Adv.game recommendations for a newbie

[sciphi]

Hi,

I'm a fairly new adventure gamer and i'd like some recommendations for what games to start with.The only adventure game that i've finished is curse of monkey island.I loved it and bought loads of adv. games hoping to play them when I could find time.I'll finally be free for around 2 months.I like detective/dark themes and prefer 3rd person.Also fairly easy puzzles would be a plus(though moderate to tough puzzles are not too bad as long as they are not too obscure)
Here are the games that I have:
GK Mysteries edition,3
Zork grand inquisitor
Roberta Williams Anthology
Full Throttle
Grim fandango
Sam and Max
Broken Sword 1,2
Morpheus
Riven
Lost files of Sherlock Holmes 1,2
Rama
Discworld 1
Beneath a steel sky-Played a little then stopped.
Monkey Island 1,2,3,4
Runaway

[Ninth]

The Monkey Island games are my favorite among your list.
So I'd play Monkey 1 and 2 first.

If the graphics are too old for you, or if you really want to try out something darker, Gabriel Knight 2 is an awesome game, with real actors, and Grim Fandango is a masterpiece, though the controls might put you off (it's in 3D).
Riven is also a must play, but it's first person and really hard, so it probably doesn't fit your requirements.

All in all, though, all the games in your list are excellent games, with Runaway and (in my opinion) the Roberta William Anthology a little below the others.

I haven't played Morpheus, but I heard it's good, and I don't really know much about Rama, aside from it's title and the fact that it's first person.

EDIT: And welcome, of course :).

[sciphi]

Hi,
Thanks a lot for the help.Graphics are not a factor for me.Would you recommend GK1?How is the difficulty level in that?How about the Broken sword games?

[Ninth]

Hi,
Thanks a lot for the help.Graphics are not a factor for me.Would you recommend GK1?How is the difficulty level in that?How about the Broken sword games?
I wouldn't, because I didn't like it that much, but I'm the exception in this, not the rule. I felt like you never knew what you were supposed to do, and had no idea how to do it, until you stumbled upon a puzzle, solved it, and then somehow progressed in the story. So it's pretty difficult. GK2 is completely different, and easier.

The Broken Sword games are ok. They're not too hard, very pretty, quite long, and the stories are nice. I never really liked the main character, but that's perhaps because of the stupid american accent he has (I played the french version of both games). Or perhaps that's because he keeps making fun of the player.
Still, both are good and fun games.

[Jelena]

I like detective/dark themes and prefer 3rd person.Also fairly easy puzzles would be a plus(though moderate to tough puzzles are not too bad as long as they are not too obscure)
A really good detective/dark story is Still Life. It's also 3rd person.
Most of the puzzles are excellent, but there are some that are really tricky. I enjoyed that game very much.
How about the Broken sword games?
I just finished B.S III and after a bit of adjusting to it I enjoyed it a lot. I'm going to look for the previous games in the series right away and there's a #4 coming as well. The puzzles were enjoyable and fairly easy. The main characters have a really saracstic approach towards each other. The story may be dark, but the atmosphere of the game wasn't dark compared to Still Life for instance.

[Fien]

If you already own all those games, why not pick one, install it, play it for 30 minutes or so and if it doesn't grab you, choose another one from your big pile of quality adventures? ;)

Anyway... here are my thoughts

For someone who loves detective games, you haven't bought many. Just the Sherlock Holmes games, which I highly recommend if you love Sherlock's style and long dialogues. And there are no dark games on your list. Unless Bass qualifies as dark.

- Zork GI, Riven, Rama and Morpheus are 1st-person, with FMV (real people) in cut scenes. Even die-hard third person lovers should play Zork GI, which is one of the funniest and best games ever. Puzzles in Myst-clone Morpheus are easy, but it's just an average game. Riven is much, much better. And harder. I never finished Rama (SF), mathematical puzzles are not for me.

- Discworld 1 and Grim Fandango are great funny classics too, firmly in my top ten. Both of them quite long. Grim is not easy and Discworld 1 is a tad too hard for mere humans.

- Full Throttle is another must-play. Short and easy. In my opinion the best one to start with.

EDITED: Oops! Morpheus is indeed a dark but not really scary game.

[El Poppy]

I’d start with either Broken Sword 1 or Monkey Island 1.
Both are complete classics in my eyes. I’ve replayed Broken Sword 1 just over 4 times despite knowing how to do all of the puzzles. I did not enjoy the sequels as much, in my opinion their plots and simplicity let them down.

Broken Sword 1 for me had a great mix of puzzle solving, a well developed plot which was both intriguing and factual, and a rather British sense of humour… And I loved the characters. Both Stobbart and Threepwood are endearing in the “lovable fool” way. ;)

[Cathy1]

In my opinion if I were you I would get the walkthroughs for all of the games you have, and play them all. You said you only have 2 months free. That should just about cover your free time. :)

Cathy

[sciphi]

If you already own all those games, why not pick one, install it, play it for 30 minutes or so and if it doesn't grab you, choose another one from your big pile of quality adventures? ;)

Well I could do that but that would rob me of too much time besides I've played a little bit of some of those games...
In my opinion if I were you I would get the walkthroughs for all of the games you have, and play them all.
I prefer not using walkthrough as far as possible.I used one a few times for curse and I feel that part of the fun is lost when you do that
Thanks everyone for the help.I'm starting on Broken Sword 1.I got the insert cd error and I got scummvm and the videos then.Took quite a lot of time but I'm finally going to start.

[Ninth]

I just finished B.S III and after a bit of adjusting to it I enjoyed it a lot. I'm going to look for the previous games in the series right away and there's a #4 coming as well. The puzzles were enjoyable and fairly easy. The main characters have a really saracstic approach towards each other. The story may be dark, but the atmosphere of the game wasn't dark compared to Still Life for instance.
BS1 and 2 and much harder than the third one, even though they're still not that hard.

And they're better in pretty much every aspects, too. :) (not that I didn't find BS3 fun)