Best Underground Adventure: Quest for Glory II VGA Remake

AGD Interactive's remake of Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire not only continues the team's tradition of giving classic Sierra titles high-colour, mouse-driven makeovers, it raises the bar for Underground adventures on many levels. As a light RPG/adventure hybrid, some may object to this game even being included among traditional genre titles, but there’s more than enough adventuring goodness on display here for consideration. And granted, as a remake it didn’t face the challenges of totally original games, but it provides a wealth of enhancements that leave QFG2VGA feeling like a new game in its own right.

A completely redesigned combat system, a couple of minigames, an option to make the game world easier to navigate, and a combination text parser/point-and-click dialogue system are some of the highlights that make the game not only more immersive but also far more approachable than the EGA original. Meanwhile, a handful of new pieces were added to the soundtrack, and digital sound effects provide another welcome addition to the game’s presentation. The game—which spent nearly seven years in development—pushes the underlying AGS engine to its limits while maintaining a sense of artistic quality and overall polish that Sierra itself would have been hard-pressed to match.

Runners-Up: Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator – Case 7: The Cardinal Sins, Barn Runner: “Season” Five



Readers’ Choice: Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of the Templars

Sshhh! We mustn't draw attention to fan games, lest they be shut down by uncaring corporate entities. Oh wait, this is Revolution and they encourage grassroots involvement? By all means, then, we're pleased to announce the readers' choice of this German-developed, English-subtitled adventure, and runners-up Ben Jordan 7; Ben There, Dan That!, and Nanobots (tie) as well.



Next up: Best Independent Adventure (commercial)... the envelope, please.