This is a bit of a belated review as I didn't get round to reading Mr Carton's fourth book until after Christmas, which is quite bad considering I bought it on back in September! Sorry! Anyway, I've had the time to give this a considered read and, with maybe one minor niggle, this is a very good book on a video games genre that, having peaked in the early 1990's, is now experiencing very much of a renaissance.
This 150 page hardback is up to the usual high standards for a White Owl publication. Stock quality is good and the plethora of screenshots within pop off the page. The text itself is quite large, making it an easy to read tome with no chance of eye strain even for my tired old peepers - and yes, I mentioned this last week too! Separate reading glasses are inbound as I type.
There are six chapters in total, starting with the very beginning of the adventure game genre and text adventures. Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork, and The Hobbit are specifically mentioned, although there are countless more of their kind. My personal enmity is reserved for The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy which had me stumped on the CPC back in the day, although a recent couple of RISC OS text adventures (Gateway to Karos and The Mirror of Khoronz - http://www.boulsworth.co.uk/intfict/) did keep me entertained in the run up to the festive period.
The second chapter moves on to the beginning of the graphical adventure and the works of Ken and Roberta Williams. Yep, Sierra On-Line were the name in adventure throughout the 1980's and early 90's. As well as their early titles, each of the main series (King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest) are covered along with Leisure Suit Larry, Gabriel Knight (a personal favourite) and the later CD-ROM adventures such as fantastic Phantasmagoria.
Next up is LucasArts, from their take on Labyrinth to their final effort, The Dig. Between those two titles are some of the most revered examples of the genre, and this chapter highlights the love and affection the author has for adventure games. It can be difficult to write about specific releases when they've already been covered to death, but Mr Carton manages to bring a freshness to the descriptions of these gaming legends.
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| That's got to be a caption competition opportunity. |
Chapter four is all about influential classics and goes through a whole menagerie of them. From The 7th Guest to Putt Putt, Broken Sword to Discworld, Simon the Sorcerer to Myst, this collection highlights the different styles and approaches to the adventure game as it developed throughout the 90's and beyond. That some series are still in active development is testament to the appeal of the adventure game, and if I could justify the expense (and accept Meta's data collection policies, which is a big deal), I'd be playing The 7th Guest in VR now. Modern day examples such as the Life is Strange series also get a mention.
Telltale Games is the subject of the fifth chapter, with their (mostly) licensed output, becoming a near standard in the genre as the noughties became the teens. Prolific doesn't begin to cover how many games they released, and there are some gems in there too.
The final chapter details the return of the classic adventure game, with the likes of Thimbleweed Park, Broken Age and Return to Monkey Island featuring, again demonstrating the ever present love of the genre by its fans and the support they give to new releases. It is also a fine way to end the book.
However, I mentioned a niggle in the opening paragraph, and although absolutely nowhere near enough to even consider not recommending this book, it should be noted.
It would have been nice to have a bit more coverage on the indie scene. These efforts have brought weird and wonderful titles to adventure game aficionados. The Mystery of Woolley Mountain, Lamplight City, Lucy Dreaming - just three releases from outside of the mainstream market that thrive on the likes of Steam et al (and which I have reviewed for Fusion magazine, as well as the more recently released The Will Of Arthur Flabbington). I know this book isn't a comprehensive guide to the field of adventure games, but some of the best games of their type in the last few years have come from that arena. That being said, to give full due the indie adventure scene would probably need separate book all of its own.
Still, this doesn't take away from my opinion that if you want a general overview of adventure games, then this one from Christopher Carton has you covered. Easily readable and handsomely bedecked with pictures galore, it's another fine addition to the bookshelf. You can pick up a copy from the usual online/physical book retailers, as well as direct from the publisher here. You can also follow the author on Twitter/X - search for @chriscarton89.
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