2008 Adventure Game of the Year

While there are those who stick to a single strict definition of adventure games, Game Tunnel groups classic adventure games with Platform games as well as action titles that devote a lot of time to the story and ...well... the adventure.

As in years past, this category serves up some great games that go beyond your typical non-stop action and provide an experience unlike any other. Each year games from this category stand out as some of the best overall games of the year.

5th Place - Tank Universal

Tank Universal is about as close to Tron as you're going to get. Sure there was a major release Tron game, but that first person shooter didn't really give you the flavor of the games played in the original film. It was a modern game with an updated feel. Tank Universal puts the gamer into a world of wireframe units and neon lines piloting a tank around the landscape. It feels much more authentic. But Tron's not the point. Far from it.

You're not JUST in the tank for Tank Universal. There's actually an involved backstory that will have you on foot and exploring to expand the storyline. That's what turns this arcade game into a standout in the Quest category. Gamers will be alternating between furious tank combat and exploration and puzzle solving.

The game also includes some RPG elements, where gamers can upgrade their tank's abilities based on collected upgrade points, and combat itself has the feel of a large-scale multiplayer battle. All together, these things make Tank Universal a real genre buster, but story at its core makes it a contender among the best Quest games out there.

4th Place - Jasper's Journeys

Jasper's Journeys will transport you back to a magical place. It's a place you can't find very much any more. It's hard to find a game these days that's good for all ages, challenging for all gamers, easy to play, fun to play and that really seems to nurture the notion that a game is about the joy of playing. Jasper's Journeys firmly taps into this nostalgic vein of gaming crafted with care.

You're Jasper. You have a cat named Orlando… and he's been kidnapped. Naturally, your quest to save Orlando the Cat begins immediately. You have purple hair… or maybe it's a hat… you're not too sure. But you're clearly some sort of elf. You hop around, jumping on flowers, collecting hearts and battling evil creatures that stand in your way. As you go you find hidden passages, jump about on clouds and try your hardest to find the pink dragon, who will take you away to a bonus level.

Jasper's Journeys is reminiscent of the stunning Knytt games from Nifflas, not in look and feel – as Jasper is more palpably a game than it is an “experience”, but in the sense that the joy of the game is in the playing of it. It feels good to explore the levels in Jasper because they are carefully crafted and chock full of hidden bits for the intrepid gamer. The whole game feels like unlocking a secret.

3rd Place - Larva Mortus

Another notch in the belt for Rake in Grass. Larva Mortus is another fine addition to their eclectic library. There is a story here, you are a Van Helsing-ish monster hunter on a quest to stop ancient evil, but that doesn't matter too much. Rake in Grass games are about just diving in and submerging in some gaming.

Larva Mortus is a top-down shooter. As you take on your various quests around the globe, you enter strange, murky dungeons and do battle with hideous beasts. Each level is randomly generated, so there's no telling what you'll get each time. So don't think practice will make perfect on any one mission. Levels are filled with destructible objects and traps to make things difficult, to say nothing of all the baddies.

You'll be fighting 30 unique enemy types as you go and using weapons like a sword, dynamite, shotgun, pistols and a spiffy lightning gun, just to name a few. Larva Mortus is the perfect kind of game to just plug in and tune out with. The gameplay is straightforward throughout, but highly addictive and presented with a smooth, spooky style.

2nd Place - Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Homestar Ruiner

Really, if you enjoy this game, the first installment in the series, you'll enjoy all of the games in the series. All of these titles from Telltale Games feel like they were served directly from the internet's tap. Cool and refreshing.

All your favorite voices are there, which is no surprise considering that, with the exception of Marzipan, it's all done by one dude, who clearly has superpowers. The Strong Bad games feel like you've been deposited right into the middle of the world of Homestar Runner, which basically means that this is the ultimate superfan's dream come true: the authentic experience.

However, all the accurate voices and amusing jokes and theme songs (the opening tune for Homestar Ruiner is truly epic) would be nothing if the game wasn't playable. This is where Telltale Games holds up their end of the bargain. Their interface is seamless and perfect. You'll be hard pressed to find a better executed adventure game. Objects that can be interacted with are not hard to find. It's easy to jump from location to location. It's easy to interact with characters, easy to skip dialog you don't want to hear again and again. Your inventory is easy to access and even items like your map are integrated into the game world (Strong Bad draws locations in by hand when they crop as places to visit).

This is the ideal place for minimalist game design. The fact that it's a game fades away into the background, but still remains easy for the gamer to use. It's a fine piece of work.

2008 Adventure Game of the Year - Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!

We won't blame you if you don't get Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble (hereto forward and immediately to be known as DHSGiT). We won't even blame you if you don't get it ever. We, however, love it.

In addition to having probably the most supremely awesome title ever, DHSGiT is like no other game you've ever played. It's a morphing, mini-game filled, retro mystery high school romantic melodrama board game. Seriously. All of those things.

In DHSGiT you take on the role of one of a bevy of sassy 1920s social warrior schoolgirls as she tries to navigate the serpentine hallways of academic life and intrigues. Getting around in the game is handled by moving pieces around a board, which is the map for the game. Arriving at locations, if they are inhabited by another token representing a fellow student or an adult associated with the school, will trigger interactions that your girl will need to use her wits to survive.

Over time, you will gather three other young ladies to form your entourage. Each girl will have strengths in one of four different areas: popularity, rebellion, glamour and savvy. These skills will be used to duke out various characters in games like Taunting, Expose, Fibbing and Gambit. Success in these mini-games will boost your skills, but failure might mean that one of your clique is in trouble… and won't be able to help you for a time. Your girls can also flirt to attract the attention of a boy, who will gladly take the fall on behalf of his lady any time she gets into trouble.

Periodically, the game will trigger story and parley sessions, which are the game's most fascinating point, but also the part that might take the most adjustment. There are tons of bits of content in the game and they are all designed in such a way that the gamer can put them together however they please. Having your girls talk to one another and grill adults to ferret out the secrets to the social mysteries at the school feels like you are directing the action and that the conversations are springing out of your play, rather than being called up from a script.

Playing DHSGiT is a unique experience. It's crafted an entire world that it's easy to sink right into. The game is sassy and smart and totally deserving of our top Quest honors.

Adventure Game of the Year Award History

History:
2008 - Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!
2007 - Aquaria
2006 - Gumboy Crazy Adventures
2005 - Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
2004 - Gish
2003 - Starscape

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By: Michael Scarpelli
Posted: Monday December 22, 2008