The Year Ahead - 1988

I’ve decided that since I’m giving you guys some control over what games I play, I should revamp the way that process is handled. Consider this new format as a template for what you can expect going forward. You will see a "The Year Ahead" post every time there are three games left in the current year to play. In other words, since I now have only Police Quest, Shadowgate and Space Quest II to play through after the current game before reaching 1988, it’s time to figure out what games I’m going to play once I get there. Why start so early? Well, firstly, I list the last three games I've played and the next three games I'm going to play on the front screen. To list the next three games, I need to know what they're going to be. Secondly, I figure there will be some years where there is quite a bit of discussion and quite a few votes necessary, which will take time to sort out. So…let’s look at 1988.

Below is a list of games from 1988 that have at least 10 ratings on Moby Games and / or are on the Wikipedia Notable Graphic Adventure Games list.

For a game to automatically go on the play list, it must clearly be a graphic adventure game, it must have over 20 votes on Moby Games, and it must be on the Wikipedia list.

If a game has at least one positive result but not all three, it will go to a vote.

If a game has no positives, it will be skipped.

Please be aware that this is just a starting point for each year and gives you a bit of insight into how I'm selecting games to play. It's up to you guys to bring up other games that you feel are worth looking at, or even to disagree with any of my judgements regarding a particular game's genre.

As a final note before I get underway, I've decided to play games in the year of their release on PC, rather than based on the year the game was originally released on any platform. This will help avoid the issues I recently had with Maniac Mansion and will put games' technical qualities more into perspective. Neuromancer is a perfect example of this, being a game that was released in 1988, but didn't arrive on the PC until 1989.

Captain Blood

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Questionable
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (20)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	No
Result	Vote On It

Gold Rush!

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (36)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	Yes
Result	Play It

Journey: The Quest Begins

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Questionable
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	No (11)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	No
Result	Skip It

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (59)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	Yes
Result	Play It

Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places)

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (50)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	Yes
Result	Play It

Manhunter: New York

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (26)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	Yes
Result	Play It

Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (50)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	Yes
Result	Play It

Psycho

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	No (10)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	No
Result	Vote On It

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

Is it clearly a graphic adventure game?	Yes
Does it have 20 or more Moby Games ratings?	Yes (79)
Is it on the Wikipedia Notable Games list?	Yes
Result	Play It

Let the discussion begin...