Police Quest 3 (Sierra, 1991, PC) I'm not a big fan of later Police Quests; I preferred the ongoing saga of Sonney Bonds, via retired policeman Jim Walls as Game Designer. This title has Officer Bonds hunting down his wife's attacker; a serial killer which she barely got away from alive. She's in the hospital as you discover her attacker's identity...and that is a major puzzle in itself. A nice, evolving crime mystery that surpasses most television fare, with a cute ending. Coolest Added Touch : In one puzzle, put pins of recent gang incidents on a city map, and solve the mystery of their next attack; the sites form a pentagram! Cool puzzle.

 Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire (Sierra, 1990, PC) Among all the attempts to make a hybrid of two game genres, nothing did it ad seamlessly, perfectly, and enjoyably, as the RPG/Adventure Quest for Glory 2, as designed by Sierra game designers Lori and Corey Cole. Defeat four elemental forces of evil and a final enemy, in any of three different ways (via three different hero types). Coolest Added Touch : The ending has every person you saved thanking you personally "This man has honor...This man has courage...This man has compassion."...This game is COOL!

Relentless (Adeline/Electronic Arts, 1994, PC) Known as "Little Big Adventure" overseas, this is one of the largest adventure games I ever played. You travel across an entire alien planet, with wide expanses of game maps that rival the Ultima series. Even with the most cut and dry walkthrough, it will most likely take you over a week to solve! In truth, the only action/adventure of its kind that is quite as large is, of course, it's sequel, Relentless 2. Coolest Added Touch : Look in a crystal ball near game's end to see all cutscenes throughout the game, in sequence...

Rise of the Dragon (Dynamix, 1990, PC) With artwork resembling an underground comic book series, this futuristic mystery action/adventure was a unique concept when first released. This was supposed to spawn numerous games using detective character "Blade Hunter," and it's disappointing it didn't. Coolest Added Touch : The theme music on a MIDI sound card is fantastic; some of the best Sierra ever had in any adventure game.

Sam & Max Hit the Road (LucasArts, 1993, PC) Based on a rare comic strip, this game made the popularity of the comic rise like wildfire. No surprise: Anyone who played this game loved it. At the extreme least, I've yet to hear of a single person who didn't. Coolest Added Touch: When fighting to answer the phone, Sam wins by throwing Max out the window. Classic cartoon fun. Added Note : as of this page's latest update (05/09/01), all LucasArts classics are still available, at the LucasArts Company Store! just click  "original classics" (or "Mac Classics", for iMac-fans. ).

 Shadowgate (ICOM Simulations/Mindscape, 1987, Macintosh) While ported to numerous other systems, this game's original Macintosh version was revolutionary at the time. You could actually click and drag any object seen in the game window, "drag" it into inventory, use it on other objects, and so on. The puzzle was that you could grab practically everything; what you actually needed was up to you to learn. Although revisions (Nintendo systems) have more colorful graphics than the film noir black-and-white of the original, the 1987 Macintosh release --on a mere two low density floppies!-- was top notch, with macabre graphics and digital sound clips. This game's popularity is still in full swing, with its own website (www.shadowgate.com), as well as availability in most software-download web stores. Coolest Added Touch : Finding all the pieces to a magical staff, and putting it together via lightning effects. Cool!

Sorcerer (Infocom, 1984, Apple//e) The middle member of an amusing sorcerer trilogy, this was the happy medium of the two others in the series. The end of the trilogy may have had a truly stupid finale, and the original "Wishbringer" may have been a mere "diet" version of this sequel, with less puzzles and spells. Still, this was the game that made it all worthwhile. Coolest Added Touch : The spells, all of which were quite intriguing.

Space Quest (Sierra On-Line, 1986, Macintosh) This first game in the series was the start of something BIG; Space Quest would soon be second only to King's Quest as one of Sierra's longest-running graphic adventure series. Designed by the "two guys from Andromeda" (Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe), SQ1 was an amusing parody of classic sci-fi. It was so well made, even seeing the game in the typical green-colored monitors of the time (shown here) was worth the game experience. I, for one, played it on a black and white Macintosh the first time...and loved every minute of it. Coolest Added Touch: The classic Space Quest theme --beeping right along on internal speakers-- was composed by game designer Mark Crowe himself!

Spare Change (Broderbund, 1983(or 4), Apple//e) An arcade game parody, about arcades themselves? Cool idea! This fun title pits you against Zerks, arcade game characters who have escaped their machines. They want to steal enough video game tokens to retire. As the manager of the arcade, you must stop them! Collect game tokens before they do, and use them on machines like the juke box and telephone, to "distract" your opponents. An inspired, fun game. Coolest Added Touch : Fully animated Zerk "cartoons" after solving each set of levels...

Spy Vs. Spy (First Star, 1984, Apple //e) James Nangano created this classic game based on the even more classic MAD magazine comic strip. Use unique traps to keep your opponent from getting the goods before you do. Play against an impressively bright computer opponent, or play two-player with a friend. Coolest Added Touch : Your spy laughs at his opponent when a trap is successful.