Mass Effect 2 (2010, Electronic Arts, BioWare, Xbox 360, Canada): Ironed out the flaws of the original to deliver an arresting sci-fi adventure that was as intimate and subtle as it was action-packed and epic.
While BioWare focused on player-driven stories, Bethesda sought to create RPGs that were as open as possible:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006, 2K Games, Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360, USA): An astonishingly big and diverse fantasy world.
Fallout 3 (2008, Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360, USA): The scene-setting intro within the confines of the Vault 101 nuclear bunker gives little indication of the vast and harrowing journey amid the ruins of Washington D.C. that follows. Also try the ethical quandaries of the expansion: Fallout 3: The Pitt (2009, Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360, USA).
Finally, Fable II (2008, Microsoft Game Studios, Lionhead Studios, Xbox 360, UK). While the first game in the series, Fable (2004, Microsoft Game Studios, Lionhead Studios & Big Blue Box, Xbox, UK), was an audacious statement of intent, the sequel’s balletic combat, willingness to reject RPG cliché and commitment to letting players be the hero they want to be is a very strong contender for being the best game to have Peter Molyneux’s name attached to it.
Japanese role-playing games
After being introduced to the concept by Ultima, Wizardry and The Black Onyx (1984, Bullet-Proof, Henk Rogers, NEC PC-8801, USA & Japan), Japan reinterpreted the whole genre, starting with:
Dragon Quest / Dragon Warrior (1986, Enix, Chunsoft, NES, Japan): Its manga-influenced art, scene-setting soundtrack, random encounters with enemies, emphasis on narrative and simple controls provided the blueprint for almost every subsequent role-playing game made in Japan. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2006, Square Enix, Level-5, PlayStation 2, Japan) is as good an introduction to the series as any.
The first wave of Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs from now on):
Phantasy Star (1987, Sega, Yuji Naka, Master System, Japan): The start of Sega’s fantasy sci-fi fusion series. Best starting point: Phantasy Star II (1989, Sega, Yuji Naka, Megadrive, Japan).
Final Fantasy (1987, Square, Hironobu Sakaguchi, NES, Japan): Darker and more sombre than Dragon Quest. Series highlights: Final Fantasy VI (1994, Square, Super NES, Japan): The series 2D peak, which took place within an eye-catching world inspired by the Industrial Revolution; Final Fantasy VII (1997, Square, PlayStation, Japan) and Final Fantasy VIII (1999, Square, PlayStation, Japan): Took the series to international adoration with delightful cinematography, melodramatic plots and memorable characters; Final Fantasy XII (2006, Square Enix, PlayStation 2, Japan): Five years in the making and worth the wait.
Mother (1989, Nintendo, Shigesato Itoi, NES, Japan): World-saving adventure set in 1980s small-town America that mixes humour with an underlying theme of childhood abandonment. The excellent sequel Earthbound (1994, Nintendo, Ape Inc, Super NES, Japan) made it out of Japan.
Shigeru Miyamoto’s Zelda series skilfully captured the essence of the RPG within the template of an action game:
The Legend of Zelda (1986, Nintendo, NES, Japan): Mind-blowingly open-ended for its time.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, Nintendo, Super NES, Japan): For many the best of the series. Timeless.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (1998, Nintendo, Game Boy Color, Japan): Portable Zelda and no weaker for that.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Japan): The series’ makes the jump into 3D and loses none of its magic.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Japan): Eiji Aonuma takes the helm from Miyamoto and delivers the darkest game in the series: a 72-hour scramble to save the world from impending destruction.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002, Nintendo, Gamecube, Japan): Refreshingly bright cartoon looks. Same Zelda brilliance.
Post-first wave JRPG highlights:
Secret of Mana (1993, Square, Super NES, Japan): Sterling Zelda-esque action game that evolved out of the Final Fantasy series
Chrono Trigger (1995, Square, Super NES, Japan): A masterpiece created by a ‘super group’ team that combined the talents of the then-separate Square and Enix.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996, Nintendo, Square, Super NES, Japan): Nintendo’s mascot gets the JRPG treatment
Kingdom Hearts (2002, Square, PlayStation 2, Japan): Strange but compelling collision between the characters of Walt Disney and Final Fantasy.
Xenogears (1998, Square, PlayStation, Japan): Philosophical and intricate JRPG that dwells on the nature of religion. Following in its footsteps: Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (2002, Namco, Monolith Soft, PlayStation 2, Japan).
Skies of Arcadia (2000, Sega, Overworks, Dreamcast, Japan): Dreamy airship pirate adventure.
Monster Hunter Freedom (2005, Capcom, PSP, Japan): Monster safari RPG that comes to life when played with other PSP owners.
The most popular JRPG series of all by a long, long way is the cute character cockfighting of Pokémon:
Pokémon Green and Pokémon Red (1996, Nintendo, Game Freak, Game Boy, Japan): Where the collect ‘em all craze began.
Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver (1999, Nintendo, Game Freak, Game Boy Color, Japan): Added pokémon breeding to the already beguiling mix.
Hey You, Pikachu! (1998, Nintendo, Ambrella, Nintendo 64, Japan): Surreal voice recognition game for kids, where you befriend Pikachu.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008, Nintendo, Ambrella, Wii, Japan): Import pokémon from the Nintendo DS editions of the game into a virtual ranch run by your Mii.
JRPGs also led to the rise of strategy role-playing games, turn-based games that mix the traits of the genre with tactical planning. Kicking off the sub-genre was Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi (1990, Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, NES, Japan), which was later remade as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (2008, Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, Nintendo DS, Japan). Strategy RPG highlights: Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together (1995, Quest, Super NES, Japan); Final Fantasy Tactics (1997, Square, PlayStation, Japan); the musical theatre-influenced Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (1998, Nippon Ichi Software, PlayStation, Japan); and the deep-but-light-hearted Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (2003, Nippon Ichi Software, Otwo, PSP, Japan).
Massively multiplayer online games
Revisiting the history of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games is inherently problematic; not just because of changing technologies, but also because they are as much defined by the people playing them at a single point in time as the design of the game itself. Consequently the heyday of many of the titles that follow here are long over.
The MUDs:
MUD (1980, Richard Bartle & Roy Trubshaw, PDP-10, UK): The starting point for almost everything that followed.
AberMUD (1989, Alan Cox, Richard Acott, Jim Finnis & Leon Thrane, Unix, UK): Spread MUDs far and wide with its combat emphasis.
TinyMUD (1989, James Aspnes, Unix, USA): Pushed socialising to the fore.
LambdaMOO (1990, Pavel Curtis, Unix, USA): Divorced from combat and all about player interaction and creativity.
DikuMUD (1991, Sebastian Hammer, Michael Seifert, Hans Henrik Staerfeldt, Tom Madsen & Katja Nyboe, Unix, Denmark): The basis of most big name commercial massively multiplayer role-playing games.
Jurassic Park (1994, Samjung Data Service, PC: MS-DOS, South Korea): The seed that grew into South Korea’s influential game industry.
The early graphics multiplayer games:
Habitat (1986, Quantum Link, Lucasfilm Games, Commodore 64, USA): The most ambitious massively multiplayer game of the 1980s.
Air Warrior (1986, GEnie, Kesmai, Macintosh, USA): Online Second World War dog fights.
Neverwinter Nights (1991, AOL/SSI, Stormfront Studios, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Based on SSI’s single-player role-playing game engine as used in the likes of Secret of the Silver Blades (1990, SSI, PC: MS-DOS, USA).
The commercial pioneers:
Meridian 59 (1996, The 3
DO Company, Archetype Interactive, PC: Windows, USA): DikuMUD meets Doom.
Ultima Online (1997, Electronic Arts, Origin Systems, PC: Windows, USA): Expansive and intricate game that defined the future of the genre through both its failings and its successes.
EverQuest (1999, Verant Interactive, 989 Studios, PC: Windows, USA): A more co-operative experience that learned the lessons of Ultima Online’s chaotic early days.
Phantasy Star Online (2000, Sega, Sonic Team, Dreamcast, Japan): Co-operative monster slaying that introduced the genre on the games console.
South Korean games:
The Kingdom of the Winds (1996, Nexon, Jake Song, PC: Windows, South Korea): Online game set in ancient Korea.
Lineage (1998, NCSoft, Jake Song, PC: Windows, South Korea): Multiplayer castle raiding that brought South Korean video games to global attention.
Ragnarök Online (2002, Gravity Co., PC: Windows, South Korea): Norse mythology and Korean ‘manhwa’ comic visuals.
MapleStory (2003, Nexon, Wizet, PC: Windows, South Korea): Free-to-play multiplayer role-playing game that racked up more than 100 million registered players.
Others:
Argentum Online (2000, Pablo Marquez, Matías Pequeño & Fernando Testa, PC: Windows, Argentina): Argentina’s Ultima Online. The protests that followed the country’s economic collapse in 2001 seeped into the open-source game when players barricaded the virtual streets.
Disney’s Toontown Online (2001, Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Internet Group, PC: Windows, USA): Massively multiplayer action for kids.
Final Fantasy XI Online (2002, Square, PlayStation 2, Japan): Japanese role-playing reinvented for online.
Second Life (2003, Linden Lab, PC: Windows, USA): A vast, social and artistic experiment whose origins can be traced back to TinyMUD.
A Tale in the Desert (2003, eGenesis, PC: Windows, USA): Civilization and culture building in Ancient Egypt. Governed by a representative democracy that gives players the power to change the rules of the game at the (virtual) ballot box.
World of WarCraft (2004, Blizzard Entertainment, PC: Windows, USA): Polished online role-playing designed for the mass appeal it achieved.
Fantasy Westward Journey (2004, NetEase, PC: Windows, China): China’s first big online gaming success.
Adventure
Will Crowther’s Adventure (1976, Will Crowther, PDP-10, USA) started it all, but the game really took off in the wake of Don Woods’ remix, Adventure (1977, Will Crowther & Don Woods, PDP-10, USA).
The roots of Crowther’s game can be seen in:
Eliza / Doctor (1965, Joseph Weizenbaum, IBM 7094, USA): Virtual psychotherapy. Try it at: www.chayden.net/eliza/Eliza.html
Highnoon (1970, Christopher Gaylo, unknown mainframe, USA): Wild West show down in text. Relive it and whole Teletype gaming experience at www.mybitbox.com/highnoon
Hunt the Wumpus (1972, Gregory Yob, unknown mainframe, USA): Often mislabelled as an adventure game, but it’s a monster-hunting puzzle game. Texas Instruments’ graphical version, Hunt the Wumpus (1982, Texas Instruments, Kevin Kenney, TI-99/4a, USA), is more inviting than the text original.
Adventureland (1978, Adventure International, Scott Adams, TRS-80, USA) took text adventures onto home computers, but Adams’ best was his Treasure Island-inspired follow-up Pirate Adventure (1978, Adventure International, Scott Adams, TRS-80, USA).
Infocom, however, were the masters of the text adventure. The company’s output spanned all genres of fiction:
Zork! The Great Underground Empire – Part 1 (1980, Infocom, Apple II, USA): A fantasy adventure landmark, based on the original mainframe Zork! (1979, Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels & Dave Lebling, PDP-10, USA).
Deadline (1982, Infocom, Marc Blank, Apple II, USA): Detective novel and the first Infocom game with feelies.
Planetfall (1983, Infocom, Steve Meretzky, Apple II, USA): Superb sci-fi comedy quest, as is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1984, Infocom, Douglas Adams & Steve Meretzky, Apple II, USA) and Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986, Infocom, Steve Meretzky, Apple II, USA)
Plundered Hearts (1987, Infocom, Amy Briggs, Apple II, USA): Mills & Boon romance.
Lurking Horror (1987, Infocom, Dave Lebling, Atari ST, USA): Horror set in the grounds of MIT, the birthplace of Infocom.
Infocom’s literary peaks were the anti-Reagan A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985, Infocom, Steve Meretzky, Apple II, USA) and the anti-nuclear Trinity (1986, Infocom, Brian Moriarty, Apple II, USA).
Infocom’s big rival was Sierra. Roberta Williams delivered most of the company’s adventuring high points:
Mystery House (1980, On-Line Systems, Ken Williams & Roberta Williams, Apple II, USA): The first illustrated text adventure.
Time Zone (1982, On-Line Systems, Roberta Williams, Apple II, USA): Roberta’s bold visions for adventure gaming led to this vast work with its 1,500 locations, an enormous number for its time.
King’s Quest (1984, Sierra On-Line, Robert Williams, PCjr, USA): A fairy tale adventure that introduced animation into the text adventure.
King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (1988, Sierra On-Line, Roberta Williams, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Its female hero predated Lara Croft by nearly a decade.
King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (1992, Sierra, Roberta Williams & Jane Jensen, PC: MS-DOS, USA): The series’ high point.
Roberta Williams’ Phantasmagoria (1995, Sierra, Roberta Williams, PC: Windows, USA): Williams’ most ambitious work since Time Zone: a video-based interactive horror movie spread over 12 CDs. Encapsulated all the hopes and all the flaws of full-motion video games.
Sierra’s other notable adventure writer during the 1980s was Al Lowe:
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987, Sierra, Al Lowe, PC: MS-DOS, USA): A sarky lampooning of wannabe womanisers that sold in huge numbers to wannabe womanisers. Its precursor, Softporn Adventure (1981, On-Line Systems, Chuck Benton, Apple II, USA), is just crude.
Torin’s Passage (1995, Sierra, Al Lowe, PC: Windows, USA): A rare example of an adventure designed to captivate kids and their parents.
Beyond the dominant Sierra-Infocom axis of the 1980s:
The Prisoner (1980, Edu-Ware, David Mullich, Apple II, USA): Strange, experimental adventuring inspired by the cult 1960s TV series. Edu-Ware’s unusual output continued with the two-player terrorism sim Terrorist (1980, Edu-Ware, Steven Pederson, Apple II, USA).
The Hobbit (1982, Melbourne House, Beam Software, ZX Spectrum, Australia): Tolkien’s book brought to life.
Portopia Murder Serial Case (1983, Enix, Yuji Horii, NEC PC-6001, Japan): Japanese murder mystery adventure that inspired future Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima.
The Pawn (1985, Rainbird, Magnetic Scrolls, Sinclair QL, UK): The debut release of Magnetic Scrolls, the UK’s answer to Infocom.
France had a thriving adventure scene of its own. Highlights:
Paranoïak (1984, Froggy Software, Jean-Louis Le Breton & Fabrice Gille, Apple II, France): A battle against a nervous breakdown.
Le Crime du Parking (1984, Froggy Software, Jean-Louis Le Breton & Fabrice Gille, Apple II, France): Adult murder mystery.
Même les Pommes de Terre Ont des Yeux (1985, Froggy Software, Clotilde Marion, Apple II, France): Latin American revolution comedy.
L’Affaire Vera Cruz (1985, Infogrames, CPC, France): Classy detective game.
Méwilo (1987, Coktel Vision, Muriel Tramis & Patrick Chamoiseau, CPC, France): An exploration of Martinique’s culture and the history of slavery. The same team followed it with the anti-slavery ‘war game’ Freedom: Rebels in the Darkness (1988, Coktel Vision, Muriel Tramis & Patrick Chamoiseau, CPC, France).
Captain Blood (1988, Infogrames, Didier Bouchon & Philippe Ulrich, Atari ST, France): Bold, different and bizarre space adventure.
Déjà Vu: A Nightmare Comes True (1985, Mindscape, ICOM Simulations, Macintosh, USA) marked the start of the point-and-click era of adventure games, which Lucasfilm dominated during
its decade-long focus on the genre. Picks? Almost all of them: Maniac Mansion (1987, Lucasfilm Games, Ron Gilbert & Gary Winnick, Commodore 64, USA), Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (1989, Lucasfilm Games, Noah Falstein, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Loom (1990, Lucasfilm Games, Brian Moriarty, Amiga, USA), The Secret of Monkey Island (1990, Lucasfilm Games, Ron Gilbert, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck’s Revenge (1991, Lucasfilm Games, Ron Gilbert, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis (1992, LucasArts, Hal Barwood & Noah Falstein, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993, LucasArts, Steve Purcell, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (1993, LucasArts, Dave Grossman & Tim Schafer, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Full Throttle (1995, LucasArts, Tim Schafer, PC: MS-DOS, USA), Grim Fandango (1998, LucasArts, Tim Schafer, PC: Windows, USA).
Other point-and-click adventures of note:
Cruise for a Corpse (1991, Delphine, Atari ST, France): As finely crafted as any of Lucasfilm’s work.
Darkseed (1992, Cyberdreams, Amiga, USA): H.R. Giger did the artwork for this creepy horror adventure.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1996, Cyberdreams, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Disturbing sci-fi tale packed with ethical conundrums.
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars / Circle of BloodDa Vinci Code.
The Last Express (1997, Brøderbund, Smoking Car Productions, Macintosh, USA): Jordan Mechner’s unique and beautiful tale of murder on the Orient Express. Cruelly overlooked.
The Longest Journey (1999, Funcom, Ragnar Tørnquist, PC: Windows, Norway): One of the last great adventure games.
The embrace of full-motion video clips dominated mid-1990s adventure games, but few stand the test of time:
Myst (1993, Brøderbund, Cyan Worlds, Macintosh, USA): Polished puzzle game set on a mysterious island that became one of the most popular games of all time. Its roots can be found in the kooky surrealism of The Manhole (1988, Cyan Worlds, Rand & Robyn Miller, Macintosh, USA) and Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds of the Mackerel (1989, Activision, Cyan Worlds, Macintosh, USA)
Replay: The History of Video Games Page 53