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My husband and I have played a lot of computer games together. We also have kids and like to play something casually for an hour or so after they have gone to bed. I would advise you to avoid 1st person shooters, real time strategy or anything that pits you against each other. I learned very quickly that I didn't like being "attacked" in games by my husband.

One of the first games we played was The Longest Journey. We sat next to each other and took turns controlling the mouse. It has a great plot and is an adventure / puzzle game, which might be a good introductory game.

Another really fun one for me was Terraria, which is sort of like a building game crossed with a side-scroller that allows for multiplayer.

My husband and I have been playing a lot of Torchlight II lately, which is an rpg that can be played cooperatively. You could also try Diablo 2, which is in the same vein, but I think Torchlight is more approachable.

Lastly, I really liked playing Civ IV cooperatively.

Good Luck!

I have mixed feelings about Tornquist. He created The Longest Journey which was absolutely amazing, particularly for its story. My favorite game ever. Vivid, detailed characterization, intricate world-building, compelling plot. The tech wasn't impressive (3D figures superimposed on 2D backdrops), but the story was so great that I didn't care.

Then came the sequel, Dreamfall. Oh. My. God. The game was a lot prettier, a good deal more tech glitz. But the UI was atrocious (horrible camera control, unplayable on PC without a USB controller), gratuitous fighting scenes built in (complete with lousy combat controls), and the puzzles (such as they were) didn't make sense. Worse, the plot was incoherent at many crucial points, and the main character (Chloe) completely failed to engage my sympathy or even interest. I got to the end and was sorry she hadn't died permanently somewhere along the way.

Dreamfall had the most severe case of sequel-itis I've ever seen. The original was amazing, astounding, wonderful, and sold a bazillion copies. Then the corporate types took over and threw a ton of cash at the sequel, and it sucked hard. The only comparable thing I can think of? Indiana Jones -- Raiders of the Lost Ark was terrific, and Temple of Doom sucked so hard that nobody ever plays it on TV, not even at 4 AM to fill up time. That's how Dreamfall was.

I have hopes for the third TLJ installment -- after all, The Last Crusade rescued Indiana Jones from one-hit wonder status. It could happen again. But then I think of how the Matrix series went downhill, and fear.

185,000 of those people had video card issues since it doesn't work with GeFroce 6200, 6800, or 7300 cards. So they assumed that their bad sales was due to piracy. (Seriously, they had this problem at launch over a year ago, and they still haven't released a patch)

"Brain hurts from too much reading. Must click graphics..."

Then you'd hate this or this game then.

OK, what's your vote on video game women who are Intellgent, Strong and Powerful?

My vote is for April Ryan, the protagonist from The Longest Journey (1999). I absolutely fell in love with the story. And even more appealing, while April is definately Intelligent, the "Strong and Powerful" (more like "Confidence") grows throught the game. It also rocks because it's European (Norweigan actually), and it has an "M" rating. Not for sex and violence, but for language, which they refused to tone down for the US release. Burns Flipper is my personal hero.

I just replayed the game a few months ago. Absolutely awesome. Beat out Star Control 2 as the best adventure game I've ever played (IMHO! Please no flame wares).

The sequel (Dreamfall) is finally coming out next year. Can't wait.

I agree 100%, The Longest Journey is an absolutely amazing games - I especially love the voicing of April and Cortez. In fact I love it so much I bought the game twice - it's available really cheap straight from the official site in a 2CD-rerelease (original was 4 CDs). It's with some measure of pride I notice I've played and loved almost all the games mentioned here. One of my personal favourites hasn't been mentioned yet though - SimTex's Master of Magic, one of the most immersive games I've played, Civilization with magic pretty much. I played it for days with barely a break.

I'll tend to agree, but if it's done right, it may be good. F.ex. Shrek is a great 3D cartoon, quite different than the old classics of 2D cartoons, it looses some, but then again, it gains some atmosphere that wasn't there at first.

The trouble is to rewamp a 2D character into 3D, still capturing that magic, Creating a fresh new character in 3D is easier, so I'll wait and see...

There is a couple of gems regarding "3D" adventures out there, so I hope the producers get it right, and let the adventure genre live on... dont spoil the magic of the classics, use new technology if you want, but only as a tool to express the true art if needed, not because its fancy!

Of course, it's not an independent game -- it's by Funcom. But it's getting funded by the Norwegian Film Fund, so that's an interesting/artistic influence. And they are changing the game from "adventure" to "action-adventure." Every hardcore role-player knows that "action-RPG" typically means "dumbed-down for the masses." It's the difference between Planescape: Torment, and Diablo 2. But, in the case of adventure games, a little action will help pull me in. Some of the Zorks remain unsolved, still installed on my Win 98se computer -- partly because the puzzles are so puzzling. One of the advantages of Dreamfall's "action" influence appears to be multiple solutions to a puzzle, and the option to use force if you get stuck. If they do it right, this could be one of the first adventure games I finish without a cheatbook. I would really like that.

In relation to some of the links in the original article, I would mention that A Case of the Crabs is great, I'm playing it now. Thanks for the pointer!

Anyways, there are online adventure game magazines that cover new adventure games, but I seem to have lost my links to them (anyone out there know of any?). The thing is smaller studios are the only ones working in the adventure genre, and they aren't as sophisticated as Lucas Arts yet, but their time will come.

Seriously, the FPS craze started with Doom I (I know it wasn't the first, but it was the first HUGE FPS), and it pretty much ended other forms of gaming. Video game publishers are the same evil bastards as that we complain about at the RIAA or MPAA, and they don't like to take chances. Just look what they did to Sierra Online :-(

Funcom is currently making the adventure game Dreamfall, which is the sequel to The Longest Journey.

Funny that I should see this posted today. I just finished The Longest Journey this afternoon, and let me just say that it's a hell of an adventure. The way the writers gave even the most minor characters interesting dialogue is nothing short of amazing. And the main character is completely believable.

This could get made into a movie with a minimum of modification. But, of course, it'll never happen. Guess I'll just have to content myself with the sequel...next year...sigh...

There is a middle ground--like female characters that are competent without only being sex objects. It really isn't such an impossible thing to wish for.

How about April Ryan?. I'll admit that this game was the first time I identified myself with a female character in any medium (games, books, movies, etc).

If Dreamfall is cancelled, then I will seriously flip. Dreamfall is the sequel to The Longest Journey, one of the best adventure games ever. ;)

• Buy it for a friend, then wait with anticipation as they get to the good parts
• Wish there were other adventure games that good
• Reminisce
• Share your favorite elements with other friends who've played the game

Good adventure games like this can not be replayed, but they can be remembered with fondness.

Many games have always had good music, just look at the C&C series -- some of those tracks I still have in my playlist.

But real soundtracks for games? Offhand, I can only think of few games where the music so impressed me I bought it: 'The Longest Journey' is the most recent example, but the 'No One Lives Forever' games also had good music which really added to the experience, the original songs were exactly like the 60's songs of the world Kate Archer is supposed to live in.

As for licensing existing music -- how many games really fit with such music? There's only so many GTAs. I'd be willing to bet most movies have an original soundtrack, or at least a number of songs written especially for the movie. Why should another visual medium be more suited for 'recycled' music?

The article mentions 'Enter the Matrix' as an example of a game with a soundtrack, but I can't say the music of movie or game really did something for me.

Games are just like movies: those with great soundtracks are those where the soundtrack has been conceived as an integral part of the product from the start, but most only seem to have had some ambience painted on, perhaps with one good theme at most.

If more games come with complete --and original-- soundtracks, that will finally be a reason to buy the deluxe editions again: all too often I preorder a 'special edition' only to find some cheap addons.

Well, honestly, you may not like it, unless you are predisposed to like interactive story games, lots of dialog, a semi-slow pace with fantasy elements, etc. But check out the website before you decide for sure.

Btw, I'm a 30 year old guy who listens to "Tool" all day, and I liked it. :)

http://www.longestjourney.com/

They trot out 'The Longest Journey' as an example of not-dead-yet... and while it *was* a fabulous game, it's not a very good example. The game set up completely for a sequel, which the company then decided wasn't going to happen. It can't have sold very well.

The Journey Continues
Funcom Announces Strong Production Line-Up

No hints as to when it will be done, though.

The number one spot in the article goes to Adventure Games. Truly, this is the saddest loss in recent years. Maybe some new company (or individual!) will come along and breathe new life into the genre. It could be the antidote to all those bloody, boring first-person-shooters. (I mean really, how many ways can you shoot/stab/hack/blow up computerized opponents?)

I have high hopes for Funcom, who put out The Longest Journey three years ago. The article mentions it, and I second their opinion: quite possibly the best adventure game ever. Detailed plot, lovely graphics, superb acting by the voice artists, and an excellent sound track (if you'd like, you'll find legitimate MP3s of that soundtrack available at their official site).

The game's not perfect -- there are some puzzles that are totally counter-intuitive, like the one where you have to use a rubber ducky, a clamp and a hose to fish a key out of an electrified rail in the subway. There are one or two others like that, where the game doesn't provide enough information for you to figure out what to do -- it just depends on you having seen and/or used things that you could miss really, really easily.

Still, there's always the internet for clues or outright solutions if you get stuck. And the games virtues far outstrip its flaws. If you've got some time to kill, get yourself a copy and try it out. It's still available in the US and Europe.

One word of warning: wait till you've got a weekend free. Or maybe a whole week -- "The Longest Journey" is an apt name for it. It took me about 60 hours to play through.

The number one spot in the article goes to Adventure Games. Truly, this is the saddest loss in recent years. Maybe some new company (or individual!) will come along and breathe new life into the genre. It could be the antidote to all those bloody, boring first-person-shooters. (I mean really, how many ways can you shoot/stab/hack/blow up computerized opponents?)

I have high hopes for Funcom, who put out The Longest Journey three years ago. The article mentions it, and I second their opinion: quite possibly the best adventure game ever. Detailed plot, lovely graphics, superb acting by the voice artists, and an excellent sound track (if you'd like, you'll find legitimate MP3s of that soundtrack available at their official site).

The game's not perfect -- there are some puzzles that are totally counter-intuitive, like the one where you have to use a rubber ducky, a clamp and a hose to fish a key out of an electrified rail in the subway. There are one or two others like that, where the game doesn't provide enough information for you to figure out what to do -- it just depends on you having seen and/or used things that you could miss really, really easily.

Still, there's always the internet for clues or outright solutions if you get stuck. And the games virtues far outstrip its flaws. If you've got some time to kill, get yourself a copy and try it out. It's still available in the US and Europe.

One word of warning: wait till you've got a weekend free. Or maybe a whole week -- "The Longest Journey" is an apt name for it. It took me about 60 hours to play through.

Try The Longest Journey . Beautiful graphics, interesting story, 2D adventure game. Unfortunately, it didn't sell well, so don't expect any sequels. It's more of an experience than a game, up there with Grim Fandango.
Really, really worth a shot.

Now that game would make a great movie.

For you old-school adventurers out there. A great game that can be had pretty cheap, didn't sell too well due to poor marketing but got rave reviews from... pretty much everyone.

Nice graphics, great speech, and a female lead who's not all about tight-fitting clothes and guns.

More info here

Recently, I've been enthralled with FUN.COM's The Longest Journey. Great game, excellent story and voice acting. Also, unlike most adventure games, I haven't gotten stuck yet :).

You might want to play through the game first, because there is a bit of "strong language" uttered from the mouth of the lead character (she's a college student majoring in liberal arts, and it fits her).

Let's see, what have I used the CD burner I have owned for about a year for:

-Buring the soundtrack to The Longest Journey, available free on their site
-Backups of various software that was purchased online
-Backups of my own work (my OWN music compositions and software)
-Red Hat 7 .iso

I'm Canadian. I paid the tax on ALL of those CDs. I'm pretty sure the copyright holder (i.e. me, in several cases) was not compensated.

My first reaction is to wonder why someone would be so happy about the porting of such old games to linux, when they've been played so much on other platforms. But retro games are more popular than you'd think.

Hmm... I'd have to say that, given the current state of gaming on Linux, the old Sierra games are better than 99% of the "modern" games already. With the current absense of good adventures on ANY platform or OS (The Longest Journey notwithstanding, and maybe Escape From Monkey Island) this is actually very interesting, to me anyway.

Wow, a thoughful response to my random pondering. :-)

Have you seen the ads on places like the History Channel offering to sell you a tape of the show you just saw for $20? Have you then thought to yourself, "I don't need to spend $20 for their tape. I'll just tape the show the next time it airs."

You wouldn't happen to have any stats on the number of people who actually purchase such things? I have to suspect that the numbers are pretty low and the profit less than impressive. The only thing I've ever been tempted to buy was the Babylon 5 series, but fortunately I can do math and discovered just how expensive 5 seasons was going to be (ow).

All told, I really don't care too much about the RIAA or MPAA or HDTV. I've watched about 2 hours of live TV in the last 4 months. I have about 20 hours of Voyager, Stargate and South Park taped that I just haven't been motivated to watch. :-) Haven't been to a movie in ages (part boycott, mostly apathy). I'm much more interested in my computer - probably had more fun playing The Longest Journey than I would have at any recent movie anyway.

I did have a realization some time ago: if you really don't care about what these &LTreplace by expletive of choice&GT are producing, they don't have any power over you. I don't want their crap, basically. I can create my own music and computer games and entertainment... or at least I can until all methods of creation are "potential pirating/copyright infringement devices" and declared illegal. That part bothers me. Fortunately (or unfortunately, take your pick) I'm not in the States... so the effect on me is lessened, but also my ability to do anything about it and keep the poison from seeping up here into Canada.

Prepare to disengage random ranting...