For those who've been living on the former planet Pluto and just got back, I will inform you that Beyond the Alley of the Dolls is pretty much a standard third-person (or persons) 3D adventure, albeit adapted for consoles, takes five or so hours to complete and has all-around stellar production values - music, graphics, interface, you name it.

The experience of playing Dreamfall is so pleasant and user-friendly that I think it has the potential to be a “gateway” game, a game like Myst or The Sims, which brings new players to computer and video games.

Like its two predecessors, Muzzled! is an exemplary offering.

After playing so many mediocre games from the big publishers, DF3 was a welcome treat. If you like adventure games, you must get this one.

But, as usual, it's all expertly crafted and written and still highly amusing.

If you're a real RPG junkie (which I freely admit I am), the fresh, irreverent, humorous tone of Bard's Tale may be entertaining enough for you to ignore the fact that it's sitting on top of a pretty mundane, flat game experience.

Anyone who loves a mystery and has an investigative mind will get many hours of pleasure from Still Life.

Everything short of the voice acting is professional. Knut Mueller wanted to give us a puzzling experience and he nailed it to the wall. If you love puzzles, then you will want this game.

The puzzles have the potential to cause extreme frustration even with the most patient of gamers. Using the internet as the backbone for the game may not be ideal as, sooner or later, the websites will come down and the game server will no longer be sending emails to players.

Honestly, if you played it and were rubbed the wrong way by the glitches, apply the patch and give it another shot. Mona may be only a campy vampire, but her heart, and the game's, are in the right place.

A unique game and a nice change of pace to the "standard" adventure template. It puts you in a very strange scenario, one you won't see in many other releases. Some will find it disturbing, some will find it intriguing, and I'm guessing that almost all will find it just plain different.

I don't know if it's a classic - only time can tell if Runaway deserves a place alongside the timeless - but this is the one of the most balanced and enjoyable adventures of these last years.

Given how much I loathed playing it, I’d like to give it a really low grade. (Is there a Z?) But I can’t in all fairness do that, because this game is exactly what it’s supposed to be. What it does, it does well, and many of you will enjoy it. I didn’t.

A charming old-school comic adventure which holds its own, courtesy of its beautiful 3D graphics and an engaging plot.

Undoubtedly one of the "must play" adventure games. There is simply no other game quite like it. The 2004 release is not a new game and not even a remake, however the significantly improved technical quality and wealth of additional material, combined with an attractive price, will make the new Bad Mojo appealing even to existing owners of the 1996 version.

This is a very good game for those who love a good story.

In the end this is a solid, light-hearted game that’s fun to play and has very little violence. It’s not challenging, mind you, and not overly long.

Consistently good B to B+ material and an excellent excuse to subscribe to GameTap.

As for me, I had a surprisingly good time helping Maya struggle to bring all of the events back into the bosom of the benevolent gods. Tight story, excellent puzzles, attractive graphics -- what else could we grouchy adventure game players ask for?

Overall, despite its faults, Homestar Ruiner is a pretty enjoyable game, a lighthearted cartoon romp with a great sense of humor and an original flavor.

Basically if you liked the previous three adventures, you’ll love this one too. It’s almost identical in every way, and the plot even feels similar to previous titles.

Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper is a well constructed adventure, but the necessary linearity and dependence on following a pre-established timeline do hinder the overall effect of the game and rob it of much of its suspense.

With all the technical stuff aside, how you feel about this game will be heavily dependent on your own tastes because it is such a niche game – heavy dialog, comedy, and a cartoon. Within that category of adventure games, I think Ceville will rank pretty high on gamers lists.

The experience of playing Dreamfall is so pleasant and user-friendly that I think it has the potential to be a "gateway" game, a game like Myst or The Sims, which brings new players to computer and video games.

Not a perfect game. It suffers from patchy controls, dull and unremarkable locales and an ending that is a bit of a let down. But it also has some gorgeous 3D graphics, top notch voiceovers, music and dialogue, and an ultimately engrossing storyline which is well paced and will keep your interest piqued.

How you react to Penumbra depends entirely on how, uh, adventurous you are feeling when you load the game up. If you are a hardcore traditionalist, you could quickly get turned off by the game's 3D engine, sluggish controls, occasional combat and drab environments. However, if you are open to a new experience and are willing to take the game as it is, you could have a spooky and rewarding gaming experience that could even stretch your idea of what an adventure game can be.

Nancy Drew fans will NOT be disappointed in this latest installment.

“The Bogey Man” is fun, funny and again beautifully made. I can indeed easily see how a W&G fan who has no discernible interest in adventure games might love it. Episode four was of a piece with its three previous installments, although a bit less surprising, a bit less engrossing. One could almost hear the game designers yawning.