Jackal

It's been a while since we've had a Hype-o-Meter update. Then again, it's been a while since we've had any significant movement on the charts. Sam & Max rightfully hogged the #1 slot for its Season One duration, the other heavy hitters remain in the throes of agonizingly long development cycles, and so the odd game swapped out now and again in the lower slots, which never really seemed like much cause for discussion.

But over the months, a nasty pattern began to emerge, with key slots on the H-o-M being endlessly occupied by games in release date limbo. Remember Tony Tough 2? They should have called that game "A Rake's Regress", because if its English release were any slower, it'd actually be moving backwards. Undercover: Operation Hideforever has long since gone MIA, and if there's a release on the horizon, no one's talking about it. Or maybe they have, and they've been killed. Simon the Sorcerer 4? POOF!! A magical vanishing act. Culpa Innata? Belief & Betrayal? The list goes on. Where are they??

Well, I'll tell you where they're NOT anymore: the Hype-o-Meter. Do we still hope these games get released? Heck yeah! But waiting's a buzzkill and it's time to move on. So move on we have, and given the H-o-M a major overhaul in the process. Without further ado, then, here's a look at how the list shakes out at the moment.

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#1: Gray Matter. This is a no-brainer. (Oh man, that pun offended even myself. Sorry about that). Fortunately, the choice itself requires little explanation. Two words oughta do it: Jane Jensen. No arguments? We thought not.

#2: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations. Its title may be big, but it comes in a small package, as this Nintendo DS game marks the third time the spikey-haired lawyer has made the grade. PC snobs can object(!!) all they want, but the Phoenix Wright series is easily one of the top adventure game series on the market today, any platform. Case closed, court is dismissed.

#3 - #5: A Vampyre Story, Overclocked, Experience112. No change for these three in months, besides the occasional bump up or down a notch. Respectively, a gorgeous looking comic adventure by LucasArts ex-pats, a psychological drama exploring the impact and ethics of violence, and experimental gameplay that removes direct control from the player? We want them all. Now.

#6: Reprobates. Mainly because we identify closely with the title... Wait, no, that's not it! We don't actually have that much first-hand knowledge of this game, but a new adventure by the developers of The Black Mirror is appeal enough for many. Apparently Nibiru has been conveniently forgotten. But hey, what's fair for one is fair for another, which comes in handy for our next selection...

#7: Sinking Island. So yeah, we all know Paradise got a little lost. But still, it's Benoit Sokal, and this time he gets to flex his storytelling muscles in a detective mystery, a genre he knows well from his graphic novel experience with Canardo. Granted, the main character isn't a duck in the game, but nor is it a bland young hottie in search of herself. So we're eager to see how the new game turns out.

#8: Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun. And speaking of less-than-stellar previous outings, neither of the Agatha Christie games have been rated that highly at AG, so why the inclusion of the third? Two words again: Hercule Poirot! None of this "I've fallen and I can't get up" nonsense from the Orient Express. This time out, players get to don the pint-sized loafers of the famous Belgian detective himself. With David Suchet still on board as the voice of Poirot, out little grey cells are all a-flutter at the possibilities.

#9: So Blonde. What?? No, c'mon, it's NOT because it stars a hot babe. At least, not that we'll admit publicly. What we will say for the record is that any game written by Steve Ince is well worth a look in our books. Maybe even lots of looks. At the game, I mean. Yeah.

#10: Jack Keane. Perhaps flying under the radar a bit is the swashbuckling new adventure from Deck 13. While the developer's Ankh games have been cute-but-not-overwhelming titles, Jack Keane is a more ambitious project that looks to be a cross between Monkey Island and Indiana Jones, and ya gotta like that combination. Whether it comes close to either franchise remains to be seen, but at least their hearts are in the right places. Also, guys named Jack are inherently cool. Especially captains and editors.


Honorable Mentions: Dreamfall Chapters, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Mata Hari, Black Mirror 2.

Love it or hate it, Dreamfall is a hype magnet (if it wasn't, you probably wouldn't love it or hate it), so the continuing-and-now-episodic adventures of whoever's still standing in Dreamfall Chapters is major news. Look for it to make the main list once some actual details are revealed.

Zack & Wiki is the first Wii adventure, and we're dying to see how well the genre fares on Nintendo's unique new system. For naysayers who expect this to be a thinly-veiled platformer, Capcom continues to call it a "puzzle adventure", so we're prepared to take them at their word. Others may scoff at the "kiddie" art style, but it's classic Nintendo! You either understand what that means or you don't. You'll have to play it to find out for yourself. We sure will be. This game would probably crack the main H-o-M list, but I still cannot get a $*$%*$%ing Wii!!! Apparently Canada is a $%^&%ing third-world country or something. (Okay, that isn't really a reason; I'm just venting.)

Harvey Birdman is a... get this... Playstation exclusive! When was the last time you heard THOSE words uttered in relation to an adventure? Well, it's happening now, as those zany Capcom devs are at it again with another quirky courtroom game, this time based on the Harvey Birdman characters from the animated TV show. Harvey Birdman is hip, it's funny, it's current and relevant, and we're pretty stoked that Sony's jumping back into the genre. That can only be a good thing.

Mata Hari almost made the top cut as well, with two more LucasArts vets (a long overdue return of Hal Barwood and Noah Falstein) providing the story and game design for this upcoming spy thriller. The setting seems like a great, little-used (if ever) choice for a game, so we think this one could just be a sleeper hit. (You see? THIS game stars a fox, and IT'S not on the main list.)

And last but not least comes Black Mirror 2. Anyone that loved the atmospheric original is pleased about a sequel, perhaps hoping to understand what in the name of God's green earth actually happened in the first game. Personally, I'm not counting on it, but I'll welcome an entirely new Black Mirror game anyway.

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So that's about it. And having done a summary of darn near every adventure known to man, now you can all tell me how I STILL forgot to list your favourite game.

Melanie68

^Woo!!

Weeellll...

Spoiler:

Conspiracies II. However I'm probably one of 10 people who played the first one (erm, more than once), liked it and now am the only person on the planet who's looking forward to the second one. I'm weird, I know.

Mel

AFGNCAAP

For me this is possibly the least complain-worthy Hype-o-Meter, like, ever. In a hypothetical world where I own a DS, my personal list would probably have the same games occupying spots #1-#6, though in slightly different order.

With no intention to start a flamewar, I admit I am among those who question the Za(c)k and Wi(i)ki Thing's genre. I watched the gameplay movies in the thread following its announcement, and it did remind me strongly of Adventures... but those of Lomax.

And where's Kheops?

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Ksandra

Well, just to play devil's advocate: Yes, I would have to argue with this. I know people are excited because it's Jane Jensen, but come on: the last time the Grey Matter page was updated was in August 2006. All we actually have on the game so far is a handful of early concept art (not even screenshots) and a couple of interviews. At least with A Vampyre Story, Experience 112 and the like we're getting fairly regular updates (screenshots, etc.)

I should point out that I'm not knocking on the game itself. Based on what we've seen up to now, I agree that it sounds great; the problem is that we've seen so very, very little. I can't help having flashbacks to Sam & Max: Freelance Police, which raised everyone's hopes sky-high on a tiny amount of preview material, only to be cancelled later on. I certainly hope that doesn't happen to Grey Matter, but as far as I'm concerned, the hype is definitely flagging at this point.

Kolzig

Yay for the top three!

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AFGNCAAP

Hm, does GM have a webpage yet? Of the games you mention, A Vampyre Story's site was last updated back in July, while Experience112 haven't even had one just a month ago. And note that both are slated for an earlier release than GM.

No real need to bring up Freelance Police; the same happened to Gray Matter once already.

But, Jane Jensen in the May 17th Gamasutra article says:

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Jackal

D'oh! I kept spelling Zack wrong in my update. Must have had McKracken on the brain.

Never heard of Lomax (looks cute!), so I can't comment on that, and the jury's still out on just how Z&W's gameplay will shake out, definitely. But I REALLY think it won't be heavy on platforming elements, at the very least, and I've yet to see anything that hints of actual combat. To me it strikes me as a Zelda-lite, the "lite" being on the action side, and as any Zelda player knows, there is actually a TON-o-adventure at its core. That could be wrong, but strange to keep pitching it as a "puzzle adventure" if it's not. Surely you'd WANT to stress the exciting action component if the game actually had it, no?

As much as we typically like Kheops, the only publicized game on the horizon is Cleopatra, and we haven't seen or heard enough to be dazzled yet.

I hear you, I really do. As a general rule, I don't like giving free rides to games that haven't shown much, but sometimes pedigree rules the day, and this is one of them. I think if you polled people on their most anticipated adventures, you'd see Gray Matter consistently ranked near the top, regardless of the sparse updates, so name recognition counts for a lot in this case. I'm less concerned about the possibility of a cancellation, as I've yet to see a dtp-financed game fall through before completion. Getting them to English markets, on the other hand...

Wouter

Great hype-o-meter. Most of them are on my "must-buy" list (at least, if the reviews are positive). It is also amazing to see that most are sheduled for Q3-Q4 of this year so it looks like it's going to be a great second half of 2007. Although i'm thinking that a few of them will slip/be in german only for a while.

One game i missed is Once upon a time in Japan from abborado. The first newsletter was quite interesting and it deserves to be on the hype-o-meter imo.

AFGNCAAP

It's a Lemmings spin-off - of course it looks cute!

Basically, I could have named any puzzle-platformer instead, like Lost Vikings or the first Oddworlds, except they don't have the word "adventure" in the title, and I wanted to be witty.

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Ksandra

I do see your point, but I still can't agree with placing it right at the top of the list. I was under the impression that the Hype-O-Meter was supposed to be at least partly based on solid evidence of the game's development, not just "ooh, that sounds nice". My personal choice for no.1 would be A Vampyre Story (can't comment on Phoenix Wright as I know next to nothing about it).

LuigiHann

If Zak & Wiki is a platformer, it'll be the first point-and-click platformer I've ever heard of.

On second thought, there are a few that kinda fall into that category, like Mario vs Donkey Kong 2, but I'd call that one a puzzle game (or a Lemmings clone) before a platform game as well.

Jackal

If we have reason to believe a game is NOT progressing as planned, that would certainly be a factor. But the Gray Matter silence doesn't concern me yet. They announced it awfully early, so there was bound to be a quiet period when they buckled down and got to work.

But I don't totally disagree with you, like I said. I'd be glad to have a game that's much further along and better publicized occupying the top slot. But the truth is, I just don't think any other game on the list has shown enough to override the general excitement of a new Jane Jensen game.

AVS? I certainly have high hopes for it, and it deserves to be right up near the top, but I'd say it's far more of an unknown than Gray Matter despite a few more screenshots and a nice website. We can be sure the graphics will look sweet, but its writing and game design are still unproven (its LucasArts alumni were art and admin guys, I believe), whereas we know Jensen can deliver in those areas. I'm not knocking AVS by saying that, but it's a reality to consider.

Anyway, #1, #3, there's really not that to distinguish. And placements can change soon enough. The H-o-M is fully vulnerable to the winds of change. This is just where it fell out this time.

Giligan

Hype-O-Meter for teh win!!!!!!


Wait, why is Jack Keane at the bottom of the list? That sucker oughta be number one!

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Jackal

It plummeted from 1 to 10 when you dumped it as your avatar. Poor Jack.

But seriously, it probably deserves a higher spot, but not many people talk about it! Hopefully it'll generate a bit more buzz in the coming months.