Adventure Games

It was the first time Lucasfilm Games had ever designed and published their own game --- a quirky, horror-themed point-and-click adventure known as Maniac Mansion.

With the release of Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 DX, Pac-Man's in his dot-gobbling, ghost-battling prime, so it seems appropriate to take a minute to check out the most notable moments in the history of this historic icon.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice has some bumps along the road, but there's a twisting and thrilling story worth the occasional struggle.

Telltale Games' fresh approach to the world of the Dark Knight makes the first episode of Batman: The Telltale Series an mostly worthwhile escapade into the life of Bruce Wayne. Taking a radically different path from the likes of Rocksteady Studios in telling a Batman story not only gave some much needed perspective into the other half of Batman's life, but allowed Telltale to play to its strengths in narrative and dialogue. It's unfortunate then that the PC version of Batman: The Telltale Series is so marred by performance issues that it's a real drag to play, and a challenge to enjoy.

Today is the day that the less-than-heroic Larry Laffer graced the dark corner of game stores everywhere in his debut escapade: Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards.

Telltale Games' Batman series came as a surprise to many of us when it was announced late last year. While Telltale's had its share of big licensed properties before, like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, Batman just felt bigger than anything the company had done in the past merely in name alone. Now, a few months later we've gotten our first glimpse at Batman - The Telltale Series, which brings with it a number of enhancements to Telltale's signature game engine, as well as an all-new Batman universe to play with.

Indiana Jones is certainly a franchise that has seen better days. The first three movies built a fervent fan base and established an absolutely adored archetype of treasure hunting adventure with its titular whip slinging archaeologist that would trickle into other forms of media including TV shows, comics, and video games. Although the Indiana Jones franchise doesn’t have too much to be proud of when it comes to video games, there was a time back in LucasArts’ point-and-click glory days that the company managed to produce an original video game worthy of the Indiana Jones license. Today marks the arrival of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis on PC.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a quiet achievement in Nintendo's library: an overlooked mystery game for the DS that felt like it belonged on the system, but still only "quiet" for being relatively unknown to most. Following the format of a visual novel, Hotel Dusk was heavy on dialogue with a story laden with secrets, but its gameplay was in line with a point-and-click with elements of risk similar to Broken Sword, as well as the occasional puzzle treatment. This blend made for a compelling and suspenseful detective story, one that nailed a 70s-themed noir art style.

The first two chapters of The Walking Dead: Michonne took some time getting to the core of what made this mini-series special. Both "In Too Deep" and "No Shelter" had some great introspective moments for Michonne, but the story points driving them along weren't nearly as compelling as what was unfolding in Michonne's head. With the final episode, all of the elements finally pull together to deliver a haunting, gut-wrenching conclusion that gives Michonne more depth, and will have you wondering if we get what we deserve or we deserve what we get.

When we talk about video games, there is and perhaps always will be a debate going on about the fun factor of a game and how that dictates the game’s worth. iNK Stories & N-Fusion Interactive’s 1979 Revolution: Black Friday is the kind of game that is likely to add fuel to that debate. In a world where racial, religious and political tensions are still unfortunately in the spotlight, 1979 chooses to observe the revolution that took place in Iran against the monarchy led by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The game has some slight technical flaws and pacing issues that work against its goal, but it is nonetheless a gripping snapshot of human hope, passion and cruelty from a personal perspective.