by Stupid Ross

The glory days of the 90’s point & click genre may be behind us, but there is plenty of life still left in these classic adventure titles. With Telltale Games leading the charge with their phenomenal releases and giving the genre a little resurgence (well, until their recent demise), I have looked back over one of my favourite genres; point & click adventures. I am Stupid Ross from Plop Culture, and here are ten of my favourite point-and-click adventure games of all time.

The Dig (1995 – LucasArts)

Based upon an idea and story by big Stevie Spielberg, The Dig is your standard point and click adventure. This game gives you the lot; great animation, great story, good humour and strong characters. Our protagonist, named Boston, is the commander of a space mission trying to divert an asteroid set to collide with earth, and yes this game came out years before Armageddon and Deep Impact were released.

With his trusty team of Maggie and Brink, Boston heads out to set off nuclear charges in an aim to push the asteroid out of Earth’s orbit. However, after the explosions, the Asteroid remains pretty much intact, apart from an exposed tunnel inside the core of the asteroid. Our heroes explore the tunnel and notice that things aren’t what they seem.

Thus the adventure begins, through time and space, and this game does not disappoint. With the usual difficult point and click puzzles used to develop the storyline, The Dig triumphs. Why has this game never been made into a feature film, I do not know, but I’m sure Stephen Spielberg has not forgotten about it.

The Dig gets a Stupid Ross rating of 8/10.

Beneath A Steel Sky (1994 – Revolution Software)

From the brilliant and creative minds of Dave Gibbons and Charles Cecil comes this cyberpunk classic. Robert Foster, who is our lead character in this story, was adopted at birth by aboriginals and brought up in ‘The Gap’; a barren wasteland.

Years later he is captured and returned to Union City, where our story plays out. Corruption, murder and family secrets follow. Aided by his trusted ally, a computer program named Joe (later renamed to Ken), Robert has to solve puzzles and collect items to unravel the mystery around his father and the degradation of Union City. Although it is a rather short game and can be easily finished in 1 or 2 sittings, the story is strong and well written, with beautiful artwork from the comic book master Gibbons (of Watchmen fame). The subtle humour is great, from the novocaine addict surgeon to the witty Robert Foster himself, this game delivers on all fronts and should remain a cornerstone in video game history. I eagerly await Beneath a Steel Sky 2, which is due for release later this year.

Beneath a Steel Sky gets a Stupid Ross rating of 8.5/10.

Indiana Jones and the Fate Of Atlantis (1992 – LucasArts)

One of the earlier classic point and clickers from LucasArts, in this adventure you take the lead as Dr. Jones on a quest to find the hidden world of Atlantis. Indy teams up with an old co-worker, Sophia Hopgood, who helps Indy with puzzles and support. The team is being pursued by the Nazis on the same quest, however as you might have guessed the Nazis are after Atlantis for diabolical reasons.

It is up to Indy and Sophia to try and stop the mysterious powers of Atlantis falling into their evil hands. This game is set in the fictional Indiana Jones universe, but it is not confined to the canon of the film series, therefore we see no cameos from the films supporting cast. The game is colourful, although not standing up well to the test of time, this, however, does not take anything away from its brilliance. Filled with the usual LucasArts hilarity and witty characters, the great storytelling and writing could take on many a more modern adventure game.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis gets a Stupid Ross rating of 7.5/10

Full Throttle (1995 – LucasArts)

Set in the near future of 1995, Full Throttle is the story of Ben; the leader of a motorcycle gang named The Polecats. Ben is framed for the murder of Mr. Morley, the owner of Morley Motorcycles, and his gang is locked up in jail. Ben must try and clear his name and free his gang before the evil Adrian Ripburger takes over the company, and starts manufacturing minivans.

Helped by Mr Morley’s estranged daughter Mo, Ben kicks ass up and down the highway, solving clues and puzzles in an aim to put everything right. What sets this game apart from other point and clickers of this era is the battle system. Yes, it’s not a big part of the game, but it is a welcome change. This Road Rash-esque combat is essential to progress the story, and while it only lasts for a small section, I thoroughly enjoyed driving around fighting with other bikers.

Full Throttle also has an awesome soundtrack by American Rock band The Gone Jackals, and features great voice acting from the likes of Mark Hamill and Roy Conrad. A superb game that deserved its remaster in 2017.

Full Throttle gets a Stupid Ross rating of 9/10.

Syberia (2002 – Microids)

Kate Walker is our lead character in Syberia, a lawyer from America who is set the task of negotiating the final stages of the sale of a major toy company by her law firm. Problems arise from the start when Kate arrives in the European town of the toy factory and discovers that the owner of the company has died. Kate must then travel across Europe to track down the estranged brother and heir to the company and try to complete the deal.

The toy company was a major player in the automatons field (cog and spring powered toys), which built the automaton train that Kate travels on. The train engineer is an automaton humanoid called Oscar who assists Kate along the way, if not making things more difficult for her, due to his rule following programming. There is a side story about Kates relationships back home and how her travels and job are putting a strain on them, regularly getting phone calls from her friends, mum and boyfriend.

The gameplay is quite relaxed, with no real time limit or hurry to complete tasks, this allows the player to look around and explore the sections of the game. Kate is a strong female character who is headstrong and takes no crap from her selfish naggy boyfriend. Determined to complete her task and track down the heir no matter what or where she has to go, Kate grows more attached to the unfolding story as it progresses. Spawning 2 sequels, most recently in 2017, Syberia is a delight to play. Classy looking with a great story, a must play for fans of the genre and gaming in general.

Syberia gets a Stupid Ross rating of 8/10.

The Monkey Island Series (1990 – present – LucasArts)

Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™, adventurer, circus act, husband, evil destroyer. One of the greatest gaming characters of all time.

Ever since I first played The Secret of Monkey Island in the early 90s on floppy disk, I have been hooked, I have played every release and every remaster. Recently I played Telltale’s five-part series ‘Tales of Monkey Island‘ and was not disappointed. Still to this day, the series holds its own, evolving but holding true to its original storytelling and classic LucasArts comedy. Yes, some releases are better than others, but it is the original two ‘The Secret of Monkey Island‘ and ‘Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge‘ that really stand out. Both being remastered and bringing their quality to a new generation, these games will live on as a cornerstone of video gaming history.

All the games follow a similar story arc of Guybrush adventuring to defeat the evil pirate Lord LeChuck, but it never gets old or boring, with the classic point-and-click style of solving puzzles and collecting items along the way to aid your journey. It’s great to see the recurring cast throughout the game series; legends such as Elenor, Madame Voodoo and Stan S. Stanman; the cheesy insurance salesman who turns up in a new job role on every title.

I would be a very happy chappy if LucasArts continued releasing Monkey Island titles forever, so that generation after generation can enjoy the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™.

The Monkey Island series on a whole gets a Stupid Ross rating of 9/10.

Broken Sword Series, (1996 – present – Revolution Software / Sumo Digital)

Similar to Monkey Island, I am a huge Broken Sword fan. In fact the Broken Sword series may be my favourite collection of games ever, and still to this day I am enjoying and anticipating every release. Now spanning 5 games (6 including the brilliantly done fan made Broken Sword 2.5), every title delivers. Some better than others, with Broken Swords 3 & 4 coming out to mixed reviews due to a change in style and difficulty spike. However, I still loved them both, due to the fact that George Stobart and Nico Collard are excellent, timeless characters and creator George Cecil never fails to deliver a well written, interesting and fact-filled story.

The last release ‘The Serpents Curse‘ released in 2013 took the game back to its classic 2D point and click roots, which is what was missing from the 3D releases #3 & #4. The Serpents Curse was an excellent game, with beautifully detailed artwork and a great new adventure for George and Nico.

The first two titles in the series ‘Shadow of The Templars‘ and ‘The Smoking Mirror‘ were critical and commercial successes, selling millions of units. Probably the best 2 games in the series, they had great stories, beautiful and colourful artwork, and greatly animated cinematics. I remember struggling to play through these two games back in the day, only because of my PC’s limitations, making the progress slow, but I persevered because I was so in awe and hooked to the story. I recently played the directors cut of Shadow of The Templars, which makes Nico a playable character, as she wasn’t in the original. It was nice to play-through without stuttering cutscenes and endless processor induced pauses.

George and Nico will forever hold a place in my heart and I eagerly await the announced Broken Sword 6 in the not too distant future.

The Broken Sword series on a whole gets a Stupid Ross rating of 10/10.

Grim Fandango (1998 – LucasArts)

Yet another entry from Lucas Arts, who really are the kings of this genre, Grim Fandango takes us on a journey to the Land of The Dead, with our protagonist Manuel ‘Manny’ Calavera, a travel agent. Manny deals with new souls arriving in the Land of the Dead, whose good deeds in life reward them with better travel packages to their final resting place. Those souls who did not lead a good life are made to travel to the final resting place by foot, which takes 4 years, with many giving up and settling for menial jobs in the land of the dead. This is where we meet Mercedes, who was assigned the 4-year journey, to which Manny disagreed due to her pureness of heart in her life. This leads Manny to investigate the company he works for and his questions of corruption.

Taking a lot of its artwork inspiration from the Aztec culture and Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, it really stands out and makes this game very unique. I remember getting a demo CD free in a PC magazine and playing the one section over and over again. For some reason or another, I never managed to acquire the game, and have only recently played it through, and it did not disappoint, after 20 years of waiting.

Grim Fandango received universal critical acclaim upon release, but did not garner the same commercial success, and is one of the main reason why LucasArts decided to stop developing adventure games, despite it regularly being cited as one of the best computer games of all time. Play this game, put it on your gaming bucket list, it will not disappoint.

Grim Fandango gets a Stupid Ross rating of 9/10.

Gabriel Knight: Sins Of Our Fathers (1993 – Sierra On-Line)

Written, designed and directed by video game veteran Jane Jensen, Sins of Our Fathers introduces us to Gabriel Knight; a charming and charismatic novelist and rare bookshop owner in New Orleans, who is investigating a series of local murders for his next book release. This supernatural psycho-thriller is based around these murders and their link to the voodoo occult. The Story is told over a 10 day period, each day having to complete certain tasks to advance to the next.

Along with his assistant Grace and friend Detective Mosely, Gabriel gets sucked into the mystery of the voodoo murders and goes deep researching voodoo history. Discovering secrets about his own family history that will change his life and also trying to stop the voodoo murders, Gabriel Knight never seems phased by the danger surrounding him. Always quick to flirt with attractive females and give out a few classic one-liners, Gabriel reminds me of many a Matthew McConaughey film character, and he would be my first choice to play him in the movie adaptation.

There is a stellar voice cast including Tim Curry as Gabriel himself and Mark Hamill as Detective Mosely, both unrecognisable in their characters. Sins of Our Fathers spawned 2 sequels ‘Blood of the Sacred‘ and ‘Blood of the Damned’, which are also both worth checking out.

Gabriel Knight: Sins of Our Fathers gets a Stupid Ross Rating of 7.5/10.

Blade Runner (1997 – Westwood Studios)

Not necessarily an adaptation of the film of the same name, but a game set in the same world; telling a story that runs parallel, and at times intertwining, with the original movie. What hits you immediately, when playing this game now, is that it is set in the “dystopian future of 2019”, which gave me a chuckle when replaying it recently. Our hero of the story is Blade Runner agent Ray McCoy, who is tasked with hunting down Replicants who are suspected of killing animals, which is a rare thing in this future world. Our hero McCoy is framed for the murder of an innocent civilian by the villainous Lt. Guzza, who is in cahoots with the replicants. McCoy must clear his name and bring Guzza to justice.

The game boasts 13 different endings, which was huge for the time, all dependent on how you play the game and your interactions. It received a positive reception from critics and even won The Academy of Interactive Arts & Science adventure game of the year award.

Commercially successful, selling over a million copies worldwide, but due to high costs (mainly because of its 4 discs) the profit margins were low and we never got sequel. Another game with great voice casting featuring a few returning figures from the film, most notably Joe Turkel as Dr. Eldon Tyrell CEO of the Tyrell Corporation, this is a really fun game with lots of choice and variety and unlike most point & clickers, you have access to a gun at all times. I spent a lot of time at Police headquarters on the interactive gun range trying to beat the high scores of other Blade Runner Agents. Highly detailed and well thought through, this is a must play for fans of the film and the genre.

Blade Runner gets a Stupid Ross rating of 7/10.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
– Maniac Mansion
– Phantasmagoria I & II
– The Hand Of Fate / Kyrandia Trilogy
– The Last Express
– Myst
– Day Of The Tentacle
– Discworld I & II
– Lure of the Temptress
– Sam and Mac Hit The Road
– The 7th Guest

There you have it, my top 10 point and click adventure games. I chose not to include any of the Telltale games as they are arguably ‘interactive stories’ and quite frankly deserve a list all of their own.

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I am Stupid Ross at Plop Culture, please check in regularly to see new content. Plops Away!!