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ADVENTURE: THE GENRE THAT DOES SELL

Click here for month-end March, year-to-date 2003 sales figures. The usual disclaimers apply – figures are tabulated by PC Data and do not include online sales or sales from some brick-and-mortar outlets like Electronics Boutique that do not subscribe to the service. The top selling adventure game for the month of March is UbiSoft’s CSI with 15,642 units sold. We have not included any games that have sold less than 1,000 units for the year. JC stands for jewel case and is a game that is sold at a reduced cost without a box.

DANE & JOE & BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE

We have wanted to add a games related cartoon strip to the JA site for a very long time, but to be honest, most of the strips out there are just not very funny. And then we discovered the wonderfully wacky humor of Steve Ince. When not busy at Revolution Software, Steve creates the comic misadventures of Juniper Crescent, The Sapphire Claw and now Dane & Joe which Just Adventure has the honor of hosting. If you would like to know more about this talented individual and Web Comic Awareness then be sure to read this article from the U.K. based periodical Pocklington Today.

A FACE MADE FOR RADIO

It’s often been said that I have a face made for radio and a body made for loving. Well, on Sunday, May 18th you can be the judge as I’ll appear live on the internationally broadcast Into Tomorrow radio show featuring host Dave Graveline.

From 3pm to 5pm est, we will be talking about the games of the E3 and, more importantly, the resurgence of the adventure genre. Other guests include JA’s own Jeff Strand (Seriously Whacked) and Computer Gaming World’s Jeff Green. If your local radio stations do not carry the Into Tomorrow show, then simply click on the Into Tomorrow link and listen live via the Internet!

SILENT BUT DEADLY

Konami recently issued a press release for Silent Hill 3 that we found interesting. Historically, console game conversions have not sold well on pc. There are numerous reasons, but the chief culprits are that these games are usually a direct port from console and the pc version then usually has inferior graphics and the much-dreaded pre-determined save points.

Konami though has addressed these two issues by announcing that the pc version of Silent Hill 3 will not only be on DVD – thus assuring better graphic quality – but that the player will also be able to save anywhere in the game. Isn’t it great to have a large company like Konami respond to valid criticisms in a positive manner?

NO SPEAKA THE ENGLISH

I’m starting to feel a little run-down and need to take a breather, plus I have a flight to catch, so how about we let a JA reader step to the plate? Up at bat is Amy who wrote to tell us of her painful experience with The Watchmaker:

. . . while waiting for Post Mortem to come out in the U.S., I decided to pick up, The Watchmaker. It got two decent reviews on your site and I usually agree with your reviews. Until this one.

Right off the bat, I'd give the voice acting an "F". Now, I can deal with mediocre voice acting in games, but this cast reminded me of those Saturday Night Live skits where the players are pretending to be bad actors, only in The Watchmaker, they're doing it on purpose!!! Why? Who hired these people?!? Here's my version of what must have happened the day they hired the cast;

Director A and Director B have just gotten the English translation of the original Italian Watchmaker script.

DIRECTOR A: Wait a minute, some of these words are translated into "British" English, not "American" English. Do you think the actors will get confused?

DIRECTOR B: Oh, what's the difference, English is English.

DIRECTOR A: You're right, what was I thinking? Now, let's see the actress up for the role of the supervisor's wife, Jude Roberts.

Actress 1 walks in.

ACTRESS 1: Hello, I have no experience in voice acting and I've just come out of a coma.

DIRECTOR A: You're hired!

DIRECTOR B: That was easy. Now let's hear the guy who wants the role of Raul, the Gardener.

Actor 1 walks in.

DIRECTOR A: All right, in this scene here, you're talking about your boss. Now read the line where it says, "He pays the cheques."

ACTOR 1: Ahem. (clears throat) He pays the CHEC-KAYS.

DIRECTOR A: Hmm. I think the word "cheque" is pronounced the same as "check". Remember what I said before about British and American English?

DIRECTOR B: Oh, who's really going to notice? People buy adventure games for the puzzles, not the voice acting! Now let's hear the guy up for the role of Stephen, the Cook.

Actor 2 walks in.

ACTOR 2: Hello.

DIRECTOR A: That voice, that voice! I like your voice so much, I insist you play Stephen AND another character, the bad guy role of The Hunter! And I also insist you make the two characters sound as similar as possible, making it hard for the audience to distinguish between the two!

ACTOR 2: Um, okay.

DIRECTOR B: Last, but not least, let's hear the guy up for the role of Henry, the Caretaker.

DIRECTOR A: Forget it, we can't afford another voice actor.

DIRECTOR B: What should we do?

DIRECTOR A: Let's get the intern who works the copy machine!

Director A drags a bewildered intern into the studio.

DIRECTOR B: Hey, can you do an old guy voice, 'cause you know Henry the Caretaker is supposed to be an old guy.

INTERN: Dude, I'm no good at that.

DIRECTOR B: Well, can you mumble a lot and keep your voice low so that no one can understand you, thus forcing them to turn the game subtitles on?

INTERN: Huhmm, wllrrrr, illchryyy...

DIRECTOR A: Excellent, you're hired! I can't believe how easy this was! You people should send your resumes out to the folks at LucasArts, they don't know what they're missing!

Well Amy, I have to be honest, until recently the only version of Watchmaker I had played was in Italian with English subtitles. But I’ve received so many emails about the voice-acting in this game, that I thought I should finally give it a try and, after valiantly loading it onto my system, all I have to say is . . . .aaargghh, make the bad noises go away mommy!

READ MY LIPS

Text adventures seem to be all the craze again and two new releases are excellent examples of why Interactive Fiction will never fade into the sunset. Valpurgius and I by our own Agustin Cordes is a short interactive game that newcomers and experts alike will find humorous and best of all – its free from the JA website!

Pentari: First Light is a new retail release that is receiving rave reviews. Written by Howard Sherman, the president of Malinche Entertainment, Pentari is a throwback to the good old days of Infocom. Not one to rest on his laurels, Howard is currently working on the macabre Greystone. This one bears watching!

E3 OR BUST

This will be my seventh E3 and, unlike last year when adventure games were few and far between, there are so many potentially great games to sample that it’s hard to figure out where to begin!

Jane Jensen announcing a new adventure series is a great start, but then there are also eight new releases from The Adventure Company, Full Throttle 2 and Sam n’ Max from LucasArts and a new Nancy Drew game from Her Interactive.

Plus we have a closed door meeting with UbiSoft to see Uru, a top secret meeting with Microids to obtain some updated information on Syberia 2 and have been promised the very first available information on The Longest Journey 2. What a difference a year makes!

So I have to cut it short this month as I really do have a plane to catch. See you next month!