Customer Reviews

Hardcoregaming101.net Presents: The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been reading Hardcoregaming101.net for a while now. It is a great site that has turned me on to a ton of really great arcade games that I would have never been able to find sifting through a database of thousands of games. This book does the same thing with adventure games, and is a must have for classic gaming enthusiasts. Whether they were born a generation late and don't know what games to look for, or lived through it but have some lingering itch of nostalgia that they can't scratch because it is stuck in some deep fissure of their brain, this book helps those answers surface.

The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures is a great book filled with tons of information on the Adventure Game genre old and new. The book is organized very well and detailed with rich information about the genre. The book is cataloged by companies that produced the games which goes into detail about each game the companies produced. Starting off with Sierra/Sierra On-line which got adventure gaming genre off the ground to the smaller more singular released games later on. It even goes into detail about some of the free Independent adventure games that have been appearing more frequently these days online . Some articles include games or productions that are not adventure games but are included because they are part of a series in an adventure game line/franchise.

Each article is essentially a detailed description of the game/games with a fair review of its quality on puzzles,story/writing,and graphics. As expected the bigger name games have longer and more in-depth articles. Some even briefly describing the impact they had on the genre or video game industry.

The only downside to the book is that a couple of the articles on some of the games were taken from the website [hardcoregaming101.net]. The issue with this is if you already read the articles on the games from the site your not getting anything different for the most part. Most of the game specific articles that are featured on the hardcoregaming101 site the book takes word for word. Also there are more pictures on the website of the games and their in color to boot. Fortunately the big games included that have been featured on the site have been changed so your getting a bit of new information on those.Also on a positive note it is quite nice to get the articles in physical format over having to read them on a computer screen.

Overall though besides this minor fault this book is a gem. Opening this book is like the old cliche saying about potato chips, you cant just read one article with out wanting to read another and another after that .If you love adventure games then this is a must have.

This one is a mixed bag. On one hand, there's so much to read and take you back, it's guaranteed to keep you warm and happy for quite a few days. On the other hand, it's god a few glaring issues.

The good: a huge amount of games covered, lots of detail, attention and love. Can't get much better than that.
The bad:

To begin with, the book is 'typeset' in Word or something. It really shows. Now, Word may be a good processor, but a DTP package it is not. This is something I could have printed and bound myself. Also the photos are, disappointingly (but predictably, due to cost issued) in B&W only.

There a lot (a lot!) spelling and grammatical mistakes, a sign of the text not having been edited. Sometimes it's obvious the author changed his mind half-sentence, deleted some of it and then rewrote it without making sure it sticks with the beginning of the sentence. Stuff like that.

The interviews are very few, and gathered together towards the beginning of the book.

Coverage is uneven and raises some brows. For instance, the author covers some obscure (and, probably, hated by the kids that played them back then) edutainment titles and then throws Personal Nightmare and the Elvira titles together in a single (!) page. Then he goes on to cover games up to 2011 (classics??) in his attempt to make an exhaustive guide, but truth be told, he could do with 100-150 pages less, easily. There are definitely tons of non-classic games in there, and you'll find yourself skipping page after page, after a certain point.

What's more, he seems to be nitpicking for most of the time (the Nazi guy in Indiana Jones has an overdone German accent? For god's sake, that was obviously on purpose!) about things that don't really matter when you're engrossed in a real classic and suspension of disbelief is in the works, but that's not a big deal. He also seems to get some facts a bit on the wrong side (Black Dahlia 'totally ignored'? Nah...), but overall he's doing a great job, so maybe I'm the one nitpicking now.

All in all, it's not a perfect book, but (especially since it's the only one out there) it's essential reading. And the price is right, too!

I've been a fan of the Hardcore Gaming 101 website for a while, so I had to buy this when it was announced. Adventure gaming is a genre with near-limitless potential that has been allowed to wither in the current overly macho gaming market, so seeing a book devoted solely to its history and its notable games was something that was overdue.

This, however, goes way beyond that. Even the worst games here are given a respectful, intelligent review detailing why it did or didn't work. Each series is given an astonishing amount of thorough coverage (it takes a brave man to play the terrible German porn games with Leisure Suit Larry slapped on them), and the most notable companies are given a history. There's even a sizable section on the interactive fiction games from Infocom that are the predecessors of the graphics adventures, although the coverage is limited to series with graphical entries or remakes (so, sadly, no "Bureaucracy"). It also includes obscure European and edutainment games that are worthy of more attention. I'm sure that even the most hardcore adventure gamer will be surprised by some of the titles featured.

The only real nitpick with this book is that there are a few typos, but considering the size of this history & the sheer amount of well-researched history, those are more than forgivable.

If you loved adventure games, want a well-done history of a genre that has unjustly fallen by the wayside, or just want another book about the history of gaming, I cannot recommend this book enough. It's a labor of love that deserves as much attention & respect as can be given.

As a video game history enthusiast, and a general admirer of game nostalgia, memorabilia, and history, I can tell you that even if you are not
those things...... you simply MUST own this book.

Kurt and company have proven their superiority over a period of many years, and as a supporter of HardcoreGaming101, I can only offer my gratitude and undying
loyalty. They have contributed more to this world, and society in general, than most people could ever hope to attain in a lifetime.

You must give your support to them to ensure the continuation of their legacy, and their mission.

This book is merely the first in a long line of love letters to the gaming community. They deserve your gratitude and support.

5 stars for the book, and 5 stars for Kurt and Co.

Buy this and you cannot be disappointed. Word.

If you are an adventure game fan who does not have this book, stop reading right now and buy this right now.

I will buy anything Kurt puts on paper from now on

Just got the book yesterday - this is solid gold stuff! Thanks so much for creating such a masterpiece. I love the approach to writing that doesn't simply give walkthroughs that are readily available on the internet, but actually focuses on technical aspects (e.g. EGA vs VGA) and contribution to the genre.

More books in the same vein will be extremely welcome! How about a book on Westen/Japanese RPGs ?

Thanks once again!

Mr. Kalata has written a very subjective review about the classic adventure games. It's a good book to get an overview about the adventure games and emulators but he rates story a lot of higher than puzzle solving. So an adventure can be easy with illogical puzzles but if the story is fine it's a good adventure game. WTF - should a good adventure doesn't have both? ;)

Don't take his reviews by word. If you just want to get a good overview about what games has been released its fine.