Just Adventure Presents: 2000—The Year in Review
Just Adventure Presents: 2000—The Year in Review
We always like to do things a little differently at Just Adventure because … well, because we are all just a little off-kilter. If you’re here looking for the typical “Best/Worst of the Year” article, then you have come to the wrong place. If you have instead come looking for nonsensical awards created within our own warped imaginations, then strap yourself in, for away we go …
Randy Sluganski
Randy is the co-editor/owner of Just Adventure. He has appeared on television and radio promoting Just Adventure and adventure games and recently returned from a visit to Cryo Networks in Paris. He is often referred to as the Harrison Ford of adventure gaming, but those who have actually met him say the resemblance tilts more towards Quasimodo.
The “Their Name Says It All” Award—Half-Price Hosting. Our ex-server. They lived up to their name—their server was only up half the time.
The “Stick That Finger Far Enough up Your Nose and You Might Find Gold” Award—To Mattel for once again rereleasing Myst, this time as RealMyst. This game has undergone more face lifts than Phyllis Diller.
The “I Know You Are, but What Am I” Award—To Dreamcatcher for taking such wonderful titles like Louvre and Pompeii and changing them to such insipid, generic nonsense like The Messenger and Timescape in a belief that American gamers wouldn’t purchase games with historical-sounding titles. The sad part is that they are probably right.
The “We’ve Put a Curse on Your Hard Drive” Award—Gathering of Developers for the Blair Witch Trilogy. Most reviewers spent so much time kvetching about trifling minutiae that they missed the main point—the games were fun (well, except for the mazes in Part 1).
The “Only Game I Would Play Again from Start to Finish” Award—Funcom’s The Longest Journey, but only if I could bypass some of the lengthy dialogues.
The “Who Cut the Cheese” Marketing Award—Funcom, for their decision to use Tri-Synergy as their North American distributor, thereby dooming a great game to anonymity. The sad part is that they had opportunity to sign with a major distributor and thus be guaranteed distribution at nationally known retail outlets and instead opted to go it on their own. Though I privately understand their reasoning, I still think they made a mistake. Runner-up: Take 2 for any game they distribute. The sales figures for The Devil Inside and Martian Gothic are abysmal. Their staff just doesn’t have a clue.
The “Don’t Leave Any Skid Marks on Your Way Out” Award—To me from Ray Ivey after staying with him in his Hollywood apartment for three days during the E3.
The “Our Mothers Bought 10 Copies Apiece” Award—The amazing sales figures for The Crystal Key (140,000 copies sold) and Beyond Atlantis (100,000 copies sold). By gaining support from webzines like Just Adventure, Dreamcatcher has built an audience from the ground up. Let’s hope they don’t let success go to their heads. It is a lot easier to lose your core support than it is to rebuild that foundation.
The “I Wouldn’t Have Believed it Unless I Saw it with My Own Four Eyes” Award—Anyone else would be excited at seeing firsthand the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame; me, I still can’t get out of my mind the Pekinese sitting between its owners eating from a dinner plate at a four-star restaurant in France.
The “We Came in First at the Hitler School of Charm” Award—LucasArts Marketing and PR Departments—their motto: If you don’t plan on kissing our ass, then don’t bother us. “Ve don’t care if you are sick of buggy Star Wars and Monkey Island games! Ve vill make vhat ve vant, not vhat the customer vants!” Second place is easily captured by Simon & Schuster. Rude, ignorant, and nonresponsive would be an improvement for their PR department.
The “Adventure Game I Would Never, Ever Play Again Even If You Promised Me an Evening of Unrequited Love with Pamela Anderson Lee” Award—The New Adventures of the Time Machine—too bad H.G. Wales [sic] couldn’t go back in time and convince the developers of this turkey to change careers. Runner-up: Egypt 2. Any game in which one of the puzzles is to find a cure for diarrhea makes me want to run … in the opposite direction.
The “Industry Professionals I Would Have Dinner with Any Time” Award—Guillaume Fondaumiere, the founder of Arxel Tribe, will be the talk of the industry by the end of this year. Plus he’s a great guy to have drinks with in a dark Paris bar in the middle of the night. Stefano Gualeni—Someday Stefano’s masterpiece, Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths, will be distributed in North America and adventure gamers will find out what I already know—this guy is a comedic genius.
The “Public Relations People I Would Let Lick from My Ice Cream Cone” Award—The lovely and talented Annette Bechamp of Dreamcatcher. Her enthusiasm and dedication have been key to Dreamcatcher’s steady growth. She would be a shining star at any company smart enough to employ her. Alicia Kim of Sega. Most PR people at large companies don’t even remember your website, much less your name. Alicia is one of those rare individuals who not only appreciates Just Adventure’s efforts on behalf of the genre, but who also recommends games for review.
The “Amelia Earheart/Jimmy Hoffa” Award—Siggi Kogl and The Real Neverending Story—this game has become the stuff of apocrypha.
The “Your Check Is in the Mail” Award—The Just Adventure staff for their devotion and hard work. We are slowly taking over the world, guys and gals, it is just a matter of time.
Jenny Guenther
Jen is the other co-editor/owner of JA and keeps us updated on a daily basis. She should get an award of her own for being the only staff member who has to put up with Randy on a daily basis. Jen recently returned from a Las Vegas trade show where she hooked up with Alan McDonald of Playing Games. One now wonders if Jen is still happily married. [Note from Jen: Yes, I’m still married, but to a different guy … Alan and I got hitched by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas.]
I only did a couple of important things this year, important things related to adventure games, that is. The first was starting (with the always-lovely Darcy Danielson) the JA Forum, our very own bulletin board, which has sometimes been a trial but mostly a delight. It’s fun to read everyone’s opinions about adventure gaming and life in general. And the second important thing was trying to expand my horizons by moving into console gaming. So far I have not had much success there, though. I have started three games, Omikron, Shenmue, and Chrono Cross, and not finished any of them, but I will keep plugging away. These games are really long! And now, without further ado, I present my awards for the year in adventure gaming.
The “You Suck” Award for Blowing Us Off Once Too Often goes to Mattel Interactive’s PR guy for Myst 3, who leaves behind a trail of broken promises and broken hearts.
The “Hot Diggity Dog Diggity Oh What You Do to Me” Award goes to Alan McDonald of Playing Games Interactive. Not only does he have the best little shop on the Internet but he’s a hottie.
The “I Don’t Think This Counts Since the Game Won’t Be Out Until Next Year” Award for Best Adventure Game goes to Stupid Invaders. I laughed until I peed, and it was beautifully put together as well.
The “Okay, This One Will Count for Sure but It Makes Me Just One of the Pack” Award for Best Adventure Game goes to The Longest Journey. No laughter here, just total immersion into another world (or two).
The “You Rock My World” Award goes to Alan McDonald … hmm, looks like he might sweep all of the truly important prizes this year.
The “This Has No Bearing on the Year 2000 So Why am I Including It Here? Pure Filler, of Course!” Award for worst adventure game of all time goes to Koala Lumpur, an abomination even among abominations … wait a second, does that make it good? That’s not what I meant!
The “It’s a Good Thing” Award for my favorite poster on the JA Forum goes to Kay Thomas, who is contentious with grace, much like her (and everyone else’s, of course) role model, Martha Stewart.
The “Quit Stinkin’ Up the Joint” Award for worst adventure game of 2000 goes to … hmm, I didn’t play any really horrible games this year. Never mind.
The “Hard Candy Shell with the Creamy Center” Award for making me quiver goes to, you guessed it, Alan McDonald.
The “Bite Me” Award on general principle goes to Randy Sluganski yet again.
Ray Ivey
Ray is our purveyor of all things adventure. Always open to experience new genres, he has developed a real knack for gaming. Ray has appeared on numerous game shows and also writes movie reviews. His honesty is refreshing in an industry full of hypocrites.
The Oops, Norway Must Not Have Gotten the Memo That Adventure Games Were Dead Award to the magnificent The Longest Journey, a game that would make the genre proud in any year. The scope and ambition of the game is nothing short of inspiring. It’s full of views that literally pushed me back in my computer chair. It’s got a story worthy of a first-rate science fiction/fantasy novel. It’s not even worth having a conversation about what’s the best adventure of the year. No other adventure released in 2000 even comes close.
Greatest Nonadventure: To Warren Spector and Ion Storm’s Deus Ex. I love this game for two reasons: First, because it’s just such a great game, an indecently entertaining collision of System Shock 2, Thief, and Half-Life, and second, because it represents what I hope is the future of computer gaming. Deus Ex combines the best of at least three different genres: First-Person Real-Time-Rendered 3D Shooter, Role-Playing, and Adventure. It represents convergence in the best sense of the word. The result is a type of game that truly listens to the player, a game that tailors itself to the player’s individual style. You and ten of your friends could play this game, and you’d each have experiences so different they would hardly be recognizable as being from the same game. This kind of freedom spoils you for more old-fashioned games that straitjacket you into rigid, inflexible puzzle-solving. Bring on the sequel!
The Sorry, They Can’t All Be Gems Award to Michael Crichton, who took one of his worst books and turned it into a game that drew unanimous boos from critics and players alike. Evidently, the only Timeline worth mentioning was the one it took to play this lame game.
The Please, for the Love of God, Consider Another Line of Work Award to whoever is coming up with the awful new game titles at DreamCatcher. We love you, DreamCatcher, and we even understand that marketing in North America is not the same as marketing in Provence, but still …
The I Know You’re French and Stuff, but Aren’t Even French Games Supposed to Be Fun? Award to the Cryo cretins who gave us not one but two of the worst “adventures” I’ve ever had the misfortune to try to play, Time Machine and The Odyssey. I mean, Pompeii was boring, but these two games made me want to fly over France while pelting the countryside with … Please take our word for it, Cryo, it’s time to scratch this game engine and go back to Le Drawing Board.
Best Game Studio Award easily goes to Index, for giving us (in one year!) the scintillating Louvre, the fascinating Paris 1313, and the elegantly creepy Dracula Resurrection.
Best Game to Infect Newbies with the Adventure Game Virus is a slam-dunk for Dracula Resurrection. This gorgeous, steadfastly traditional, short, easy game is a perfect tool to use to lure innocents into our insidious computer gaming lifestyle!
Best Sequel Award. No contest whatsoever: Diablo II. The talented designers at Blizzard North took a superb game and made it even better. While playing this game, you can actually sense the hard work, pride, and craftsmanship that went into building it.
The My Hero Award to James Evans, for his adorable Lozenge and Hampshire online adventure games.
Cindy Kyser Morgan
Cindy is the Lara Croft of the Just Adventure staff. Ready to straddle her motorcycle at a moment’s notice, she is just as adventurous on the information highway. Besides maintaining our popular Eye on Adventure column, Cindy also has recently begun reviewing adventure games for Computer Gaming Magazine and Cdmag.com.
The Best Game of 2000—Without any reservations, this goes to The Longest Journey. Kudos to Funcom for creating an adventure so wonderful that even PC Gamer gave it high praise. And special thanks to Ragnar Tornquist for confirming that this genre is at its finest when artistic vision and gifted storytelling come together.
My Worst Gaming Experience—The New Adventures of the Time Machine has (the real) H.G. Wells rolling in his grave, for sure. The coup de grace in this game occurs when you finish a randomized, bug-ridden sound puzzle only to have someone jump out and kill you (thus ending the game before you can save). I’m thinking that aversion therapy is not the best foundation for game design.
My Best Gaming-Related Experience—The 2000 E3 show, where I got to spend a few days getting to know Randy, Jenny, and Ray Ivey (in person). I also got to meet a number of other writers, and it is great to now have faces to go with the bylines. My husband has already been put on notice that I do not plan on missing it in 2001 😉
The Game That Cost Me the Most Sleep—Planescape: Torment continues to be the most engrossing game I have encountered since I was hooked on Asheron’s Call in 1999. This is the most amazing single-player RPG I have ever played in terms of story, scenery, and originality. I can’t recommend it enough and, as an older title, you’ll never get such value for your money!
The Genre with the Most Impact—Despite a reduction in “pure” adventure titles, the need for a good story continues to be recognized by those who create action and RPG titles. Perhaps the legacy of the adventure genre includes broadening the horizons for game development in general.
The Best Spam There Is—Hands down, this goes to Compuexpert for their “48-Hour Madness” email notifications. Despite my best intentions not to increase my game inventory, I just can’t resist the kind of bargains they offer—especially when adventure greats are often included as “freebies.”
The Game I Am Most Looking Forward to Getting My Hands on in 2001—The PC version of In Cold Blood from Revolution Software. After seeing a demo at E3 by Charles Cecil (the creative force behind the Broken Sword games) and hearing his perspective, I’ve been looking forward to it ever since.
Harriet Gurganus
Besides updating Just Adventure’s Upcoming Releases column, Harriet also writes the best damn adventure game previews on the Internet. Her tenaciousness has earned her the respect and friendship of many an industry professional.
I have not played nearly enough games in 2000 but I have promised myself that 2001 will be much better. And heaven knows, I have enough games to choose from. There is no shortage in my game cabinet. I had a quiet and private Christmas moment (or two) of my own. I went wild with my MasterCard and bought a lot of the games that I had planned to buy all year. And my stack grows and grows. My game stack will probably outlive me.
My oldest son gave me a copy of The Longest Journey for Christmas. Originally, I borrowed it from Jenny, but I only played about 10 percent of the game. Beautiful, gorgeous, lovely—but I was not in the mood for soooo much dialogue. So the Christmas package was perfect and I can try it again later.
My husband gave me a much-anticipated copy of Alice “in wild and crazy land.” I am dying to try it, but my hand/eye coordination stinks. Orion said “buy the hint book—that will help you,” so I did. Thanks, Jim. Soon I must meet the Mad Hatter and the March Hare up close and personal.
My husband gave me game as a pre-Christmas gift Pharaoh. Joe knows my deeply hidden secret. Hush, now don’t you tell … on occasion I am a “sneaky” strategy game player. Like when my mind really needs a rest. I love to design and build houses in the Sim games, but I hate to run the cities. I let those crash and burn and just build another. I run a mean hospital in Theme Hospital. And I have organized the world in Civilization. And now I get to be the Pharaoh in Pharaoh. Have you seen it yet? When you build a house, 60,000 little carpenters (slight exaggeration) run out and do the job for you. Neat-o! And after you build a few houses, you must build firehouses—or your houses will burn to cinders. I have burned quite a few houses so far.
My hot, hot game for 2000 was Dracula: Resurrection. Loved every minute of it. The facial close-ups are riveting. Meet Darco on a cold and windy night and your hair will stand on end. And some of the 3D scenes are spectacular. I only had one major game problem, and it was in the Count’s bedroom. Wouldn’t you know he wasn’t there. Darn! Soon Dracula: The Last Sanctuary will be my reality. Can’t wait!
I have installed my copy of Riddle of the Sphinx and plan to celebrate the New Year, 2001, inside the marvelous creations of Egypt. I hope that I won’t become lost in a bug-infested, damp chamber. But just in case, I will take my bread crumbs. They worked for Hansel and Gretel, didn’t they?
Darcy Danielson
Darcy is our resident Mac expert (no one else wanted the job) and also maintains the JA Forum (a job one would have to be crazy to take). She is loud, brash and outspoken—all necessary qualities to work at Just Adventure.
The year 2000 brought more adventure games to the player, and trickle-down theory-wise, more to the Mac adventure gamer, an okay thing by me. Here’s best of the year 2000, from the Mac perspective.
Best Mac Adventure Game of the Year: Traitor’s Gate, hands down. A crisp, clever design and high production values make this a classic keeper.
Best Renegade Indie Title: Ferazel’s Wand, from the Mac-only shareware publishing house Ambrosia Software. More of a + than a straight adventure, this side-scroller captivated with high-quality graphics and an extremely clever design.
Best False Start: Macplay. United Developers licenced the venerable Macplay brand from Interplay and immediately did … nothing.
Best Company Snub to the Mac Adventure Gamer: No, it’s not LucasArts this year, so sit back down. The award goes to Rogue Entertainment for publishing American McGee’s Alice and virtually ignoring the Mac market, despite the incredibly portable Quake 3: Arena engine. Runner-up: The release of a PC-only RealMyst. No kiss, no towel.
Best Mac-Huggin’ Publisher: Who else? Dreamcatcher gave us Traitor’s Gate, The Legend of Lotus Spring, Riddle of the Sphinx … even Pompeii with a funny name. They also get the award for best corporate maneuvering, for putting themselves under the Cryo umbrella. I’ll take one giant pile of people working to get adventure games published rather than two smaller ones any day.
Best Unfounded Rumor: That Myst III would actually ship in the year 2000.
Adam Rodman
Adam has been with Just Adventure since the beginning, and even though he is one of our younger staff members, he is also our resident expert on the classic Sierra games.
Most Disappointing: Escape from Monkey Island wasn’t a truly horrible game (though it was pretty darn bad). But I, and just about every other LucasArts adventure fan, had lost gallons of body fluids drooling over anticipation for this product, and I expected something better than this unfunny and tedious scurvy dog of a game. Though I hate to say it, perhaps it’s time for LucasArts to end the Monkey Island series’ suffering and concentrate on what we all want: Day of the Tentacle 2.
Worst Movie Tie-In: Blair Witch 1: Rustin Parr has exactly one advantage over the movie Blair Witch—it didn’t make me motion sick. As our esteemed and extremely talented editor Randy Sluganski (I’m scoring points upstairs) said, the game should have been titled, “Blair Witch Volume 1: Lost in the Woods.” So if you love dark forest mazes, play this game.
Best Action/Adventure Title: Deus Ex can be summed up in one word: “Wow.” I normally hate action games (mainly because I stink at ’em and usually have my character end up looking like Swiss cheese), but I loved Deus Ex. A great plot combined with the ability to solve puzzles in numerous ways (some not involving killing things) make this the best action game for an adventure gamer since … well, since System Shock.
Matthew Desmond
Matthew is our newest, and youngest, staff member, but you would not know it from his excellent writing style. Already a hero among his schoolmates, Matthew is a go-getter who has an eye toward a future in law enforcement.
The “Beam Me Up Scotty” Award—Activision and Raven for their incredible work on Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force.
Most Dedicated Public Relations Crew: Sierra.
The “Shake It Baby” Award: Deus Ex’s soundtrack.
