Just Adventure: Members' Adventure Game Reviews - GAMES GRADED BY DIFFICULTY-FINAL RESULTS!

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Topic: GAMES GRADED BY DIFFICULTY-FINAL RESULTS!

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All Forums : [Member Arena] : Members' Adventure Game Reviews > GAMES GRADED BY DIFFICULTY-FINAL RESULTS!

#1 28 FEB 2003 at 3:08am
SirDave Guild Master Posts : 4941 Joined: 17 OCT 2002 Location: US Status : Offline	This is an attempt to assign a difficulty grade of from 1 to 10 (1=easiest to 10=most difficult) to some of the most popular adventure games based on estimates made by many JustAdventure Forum members. Obviously, there is not any kind of direct relationship between the difficulty grade assigned and the quality of the game or the likelihood that one will enjoy the game. However, there is no doubt that if someone starts one of these games and finds it unexpectedly difficult, that can have a bearing on not only the enjoyment of the game, but also whether it is finished or not. Subjectivity can certainly play a part in trying to assess difficulty of any game, but there was a remarkable consistency in the difficulty estimates given to the more popular games here. However, since, statistically, I'm sure the results from a larger sample of estimators might have meant a different result of the actual numbers for some of the games, I've also put the games into 4 general categories which I think provide a useful and fairly accurate general measure of their difficulty as opposed to the individual number each game is assigned. Note that some of these games have been released under different names. If so, both names are given separated by a slash. Secondary names (ie. that are part of the actual full name) are given in brackets. It was decided to place sequels of games together, so, for instance, RIVEN is referred to as MYST II/RIVEN. Thanks to everyone who contributed! EASY-GOING GAMES (Good for Beginners: Difficulty 1-3) ===================================== AZTEC/THE SACRED AMULET, THE CAMERON FILES I (Secret at Lock Ness), DUCKMAN, FULL THROTTLE, GADGET, HARVEST, LARGO WINCH, LOOM, MYSTERY OF THE DRUIDS, SHERLOCK HOLMES (Mystery of the Mummy), SYBERIA MILDLY CHALLENGING GAMES (Good for Beginners and the More Experienced: Difficulty 4-5) ===================================== AMBER, AMERZONE, ATLANTIS III aka BEYOND ATLANTIS II, BEYOND TIME, BLADE RUNNER, BROKEN SWORD II (The Smoking Mirror), THE CAMERON FILES II (Pharoah's Curse), DARKEYE, DINOTOPIA, DRACULA (The Last Sanctuary and Resurrection), GABRIEL KNIGHT 2 (The Beast Within), JAZZ AND FAUST, THE JOURNEYMAN PROJECT 2 (Buried in Time), KING'S QUEST 1,2,5,7, LEISURE SUIT LARRY 1,5,6, The LONGEST JOURNEY, The MESSENGER, MISSING ON LOST ISLAND, MYST 3/EXILE, PHANTASMAGORIA I & II, QIN (Tomb of the Middle Kingdom), ROAD TO INDIA, SANITARIUM, SECRETS OF THE LUXOR, SHERLOCK HOLMES (The Case of the Rose Tattoo), SPACE QUEST 3 & 4, The WATCHMAKER, ZELENHGORM MODERATELY DIFFICULT/CHALLENGING GAMES (Probably Best for the More Experienced Gamer-don't be surprised or feel bad if you have to resort to a walkthrough: Difficulty 6-7) ===================================== The 7th GUEST, The 11th HOUR, ATLANTIS I (The Lost Tales), ATLANTIS II/BEYOND ATLANTIS, BAD MOJO, BENEATH A STEEL SKY, The BLACKSTONE CHRONICLES, BROKEN SWORD I (Circle of Blood), CELTICA, CLANDESTINY, The CRYSTAL KEY, DARKSIDE OF THE MOON, DAY OF THE TENTACLE, The DIG, DISCWORLD II & III, FAUST/SEVEN GAMES OF THE SOUL, The FINAL CUT, GABRIEL KNIGHT (1-Sins of the Father and 3-Blood of the Sacred), GRIM FANDANGO, INDIANA JONES (The Last Crusade and Fate of Atlantis), JEWELS OF THE ORACLE, THE JOURNEYMAN PROJECT (I-Turbo & III-Legacy of Time), KING'S QUEST 3,4,6, KYRANDIA 1, LAURA BOW (The Colonel's Bequest and The Dagger of Amon Ra), The LAST EXPRESS, The LEGEND OF THE PROPHET AND THE ASSASSIN, LEISURE SUIT LARRY 2,3,7, MONKEY ISLAND (1-Secret of, 2-LeChuck's Revenge, 3-Curse of, 4-Escape from), MORPHEUS, MYST, MYST 3/EXILE, NIGHTLONG, OBSIDIAN, POST MORTEM, REAH, RHEM, The RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX, SAM AND MAX HIT THE ROAD, SHERLOCK HOLMES (Case of the Serrated Scalpel), SHIVERS I & II, SIMON THE SORCERER I & II, SPACE QUEST 1,2,5,6, TEX MURPHY (Mean Streets, Martian Memorandum, Under a Killing Moon), TIMELAPSE, TITANIC (Adventure Out Of Time), TOONSTRUCK, TONY TOUGH, TRAITOR'S GATE, VERSAILLES 1685, ZORK GRAND INQUISITOR EXTREMELY CHALLENGING (MENSA Territory- True Measures of One's Problem-Solving Skills; some players just assume they'll need a walkthrough, others consider these games the true measure of their ability: Difficulty: 8-10) ===================================== The 7th GUEST, The 11th HOUR, BLACK DAHLIA, CRUISE FOR A CORPSE, DARKSEED, The FEEBLE FILES, I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM, KYRANDIA 3, LIGHTHOUSE (The Dark Being), LOST IN TIME, MYST II/RIVEN, The NEVERHOOD, The QUIVERING, RAMA, The RIDDLE OF MASTER LU, SCHIZM/THE MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY, STARSHIP TITANIC, TEX MURPHY (The Pandora Directive), ZORK-RETURN TO, ZORK NEMESIS The future ain't what it used to be!
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#2 28 FEB 2003 at 3:16am
SirDave Guild Master Posts : 4941 Joined: 17 OCT 2002 Location: US Status : Offline	INDIVIDUAL GAME LISTINGS ==================== The 7th GUEST: 8 The 11th HOUR: 8 AMBER: 4 AMERZONE: 4 ATLANTIS I (The Lost Tales): 7 ATLANTIS II/BEYOND ATLANTIS: 7 ATLANTIS III/BEYOND ATLANTIS II: 5 AZTEC/The SACRED AMULET: 1 BAD MOJO: 7 BENEATH A STEEL SKY: 6 BEYOND TIME: 4 BLACK DAHLIA: 9 The BLACKSTONE CHRONICLES: 7 BLADE RUNNER: 4 BROKEN SWORD I/CIRCLE OF BLOOD: 7 BROKEN SWORD II (The Smoking Mirror): 5 The CAMERON FILES I (Secret at Loch Ness): 3 The CAMERON FILES II (Pharoah's Curse): 4 CELTICA: 7 CLANDESTINY: 6 CRUISE FOR A CORPSE: 8 The CRYSTAL KEY: 7 DARKEYE: 4 DARK FALLS: 6 DARKSEED: 8 DARKSIDE OF THE MOON: 7 DAY OF THE TENTACLE: 7 The DIG: 7 DINOTOPIA: 4 DISCWORLD I: 9 DISCWORLD II (Mortality Bites): 7 DISCWORLD NOIR (Discworld III): 7 DRACULA (The Last Sanctuary): 4 DRACULA RESURRECTION: 4 DROWNED GOD: 8 DUCKMAN: 3 EGYPT I (Tomb of the Pharoah): 4 EGYPT II (The Helious Prophecy): 4 FAUST/SEVEN GAMES OF THE SOUL: 7 The FEEBLE FILES: 9 The FINAL CUT: 6 The FLIGHT OF THE AMAZON QUEEN: 5 The FORGOTTEN: 5 FULL THROTTLE: 3 GABRIEL KNIGHT 1 (Sins of the Father): 7 GABRIEL KNIGHT 2 (The Beast Within): 5 GABRIEL KNIGHT 3 (Blood of the Sacred): 7 GADGET: 2 GRIM FANDANGO: 7 HARVEST: 2 I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM: 8 INDIANA JONES (The Last Crusade): 7 INDIANA JONES (Fate of Atlantis): 7 JAZZ AND FAUST: 4 JEWELS OF THE ORACLE: 7 The JOURNEYMAN PROJECT 1 (Turbo): 6 The JOURNEYMAN PROJECT 2 (Buried In Time): 5 The JOURNEYMAN PROJECT 3 (Legacy Of Time): 7 KING'S QUEST 1: 4 KING'S QUEST 2: 5 KING'S QUEST 3: 7 KING'S QUEST 4: 6 KING'S QUEST 5: 4 KING'S QUEST 6: 6 KING'S QUEST 7: 4 KYRANDIA 1: 6 KYRANDIA 2: 5 KYRANDIA 3: 8 The future ain't what it used to be!
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#3 28 FEB 2003 at 3:16am
SirDave Guild Master Posts : 4941 Joined: 17 OCT 2002 Location: US Status : Offline	INDIVIDUAL GAME LISTINGS (ctd) ==================== LARGO WINCH: 3 LAURA BOW (The Colonel's Bequest): 6 LAURA BOW (The Dagger of Amon Ra): 6 The LAST EXPRESS: 6 The LEGEND OF THE PROPHET & THE ASSASSIN: 6 LIGHTHOUSE (The Dark Being): 8 The LONGEST JOURNEY: 5 LOOM: 3 LOST IN TIME: 8 LEISURE SUIT LARRY 1: 5 LEISURE SUIT LARRY 2: 6 LEISURE SUIT LARRY 3: 7 LEISURE SUIT LARRY 5: 4 LEISURE SUIT LARRY 6: 5 LEISURE SUIT LARRY 7: 6 MANIAC MANSION: 8 The MESSENGER: 4 MISSING ON LOST ISLAND/VERSCHOLLEN AUF LOST ISLAND: 4 MONKEY ISLAND 1 (The Secret of Monkey Island): 6 MONKEY ISLAND 2 (LeChuck's Revenge): 7 MONKEY ISLAND 3 (The Curse of Monkey Island): 6 MONKEY ISLAND 4 (Escape from Monkey Island): 6 MORPHEUS: 6 MYST: 6 MYST 2/RIVEN: 9 MYST 3/EXILE: 5 MYSTERY OF THE DRUIDS: 3 The NEVERHOOD: 8 NIGHTLONG: 6 OBSIDIAN: 7 PHANTASMAGORIA: 4 PHANTASMAGORIA II: 4 POST MORTEM: 7 QIN (Tomb of the Middle Kingdom): 4 The QUIVERING: 9 RAMA: 9 REAH: 7 RHEM: 7 The RIDDLE OF MASTER LU: 8 The RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX: 7 ROAD TO INDIA: 5 SANITARIUM: 4 SAM AND MAX HIT THE ROAD: 7 SCHIZM/THE MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY: 9 SECRETS OF THE LUXOR: 5 SHERLOCK HOLMES,THE LOST FILES OF (Case of the Serrated Scalpel): 6 SHERLOCK HOLMES,THE LOST FILES OF (Case of the Rose Tattoo): 5 SHERLOCK HOLMES,(The Mystery of the Mummy): 3 SHIVERS: 7 SHIVERS II: 7 SIMON THE SORCERER I: 7 SIMON THE SORCERER II: 7 SPACE QUEST 1: 6 SPACE QUEST 2: 6 SPACE QUEST 3: 5 SPACE QUEST 4: 4 SPACE QUEST 5: 6 SPACE QUEST 6: 6 STARTSHIP TITANIC: 9 SYBERIA: 2 TEX MURPHY (Mean Streets): 7 TEX MURPHY (Martian Memorandum): 7 TEX MURPHY (The Pandora Directive): 8 TEX MURPHY (Under A Killing Moon): 7 TIMELAPSE: 7 TITANIC (Adventure Out Of Time): 7 TOONSTRUCK: 6 TONY TOUGH: 7 TRAITOR'S GATE: 7 VERSAILLES 1685: 6 The WATCHMAKER: 5 ZELENHGORM: 5 ZORK, RETURN TO: 8 ZORK NEMESIS: 8 ZORK GRAND INQUISITOR: 7 The future ain't what it used to be!
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#4 28 FEB 2003 at 5:13pm
Deleted User	Wow! Fine piece of work, Sir. And I'm delighted that Adventure at the Chateau d'Or has disappeared into thin air. Betje

#5 28 FEB 2003 at 6:40pm
bistro Sorcerer Apprentice Posts : 240 Joined: 15 OCT 2002 Status : Online	Excellent stat list, SirDave. Obviously, there is not any kind of direct relationship between the difficulty grade assigned and the quality of the game or the likelihood that one will enjoy the game. Agreed. IMHO there should be an additional qualifying statement under the Extremely Challenging category --- along the lines that some of those games listed are extremely challenging because the developer left absolutely no clue as to how to solve them and/or the puzzle was totally illogical and had nothing to do with the storyline. (i.e Black Dahlia, Lighthouse and a few more listed there). :-/ (Don't mind me...I'm just grumbling.... : )
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#6 28 FEB 2003 at 6:54pm
mbc841 Space Cadet Posts : 194 Joined: 10 OCT 2002 Status : Online	Good list. Excellent job Sir Dave. This is a thread one should print and keep handy for future reference. [url=http://www.justadventure.com/IndependentDevs/TheArrangement/index.htm][[img]http://www.justadventure.com/IndependentDevs/TheArrangement/Graphics/banner1.jpg[/img][/url]
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#7 28 FEB 2003 at 7:00pm
Deleted User	Great thorough job you have here. I think I'm going to save this particular thread in my PC. Man, I [glb]ADMIRE[/glb] the job that you've done! Bravo!!!

#8 28 FEB 2003 at 7:46pm
Aya Grand Inquisitor Posts : 7277 Joined: 16 OCT 2002 Status : Offline	very good job sir dave... well done indeed! You have gotten the attention of the mysterious lady. She turns to face you. Her face is devoid of any flesh. You are frozen with horror as she begins ripping your body into a bloody mess.
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#9 28 FEB 2003 at 8:41pm
Jo Guild Master Posts : 3313 Joined: 3 NOV 2002 Location: AU, Qld. Status : Offline	Wonderful job SirDave.
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#10 28 FEB 2003 at 9:25pm
m0ds Intergalactic Janitor Posts : 57 Joined: 25 FEB 2003 Location: UK Status : Offline	Escape From Delirium: 4 Teen Agent: 3 My two cents. m0ds Mark JL Screen7.co.uk
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#11 28 FEB 2003 at 11:27pm
SirDave Guild Master Posts : 4941 Joined: 17 OCT 2002 Location: US Status : Offline	Really appreciate the positive responses- it did take more work than I envisioned but I think the results were worth it. I know that some of the decisions I make on which game(s) to play next will depend on just how much I want to rack my brain. Generally, I was happy to see that the great majority of the games we discuss were covered. There were a few left out but not many overall. I haven't seen this done anywhere else so I'm hoping that Randy can find a permanent place for it on the website. Would hate to see it scroll off into oblivian! The future ain't what it used to be!
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#12 1 MAR 2003 at 3:29am
Carla Journeyman Posts : 836 Joined: 12 JAN 2003 Status : Online	Sir Dave, you've done an excellent work. I just wanted to say thanks for one of the most interesting topics I've read so far. (Oh, and I also hope -and want : - Randy finds a permanent place for your research, it truly deserves it!) Congrats! [b][center]Aut inveniam viam aut faciam[/b][/center]
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#13 1 MAR 2003 at 1:00pm
PhiloHippus Intergalactic Janitor Posts : 11 Joined: 19 FEB 2003 Status : Online	Thank you SirDave, this was all along a wonderful idea that culminated just as it should, a reference to hold and peruse as the gaming apetite denotes itself more or less vivid. Great work. I REALLY think this should go permanently into the justaventure.com site (outside the forum that is). Cheers [B]Fiat lux voluntate tua[/B]
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#14 1 MAR 2003 at 4:56pm
Gayle Schattenjger Posts : 2544 Joined: 12 OCT 2002 Status : Online	I agree, it should have a permanent place here at the forums or home page. It could serve as a suggestion guide for new gamers.
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#15 2 MAR 2003 at 3:49am
Gamaholic Private Detective Posts : 724 Joined: 3 NOV 2002 Status : Online	Wonderful idea, SirDave, and well implemented...I'm keeping this list so that when i want to start a new game, i can see what i'm in the mood for, challenge wise. Also, to feel less bad if i need a walkthrough I don't see the Longest Journey on the List...is it there and i'm missing it? That which makes one happy is not a waste of time
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#16 2 MAR 2003 at 4:16am
SirDave Guild Master Posts : 4941 Joined: 17 OCT 2002 Location: US Status : Offline	Gamaholic: Good eye! I totally left off The Longest Journey by mistake even though there were 11 results for it staring me in the face!! It's up there now in both listings (scored an average 5). Thanks! The future ain't what it used to be!
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#17 2 MAR 2003 at 4:40am
Belinda Schattenjger Posts : 2093 Joined: 21 OCT 2002 Status : Online	Speechless Fanastic job Dave......and alot of work. Randy?? We all hope you make this a permanent article here for all of us. We don't want it LOST!
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#18 2 MAR 2003 at 4:51am
Andromus Guild Master Posts : 5538 Joined: 6 NOV 2002 Status : Offline	A great idea, and a good job done! I'm definitely saving a copy.
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#19 2 MAR 2003 at 9:16am
Deleted User	Great work.... suprised that no JA+ people have picked up on it yet! Sticky thread, or homepage? I vote homepage!

#20 1 OCT 2010 at 7:18am
Traveller Guild Master Posts : 4040 Joined: 3 JUL 2010 Location: US Status : Offline	I know you mentioned you're wanting (as do we all) this thread stickied again, SirDave, but it's worth bumping in the meantime, so pushy little me will do the bumping for you. [font=Comic Sans MS][size=16]BUMP! * * * Just call me Trav. * * * “Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” - Robert Bloch "They are not reciprocally sublated--the one does not sublate the other externally--but each sublates itself in itself and is in its own self the opposite of itself" (Hegel, from The Doctrine of Being)..."
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#21 23 NOV 2011 at 10:42am
SomeGuy Intergalactic Janitor Posts : 32 Joined: 17 NOV 2011 Location: 0 Status : Offline	I played all the "9" games. I would quibble with Timelapse only being rated a 7. The slider puzzle in it is surpassed in difficulty ONLY by Black Dahlia's notoriously insoluble rune gem puzzle, and it had that damnably difficult arrow-shooting sequence as well.
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