

"»Q«" <boxcars DeleteThis @gmx.net> wrote in message
news:20081003204539.3e138d30@bellgrove.remarqs.net...
> On Fri, 3 Oct 2008 21:14:29 -0400
> "Mary" <non DeleteThis @invalid.ddd> wrote:
>
> > "»Q«" <boxcars DeleteThis @gmx.net> wrote in message
> > news:20081003182546.260e8dfa@bellgrove.remarqs.net...
> >
> > > I tend to stay away
> > > from games with detectives and insane asylums because I've never
> > > enjoyed one very much.
> >
> > I can only remember Blackstone Chronicles which was a previous insane
> > asylum. It was quite good. The other one that comes to mind is
> > Sanitarium - I didn't care for it. I don't remember any other insane
> > asylum games.
>
> I've played those two and (I think) a third one which I don't recall
> well.

I don't remember a third one, but maybe there was one that I didn't play or
didn't like or its forgettable.

>Blackstone was ok-ish, I thought, but I really hated
> Sanitarium. Until you posted that, I thought I was the only one who
> didn't love Sanitarium.

At the time a lot of people seemed to like Sanitarium but I am like you -
disliked it. I thought it was stupid. I think I still have it around
somewhere. I played it all the way but don't know why because I didn't enjoy
it. I like some horror/mystery type adventure games though, such as Black
Mirror, Realms of the Haunting from early 90's, which is action/adventure,
all the Gabriel Knight series. I'm sure there are others, but I can't think
of them right now.

Mary

Here, »Q« <boxcars DeleteThis @gmx.net> wrote:
>
> I hope the age of games that are tied to processor speed in that way is
> long gone. At the time it was released, I played Zork Nemesis on a
> machine that was a bit too slow for it.

It's actually worse than the twirling thing. I recall reading that if
you played ZN on a machine that was too fast, one puzzle became very
difficult, because you had to click in the middle of an animation that
was playing too quickly.

Too bad.

> Nah, I haven't played the Holmes/Lupin game. I tend to stay away from
> games with detectives and insane asylums because I've never enjoyed one
> very much.

Holmes Nemesis is a lighthearted caper sort of story -- no insane
asylums. (Although there are a couple of scenes with people who are
disturbed by memories of Awakened, the previous game in the series,
which wasn't light-hearted at all.)

--Z

--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
Don't you think McCain looks tired?

Mary typed:
> I saw New Zealand on the list for it and several other games. Have
> you played The Last Express? It was on the green list wasn't it? I
> played it when it first came out and though the graphics are not the
> kind I like (they are more cartoonish), the acting is very good and
> its a good story. A good game.

No, never played Last Express. Cannot find it on Gametap either - seems
they tag any game with "adventure", even action games. No matter, I have
too many games to play already.

Speaking of Gametap though, I wonder if someone can help/answer - say
I'm in the middle of playing one of the free games, what happens if they
rotate that game out of the free zone? (Assuming they actually do that)
Would I be left with no way to continue playing?

>> (As an alternative, I think GamersGate are international(?), and
>> have a decent selection of adventure games to purchase/download
>> which are then owned forever, not rented -
>> http://www.gamersgate.com )
>
> I just took a quick look at your above link. If you download games
> can you burn them to a CD or DVD and keep them?

Yes, for storage purposes. But to actually install the game, I *think*
you have to use their client software and be connected to the internet
to activate it. So it would not be like buying a physical CD that you
can then use to install at any time. (This is just what I gather from
reading the FAQs, I've never actually bought anything from there, so I
might be wrong)


--
};> Matt v3.3 <:{

»Q« typed:
> Until you posted that, I thought I was the only one who
> didn't love Sanitarium.

Perhaps you have to be a bit crazy to like it? It sounds
right up my back passage.


--
};> Matt v3.3 <:{

"Matt v3.3" <ask.for.my.address DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:gc6n0r$oi5$2@aioe.org...
> »Q« typed:
> > Until you posted that, I thought I was the only one who
> > didn't love Sanitarium.
>
> Perhaps you have to be a bit crazy to like it? It sounds
> right up my back passage.

Does that mean its your kind of game?

Mary

"Mary" <non DeleteThis @invalid.ddd> wrote in message news:gc3udu$539$1@aioe.org...
> "mick" <coughcough DeleteThis @privacy.com> wrote in message
> news:yydFk.9121$Jj1.2500@newsfe24.ams2...
>>
>> "Mary" <non DeleteThis @invalid.ddd> wrote in message news:gc3mb6$8gs$1@aioe.org...
>
> <snip>
>

> I'm glad for you that you have a laptop and can play more games than on
> your
> old computer. Was Sinking Island any good? I can't remember if you said
> anything about it.

I quite enjoyed it. The gfx, as is usual with White Birds (Sokal) games are
great. There
is however quite a bit of walking about, which can be a bit annoying.


mick

Mary typed:
> Marlock typed:
>> Don't forget the very first one, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes.
>> I remember that I actually shook from excitement when I recieved
>> 10, not 2, not 4, but 10 disketes.
>
> I never played the first one. It just didn't appeal to me at the
> time. The first one I played was "Sherlock Holmes and the Serrated
> Scalpel".

That *was* the first one that Marlock was talking about, from 1992 -

"The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel"

(Could that be the longest title in adventure gaming history?)

I have it setup in DOSbox and ready to play, but not just yet.


--
};> Matt v3.3 <:{

"Matt v3.3" <ask.for.my.address.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:gc93am$qok$1@aioe.org...
> Mary typed:
> > Marlock typed:
> >> Don't forget the very first one, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes.
> >> I remember that I actually shook from excitement when I recieved
> >> 10, not 2, not 4, but 10 disketes.
> >
> > I never played the first one. It just didn't appeal to me at the
> > time. The first one I played was "Sherlock Holmes and the Serrated
> > Scalpel".
>
> That *was* the first one that Marlock was talking about, from 1992 -

There was another Sherlock Holmes one before that. I will do a search and
see if I can find it.

This was the one I meant when I said "First Sherlock Holmes game" called
"Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. It came out in 1991 on volume 1 then
in vol. 2. Made by Mobygames, so it came before Serrated Scarpel and Rose
Tattoo I never played it because it didn't seem interesting to me at the
time but remember seeing it in stores for a short time. It was on floppy
disks. Cant remember if 5 1/4" or 3.5". It was in text, before PC games had
speech.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective

> "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel"

I think that was the second Sherlock Holmes game, or at least well known
Sherlock games. Made in 1992. Serrated Scalpel and Rose Tattoo was made in
1996, so the geraphics by that time were much better than Serrated Scalpel
and it had full speech, but Serrated Scalpel is still worth playing. You
probably need to get them on Ebay or buy used on Amazon. Both Serrated
Scalpel and Rose Tattoo were made by Electronic Arts. Serrated Scalpel first
came out on DOS I think, then later released on CD. I got Rose Tattoo from
someone. The one I got was on CD.

> (Could that be the longest title in adventure gaming history?)

Yes, its a long title, but when people know the name of the game, you can
drop
the Sherlock Holmes part. :>)

> I have it setup in DOSbox and ready to play, but not just yet.

You're lucky to have so many games to play. I haven't bought too many
adventure games in the last couple of years as there hasn't been many to
play, but after I finish Dracula Origin, I won't have any left to play so I
go back to Jeopardy which I play off and on - till I see something I like in
the way of an adventure game. How long have you been playing adventure
games? I've played them since 1990 starting with Monkey Island I which had
just come out. I was hooked after that.

Mary

"Mary" <non.RemoveThis@invalid.ddd> wrote in message news:gc99ik$j12$1@aioe.org...
> "Matt v3.3" <ask.for.my.address.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:gc93am$qok$1@aioe.org...
> > Mary typed:
> > > Marlock typed:
> > >> Don't forget the very first one, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes.
> > >> I remember that I actually shook from excitement when I recieved
> > >> 10, not 2, not 4, but 10 disketes.
> > >
> > > I never played the first one. It just didn't appeal to me at the
> > > time. The first one I played was "Sherlock Holmes and the Serrated
> > > Scalpel".
> >
> > That *was* the first one that Marlock was talking about, from 1992 -
>
> There was another Sherlock Holmes one before that. I will do a search and
> see if I can find it.
>
> This was the one I meant when I said "First Sherlock Holmes game" called
> "Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. It came out in 1991 on volume 1
then
> in vol. 2. Made by Mobygames, so it came before Serrated Scarpel and Rose
> Tattoo I never played it because it didn't seem interesting to me at the
> time but remember seeing it in stores for a short time. It was on floppy
> disks. Cant remember if 5 1/4" or 3.5". It was in text, before PC games
had
> speech.
> http://www.mobygames.com/game/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective
>
> > "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel"
>
> I think that was the second Sherlock Holmes game, or at least well known
> Sherlock games. Made in 1992. Serrated Scalpel and Rose Tattoo was made in
> 1996, so the geraphics by that time were much better than Serrated Scalpel
> and it had full speech, but Serrated Scalpel is still worth playing. You
> probably need to get them on Ebay or buy used on Amazon. Both Serrated
> Scalpel and Rose Tattoo were made by Electronic Arts. Serrated Scalpel
first
> came out on DOS I think, then later released on CD. I got Rose Tattoo from
> someone. The one I got was on CD.

I didn't mean to say above that Serrated Scalpel and Rose Tattoo were made
in 1996. Only Rose Tattoo was made in 1996. Serrated Scalpel was in in 1992.
Rose Tattoo is one of my favourite games.

Mary

Mary typed:
>> That *was* the first one that Marlock was talking about, from 1992
>
> There was another Sherlock Holmes one before that. I will do a search
> and see if I can find it.
>
> This was the one I meant when I said "First Sherlock Holmes game"
> called "Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. It came out in 1991 on
> volume 1 then in vol. 2.

Oh, that. Were they even adventure games though? Hard to tell. I was not
counting them because it appears a different series by some other people.
In any case, all I meant was you and Marlock were talking about the same
game - "Lost Files" (etc)

>> (Could that be the longest title in adventure gaming history?)
>
> Yes, its a long title, but when people know the name of the game, you
> can drop the Sherlock Holmes part. :>)

Blasphemy!

>> I have it setup in DOSbox and ready to play, but not just yet.
>
> You're lucky to have so many games to play. I haven't bought too many
> adventure games in the last couple of years as there hasn't been
> many to play, but after I finish Dracula Origin, I won't have any
> left to play so I go back to Jeopardy which I play off and on - till
> I see something I like in the way of an adventure game. How long have
> you been playing adventure games? I've played them since 1990
> starting with Monkey Island I which had just come out. I was hooked
> after that.

Kings Quest 6 was the game that hooked me, so around 1992-93 I guess
I first played it. Also probably one of the first, if not *the* first,
PC game I'd ever played. (Before that I only had Commodore 64, Amiga,
Sinclair ZX81 - mostly arcade games, had no idea what an adventure game
was) KQ6 is the game by which I measure all other adventure games, and
curiously, no other game has lived up to it yet. (That is nostalgia
for you)

I have played Monkey Island 1 quite a few years back, but none of the
sequels yet. I loved it though, great humour/writing.


--
};> Matt v3.3 <:{

"Matt v3.3" <ask.for.my.address DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:gcbvp8$343$1@aioe.org...
> Mary typed:
> >> That *was* the first one that Marlock was talking about, from 1992
> >
> > There was another Sherlock Holmes one before that. I will do a search
> > and see if I can find it.
> >
> > This was the one I meant when I said "First Sherlock Holmes game"
> > called "Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. It came out in 1991 on
> > volume 1 then in vol. 2.
>
> Oh, that. Were they even adventure games though? Hard to tell. I was not
> counting them because it appears a different series by some other people.
> In any case, all I meant was you and Marlock were talking about the same
> game - "Lost Files" (etc)

I was thinking first Sherlock Holmes games and you were thinking first Lost
Files of Sherlock holmes.
The ones I mentioned which were made earlier than Lost Files were adventure
games. There were made for Sega and later to Dos and Windows. (maybe Windows
3.1).As I said, I never played them, but remember seeing them in the store
but I don't remember them big sellers. On a search it says they were first
games on CDrom with video. It also mentions somewhere a re-release of
Sherlock Holmes Consulting detective in 1999. I never heard of that one. I
might have remembered them as I think I started PC games a bit before you.
http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Consulting-Detective-Vol-1/dp/B0...H8TGK/r

> >> (Could that be the longest title in adventure gaming history?)
> >
> > Yes, its a long title, but when people know the name of the game, you
> > can drop the Sherlock Holmes part. :>)
>
> Blasphemy!

haha. you mean we have to say the whole thing :>)

> >> I have it setup in DOSbox and ready to play, but not just yet.

I think you will like Serrated Scalpel. I haven't played it for a while. Let
me know if you can play it ok in Dosbox and which version? I haven't used
Dosbox for quite a while, so they probably have newer versions by now.

> > You're lucky to have so many games to play. I haven't bought too many
> > adventure games in the last couple of years as there hasn't been
> > many to play, but after I finish Dracula Origin, I won't have any
> > left to play so I go back to Jeopardy which I play off and on - till
> > I see something I like in the way of an adventure game. How long have
> > you been playing adventure games? I've played them since 1990
> > starting with Monkey Island I which had just come out. I was hooked
> > after that.
>
> Kings Quest 6 was the game that hooked me, so around 1992-93 I guess
> I first played it. Also probably one of the first, if not *the* first,
> PC game I'd ever played. (Before that I only had Commodore 64, Amiga,
> Sinclair ZX81 - mostly arcade games, had no idea what an adventure game
> was) KQ6 is the game by which I measure all other adventure games, and
> curiously, no other game has lived up to it yet. (That is nostalgia
> for you)

I remember KQ6 very well. It would be around 1992-93. I liked KQ7 even
better. It was probably around 1991 when I played KQ5 and didn't have enough
RAM. It required 2 MB's ram and I only had one. At the time, 1 MB of Ram
could be the difference between getting a game to run well or geetting it to
run as slow as molasses. I had a 42 MB hard drive and you could get a lot of
programs on it as they were much smaller at that time.

> I have played Monkey Island 1 quite a few years back, but none of the
> sequels yet. I loved it though, great humour/writing.

I loved the first two in the series. I didn't care much for MI3 and 4. For
me, they weren't nearly as funny as the first two even though they had
speech. The music told the story and the mood of the characters when there
was just text in MI I and II. Usually, I like speech, but for some reason it
didn't matter as much in MI 1 and 2 maybe because they were the first games
I played, but on the other hand, with no speech, you have to figure things
out in a different way using more imagination. I played Laura Bow without
speech, but when it had speech, it was much better IMO.

Mary

Mary typed:
>>> Yes, its a long title, but when people know the name of the game,
>>> you can drop the Sherlock Holmes part. :>)
>
>> Blasphemy!
>
> haha. you mean we have to say the whole thing :>)

Well, we could always abbreviate? - LFoSH:CotSS

> I think you will like Serrated Scalpel. I haven't played it for a
> while. Let me know if you can play it ok in Dosbox and which version?
> I haven't used Dosbox for quite a while, so they probably have newer
> versions by now.

DOSbox 0.72 is still the newest and has been for quite awhile now. The
game seems to play fine, the intro (speech!) and first scene at least.
The intro had some pretty neat animation too (for VGA times)

> I remember KQ6 very well. It would be around 1992-93. I liked KQ7
> even better. It was probably around 1991 when I played KQ5 and didn't
> have enough RAM. It required 2 MB's ram and I only had one. At the
> time, 1 MB of Ram could be the difference between getting a game to
> run well or geetting it to run as slow as molasses.

LOL - "slow as molasses" I was curious about that phrase so I looked
it up -
http://www.answers.com/topic/molasses

<quote>

A famous incident involving molasses was the Boston Molasses Disaster
on January 15 1919, in which a large molasses storage tank burst and
flooded a neighborhood of Boston, killing 21 and injuring 150. The flood
advanced as fast as 35 mph. Ironically, "slow as molasses in January" is
an (US English) adage for someone or something that is very slow. Due to
the high viscosity of commonly available molasses at room temperature,
the liquid pours quite slowly.

</quote>

I never knew that. See, we learn something everyday on this newsgroup!

Also -
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Molasses_comic.jpg

(We are really getting off-topic now)

> I had a 42 MB hard drive and you could get a lot of programs on it as
> they were much smaller at that time.

Yea, back then I had about 32MB hard drive and that was plenty. Nowadays
I have 160GB, with 60GB of that for games, and I'm running out of space!
Crazy ...


--
};> Matt v3.3 <:{

"Matt v3.3" <ask.for.my.address RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:gcehpf$g2f$1@aioe.org...
> Mary typed:
> >>> Yes, its a long title, but when people know the name of the game,
> >>> you can drop the Sherlock Holmes part. :>)
> >
> >> Blasphemy!
> >
> > haha. you mean we have to say the whole thing :>)
>
> Well, we could always abbreviate? - LFoSH:CotSS

That sounds just as bad as saying the whole thing.

> > I think you will like Serrated Scalpel. I haven't played it for a
> > while. Let me know if you can play it ok in Dosbox and which version?
> > I haven't used Dosbox for quite a while, so they probably have newer
> > versions by now.
>
> DOSbox 0.72 is still the newest and has been for quite awhile now. The
> game seems to play fine, the intro (speech!) and first scene at least.
> The intro had some pretty neat animation too (for VGA times)

you're playing it already? Where did you get the CD? its not easy to find. I
first played the floppy version of the game and it even had the intro with
speech, but not the rest of the game. On the CD, it was the same. But at one
point, I tried to get speech in the intro and couldn't get any. I tried to
tweak this and that but never got it to work. I don't think I ever got it to
work again with speech. I think I still have the CD but can't remember if I
ever tried it in Dosbox. I haven't downloaded version 0.72, as I haven't
been playing any dos games, but maybe I should try it. What was the neat
animation in the intro? as I recall, the intro involved Holmes and Watson
sitting chatting about the latest case at their table having some tea as
they usually do at the start of their games. Too bad the rest of the game
didn'thave speech. I don't know why they just did it for the intro. The next
game "Rose Tattoo" which was made 4 years later had all speech and much
better graphics. It was the best one of the two, but Serrated Scalpel is
good in its own way. Its a good story. I think you will like it. Have you
played Rose Tattoo?

> > I remember KQ6 very well. It would be around 1992-93. I liked KQ7
> > even better. It was probably around 1991 when I played KQ5 and didn't
> > have enough RAM. It required 2 MB's ram and I only had one. At the
> > time, 1 MB of Ram could be the difference between getting a game to
> > run well or geetting it to run as slow as molasses.
>
> LOL - "slow as molasses" I was curious about that phrase so I looked
> it up -
> http://www.answers.com/topic/molasses
>
> <quote>
>
> A famous incident involving molasses was the Boston Molasses Disaster
> on January 15 1919, in which a large molasses storage tank burst and
> flooded a neighborhood of Boston, killing 21 and injuring 150. The flood
> advanced as fast as 35 mph. Ironically, "slow as molasses in January" is
> an (US English) adage for someone or something that is very slow. Due to
> the high viscosity of commonly available molasses at room temperature,
> the liquid pours quite slowly.
>
> </quote>

Sometimes people say "slow as molasses in January" and some shorten it to
"slow as molasses". Actually, I haven't heard anyone say it for quite a
while now. I just suddenly thought of it when I thought about KQ5 and that
slooooow walk across the screen. I don't think I could do that any more in a
game. In the early days I put up with more than I would now in games. I used
to wait days for any hints before the Internet, when we only had BBS boards.

> I never knew that. See, we learn something everyday on this newsgroup!

Yes, it can be very educational.

> Also -
> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Molasses_comic.jpg

LOL. Its interesting and funny. I never knew where the saying came from. I
like the gingerbread men. I wonder if it was really true as they say above.

> (We are really getting off-topic now)

Yes, but how often do we get a chance to talk about such interesting things.

> > I had a 42 MB hard drive and you could get a lot of programs on it as
> > they were much smaller at that time.
>
> Yea, back then I had about 32MB hard drive and that was plenty. Nowadays
> I have 160GB, with 60GB of that for games, and I'm running out of space!
> Crazy ...

For the average home user its crazy. Its more suited to someone in business
who has a lot of business applications or someone who plays games that are
very big. I have a 160G drive which is much bigger than I need. I've never
used 40G of it, as win 98 won't take anything bigger than 120G. I have tons
of empty space.. I use C as root drive, D for Win XP, E for some files I
don't use. My C and D drives are 40G each and I only use half of D and have
a lot of space on C as well. I could have used a 120G drive, or even 80G but
by they were hard to get when I got my drive a couple of years ago.

Mary