| 17 AUG 2008 at 4:19pm |
JKingSchattenjger
Posts : 2350
Joined: 4 MAY 2008
Location: 0
Status : Offline | Does Lufia II count? [smiley=laughing.gif]
You can't kill someone in a studio.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 4:26pm |
ukpetdSpace Cadet
Posts : 176
Joined: 27 JUL 2007
Status : Online | Heart of China. Runs waay too fast on modern computers. Use the skip action button (only need to do it twice during game) and enjoy a good old fashioned adventure, albeit a little short.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 4:26pm |
colpetSchattenjger
Posts : 1632
Joined: 12 APR 2003
Status : Offline | No, never, and unfortunately, not interested.
Occasionally visiting Uru Live (KI 0063722 .&&
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 4:31pm |
Lucien21Guild Master
Posts : 4876
Joined: 9 JUL 2003
Location: 0
Status : Offline | Like all types of games the Hybrid has it's good and it's bad ones.
I have played many that were truely great.
Outcast is a classic that requires a sequel.
Fahrenheit was brilliant although I will conceed the simon says bits were pants and the story dipped towards the end. Hopefully the upcoming Hard Rain will retain the adventure parts and ditch the simon says.
The LBA games are amazing.
Dreamfall was very good apart from the dodgy combat.
Beyond Good and Evil was good and a sequel is in the works.
Don't fear the Hybrid.
Dear Diary, My teenage angst bullsh*t now has a bodycount.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 4:52pm |
SuperEdyPrivate Detective
Posts : 772
Joined: 30 MAR 2007
Status : Online | I like Beyond Good and Evil, I keep on forgetting it because I just can't think of it as an adventure (being a bit of everything). Thanks for reminding it.
[b]Currently Playing[/b]: None of your business
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 5:30pm |
GonchiSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 337
Joined: 24 SEP 2007
Status : Online | I've enjoyed many. I haven't played many of the newer hybrids (I reckon I eventually will), so mostly older titles. And of course, your mileage may vary on their playability.
The Quest for Glory series with its blend of Adventure and RPG were my favorite Sierra games back then and are the first that come to mind. BloodNet, another Adventure/RPG hybrid is also a favorite of mine, though I recognize the game can be extremely frustrating, particularly the combat. I also really liked Veil of Darkness (Adventure/Action), it was one of the first adventure games I played and it got me started on the genre, the puzzles weren't very hard and the combat difficulty could be adjusted. Entomorph was similar to Veil, though the Adventure portion was much more simplified in favor of Action, still liked it though. Finally, Alone in the Dark and most of the games it inspired.
I haven't played many newer adventure hybrids (or rather, I haven't finished them), I have a lot of them on hold for the moment, while I finish up one of the twenty other games I'm playing. One of the few I have completed is The Fifth Disciple. I picked it up while looking for a QfG Alternative, and it's quite good though not really up to the level of QfG. I think combat really needed some work, there's a lot of it and it gets very repetitive. Also, although not Adventure hybrids, Deus Ex and the System Shocks are awesome.
But I'm not so complicated as to flee, &&or stand here in silence. &&But I'm not so simple as to not caution, &&that there aren't three minutes, or a hundred words, that could define me.&&&&[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR-6Tw-5bE]Brief description of my person[/url] - Cuarteto de Nos
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 6:11pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6694
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Outcast was great but my favorite was probably Omikron: The Nomad Soul, which was equal parts action, adventure and RPG. The Little Big Adventure 1 and 2 (a.k.a. Relentless and Twinsen's Oddysey) were close behind on my list of favorites. So was Beyond Good and Evil along with a fairly extensive list of true action-adventures like Alice and Psychonauts. Heavier on the action but still not far behind was the Rayman series.
Cheers, Terry
P.S. I agree that Deus Ex and System Shock were awesome non-adventure hybrids.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 6:51pm |
InlandAZGuild Master
Posts : 5587
Joined: 4 MAY 2007
Status : Offline | I suppose it depends on the official definition (mine may be different from your own). But I'd include things like the early Horror soft titles (like Elvira) - They were Horror Survival, RGP, Hack n Slash - Adventures. The same could be said for the Alone in the Dark series (the first 3 anyway).
My all time favorite (that in my own definition is an Adventure) is Tomb Raider - what a great adventure.
I’ll add my support for Deus Ex and System Shock as well.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 7:03pm |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | I enjoyed Outcast, which I played in god mode.
And I enjoyed Fifth Disciple, which is closer to an old quest adventure than anything else, with turn-based "fights" that were more like board games and a simpler type of "leveling" than is in most RPG's.
I played Indigo Prophecy using cheats, but although I managed to finish it, there were too many places where the cheats were inadequate and it was a nuisance to get through some areas. At least the story was above average.
I got bored with Beyond Good and Evil and quit halfway through -- or maybe it wasn't quite halfway through, but I'm pretty sure it was more than a quarter. Taking pictures to make money was too much of a chore. I'm rotten at aiming and had trouble getting good pictures. Waiting around for animals to appear was not my idea of fun. Also the story didn't interest me.
I didn't like Psychonauts and didn't finish that either. I thought the main character was really annoying.
Tomb Raider was the second non-solitaire computer game I played (after Myst). I enjoyed it much more when I replayed using the save game editor for infinite health. I enjoyed the jumping puzzles and how high Lara could jump. She's crippled in the newer Tomb Raider games and is no fun anymore. The first Tomb Raider will probably always be the best.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 8:03pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6694
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Oooo, how could I forget Tom Hall's brilliant Anachronox, my all-time favorite hybrid?
More of a RPG than Omikron with full party play, it too had equal parts adventure and action in a wonderfully diverse set of game worlds.
Anachronox also had humor, a cool story and a comic-book inspired graphic style along with some great 3D combat animations, lots of optional mini-games and a very easy, intuitive turn-based fighting interface.
Matter of fact, it's one of my all-time, overall top 10 PC games.
Cheers, Terry
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 9:12pm |
GonchiSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 337
Joined: 24 SEP 2007
Status : Online | I'd never thought of Anachronox as a hybrid, to me it's a typical console style RPG on the PC. Excellent game nonetheless, my favorite of its type.
But I'm not so complicated as to flee, &&or stand here in silence. &&But I'm not so simple as to not caution, &&that there aren't three minutes, or a hundred words, that could define me.&&&&[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR-6Tw-5bE]Brief description of my person[/url] - Cuarteto de Nos
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 9:55pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6694
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Originally Posted By Gonchi (17 AUG 2008 9:12pm)
I'd never thought of Anachronox as a hybrid, to me it's a typical console style RPG on the PC. Excellent game nonetheless, my favorite of its type.
In part yes, but it was created specifically for the PC using (of all things) a highly tweaked version of the old Quake 2 engine. It also included full party controls for both real-time exploration and turn-based combat plus it had a distinctly western comic-book style with a good, old-fashioned detective story set in a unique 3D sci-fi game world.
Anachronox borrowed heavily from several genres for both the console and PC adding humor, romance and drama seamlessly. In many ways it was an action-adventure merged with a SP RPG and a tactical combat game. Party tactics also played a big role in solving numerous quests that required the right "world skills" - sometimes in tandem and other times solo.
The only element it lacked was typical, static AG-style puzzles. However, some of the situations required puzzle-solving skills along with tactical thinking, combat abilities, good timimg / coordination, a lot of exploration, and unique character development decisions.
There were also some dialog-based and mystery-solving "puzzles" like the murder investigations and the Votowne propositions. Additionally, there was a variety of inventory / item collection-based quests, color-coding puzzles, maze-like areas, timed mini-games, etc.
It was a real hodge-podge of gameplay components that all worked together to provide a truly fun experience.
Cheers, Terry
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 10:53pm |
Mr Innocent.Journeyman
Posts : 1317
Joined: 15 JAN 2008
Location: GR
Status : Offline | I loved Deus Ex, System Shock, Anachronox and the Quest for Glory series.
I also enjoyed Beyond Good and Evil and the first three Alone in the Dark games.
But I want to mention a game that hasn't come up yet, Redguard: An Elder Scrolls Adventure. It had perhaps the best balance among the action and adventuring parts of the mix, and every adventure gamer who has an interest in hybrids should try it. I give more details on the game in the Elder Scolls topic started by TheTraveler in Other Games.
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| 17 AUG 2008 at 11:23pm |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16552
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | You know, a list of hybrid games would be helpful.
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| 18 AUG 2008 at 2:13am |
GonchiSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 337
Joined: 24 SEP 2007
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Terry Penrod (17 AUG 2008 9:55pm)
.
Originally Posted By Gonchi (17 AUG 2008 9:12pm)
I'd never thought of Anachronox as a hybrid, to me it's a typical console style RPG on the PC. Excellent game nonetheless, my favorite of its type.
In part yes, but it was created specifically for the PC using (of all things) a highly tweaked version of the old Quake 2 engine. It also included full party controls for both real-time exploration and turn-based combat plus it had a distinctly western comic-book style with a good, old-fashioned detective story set in a unique 3D sci-fi game world.
Anachronox borrowed heavily from several genres for both the console and PC adding humor, romance and drama seamlessly. In many ways it was an action-adventure merged with a SP RPG and a tactical combat game. Party tactics also played a big role in solving numerous quests that required the right "world skills" - sometimes in tandem and other times solo.
The only element it lacked was typical, static AG-style puzzles. However, some of the situations required puzzle-solving skills along with tactical thinking, combat abilities, good timimg / coordination, a lot of exploration, and unique character development decisions.
There were also some dialog-based and mystery-solving "puzzles" like the murder investigations and the Votowne propositions. Additionally, there was a variety of inventory / item collection-based quests, color-coding puzzles, maze-like areas, timed mini-games, etc.
It was a real hodge-podge of gameplay components that all worked together to provide a truly fun experience.
Cheers, Terry
With that stance one could probably classify anything as a hybrid then.
Sorry, I didn't mean to incite an argument or anything. I just consider Anachronox to be firmly grounded as an RPG. *shrug*
But I'm not so complicated as to flee, &&or stand here in silence. &&But I'm not so simple as to not caution, &&that there aren't three minutes, or a hundred words, that could define me.&&&&[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR-6Tw-5bE]Brief description of my person[/url] - Cuarteto de Nos
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| 18 AUG 2008 at 4:51pm |
SuperEdyPrivate Detective
Posts : 772
Joined: 30 MAR 2007
Status : Online | Well, hybrid fans are winning 11-9.
I agree with Gonchi, if you bend the definition of adventure a little anything could be considered a hybrid. Some of the mentioned games are not hybrid adventures to me. I think they should be adventures with some different gaming elements, not action games with a few easy puzzles thrown in for good measure. But of course everyone has a different definition of those games.
It seems the favourite hybrid is the RPG-adventure, strangely enough they aren't produced anymore, instead game designers prefer to add "Simon says" games (Fahrenheit) and battling sequences (Dreamfall) that don't seem to be well accepted :-?.
[b]Currently Playing[/b]: None of your business
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| 18 AUG 2008 at 6:22pm |
KsandraSchattenjger
Posts : 2459
Joined: 2 APR 2003
Status : Online | I can't answer the question, because I still don't understand exactly what you mean by a 'hybrid adventure'. If you mean action-adventures, the answer is 'no', but I have enjoyed some RPGs and other genre-blending games such as Deus Ex (an FPS/RPG hybrid).
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| 18 AUG 2008 at 7:52pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6694
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Originally Posted By Gonchi (18 AUG 2008 2:13am)
Originally Posted By Terry Penrod (17 AUG 2008 9:55pm)
.
Originally Posted By Gonchi (17 AUG 2008 9:12pm)
I'd never thought of Anachronox as a hybrid, to me it's a typical console style RPG on the PC. Excellent game nonetheless, my favorite of its type.
In part yes, but it was created specifically for the PC using (of all things) a highly tweaked version of the old Quake 2 engine. It also included full party controls for both real-time exploration and turn-based combat plus it had a distinctly western comic-book style with a good, old-fashioned detective story set in a unique 3D sci-fi game world.
Anachronox borrowed heavily from several genres for both the console and PC adding humor, romance and drama seamlessly. In many ways it was an action-adventure merged with a SP RPG and a tactical combat game. Party tactics also played a big role in solving numerous quests that required the right "world skills" - sometimes in tandem and other times solo.
The only element it lacked was typical, static AG-style puzzles. However, some of the situations required puzzle-solving skills along with tactical thinking, combat abilities, good timimg / coordination, a lot of exploration, and unique character development decisions.
There were also some dialog-based and mystery-solving "puzzles" like the murder investigations and the Votowne propositions. Additionally, there was a variety of inventory / item collection-based quests, color-coding puzzles, maze-like areas, timed mini-games, etc.
It was a real hodge-podge of gameplay components that all worked together to provide a truly fun experience.
Cheers, Terry
With that stance one could probably classify anything as a hybrid then.
Sorry, I didn't mean to incite an argument or anything. I just consider Anachronox to be firmly grounded as an RPG. *shrug*
Yes, almost any game that doesn't strictly follow the most widely accepted formula for an established genre can be considered a hybrid.
Anachronox (as described by Tom Hall) was very definitely a hybrid of PC and console style RPGs that incorporated various elements including quite a few that are often associated with adventure games.
Ion Storm's own website described it as a RPG action-adventure and most reviewers had a very hard time pigeon-holing the game into a single category when it was first released. However, most game site editor's stuck it in the RPG category because that seemed to be the easiest fit and I agree. They did the same thing with System Shock 2 and Deus Ex.
Omikron was even harder to shoehorn into an existing genre and I loved the fact that Quantic Dream tried to combine so many types of gameplay in one story-driven SP title.
Another factor that I always consider is the ratio of puzzle to action difficulty. In Anachronox for instance, you had to solve certain puzzles quickly and in a few cases, while under attack. This required keen observation, planning, logic, tactics and quick thinking all at once. It was not enough just to engage in combat effectively. You also had to coordinate party member abilities, navigate difficult areas and deal with things like color-coded locks, lasers, etc. all in the same sequence.
Its saving grace was the elegant, turn-based combat system that kicked-in automatically when the real fighting began. But up to that moment, you were exploring in real time, talking with NPCs to gather info / clues for solving mysteries, carefully searching for items, doing mini-games and working on some actual puzzles.
Remember too that some of those puzzles were fairly difficult compared to average RPGs. A few were actually pretty hard when you consider that the player also had to juggle other abilities while solving them.
Cheers, Terry
.
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| 19 AUG 2008 at 12:22am |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Ksandra (18 AUG 2008 6:22pm)
I can't answer the question, because I still don't understand exactly what you mean by a 'hybrid adventure'. If you mean action-adventures, the answer is 'no', but I have enjoyed some RPGs and other genre-blending games such as Deus Ex (an FPS/RPG hybrid).
I think "hybrid adventure" means a cross between an adventure and something else.
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| 19 AUG 2008 at 2:46pm |
KewalakaSpace Cadet
Posts : 130
Joined: 3 SEP 2004
Status : Online | I tried to play Fahrenheit but I couldn' do those darn speed demon simon says sequences and gave up.
&&[url=http://gametz.com/user/stuartj.html]My GameTZ page[/url]
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| 19 AUG 2008 at 4:35pm |
jalexSchattenjger
Posts : 2503
Joined: 5 MAR 2003
Status : Offline | I have always felt that adventure games are story telling games with puzzles to solve along the way. Anything that distracts from the story and the other things that make them what they are is not good at all. Things like hard navigating and pointless action scenes all distract from the game and make it unenjoyable for most adventure gamers. I havn't seen a hybrid game that I enjoyed yet and probably never will but I keep an open mind about it.
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| 19 AUG 2008 at 6:24pm |
GelertPrivate Detective
Posts : 492
Joined: 14 MAY 2004
Status : Offline | Outcast is one of my favourite ever games, and my favourite hybrid by far.
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a cracker.
In Cold Blood is too.
Otherwise, I've only played around a dozen, or so, but enjoyed most of them.
Have to be honest... I really enjoyed the early Tomb Raider games.
Max Payne was really good ... but very violent, and pretty disturbing. Excellent story though.
Soul Reaver was a very good action-adventure, with some very neat puzzles, and spectacular locations.
I regard Broken Sword 3 as a hybrid, and thought it was okay.
Deus Ex is one I'm always meaning to play. Others that I regard as 'not pure adventures' that I'd like to play, eventually, include;
Redguard: The Elder Scrolls,
Omikron
Alan Wake,
Fahrenheit
Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern
Dark Earth
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Largo Winch
Max Payne 2
Oblivion
Pathologic
Penumbra
Realms of the Haunting
S.O.S.: Final Escape (played the beginning and liked it).
Star Trek: Borg
System Shock
System Shock 2
Bioforge (if I can get it to run)
Angel Devoid: Face of the Enemy ( ditto )
The City of Lost Children
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| 19 AUG 2008 at 6:47pm |
loobilooPrivate Detective
Posts : 598
Joined: 3 APR 2008
Location: UK
Status : Offline | I enjoyed Fahrenheit also & managed to finish it but felt that the 'action' sequences, although integrated quite well, were far too challenging (even on easy mode) & detracted (as well as distracted you) from the storyline which I though was pretty good. I found myself compelled to 'masochistically' complete the challenges to progress. I liked the idea of the game but I thought the controls were way too hard & frustrating!
Dreamfall I enjoyed, except for the troll cave, & it was fairly forgiving as you could avoid most of the action sequences which for the most part were easier than some of the puzzles in most Nancy Drew games!
The only other game that I've played that you might call a slight hybrid & a reverse situation where Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness had a tad of a storyline! I loved this game & managed to finish it despite all the bugs - but those aside it got slated bigtime & would have done without them - it just didn't seem to suit the 'action crowd'.
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| 20 AUG 2008 at 5:39pm |
SuperEdyPrivate Detective
Posts : 772
Joined: 30 MAR 2007
Status : Online | I knew it, there was a hybrid I liked: Superhero League of Hoboken, a strange mix of adventure and RPG. I should change my vote to "only one or two" then.
[b]Currently Playing[/b]: None of your business
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