Oooh! Falcom is a major favorite of mine. I check their homepage regularly, and it isn’t even in a language I know! Also, I’d have bought so many CDs from them, but shipping and handling costs are horrid overseas… =(
Nintendo would probably be second, as they have never disappointed me, in all the years I’ve bought games from them. I trust them complicitly, and love what they do.
New World Computing creates Heroes of Might and Magic and the Might and Magic series, lending fandom to them too, although I truly wish they hadn’t been bought by 3DO. 3DO is not a company I am particularly fond of in any way, shape, or form.
I’d better finish making my Garrett outfit so I can be ready to celebrate it’s release date properly. Or maybe I should shave my head, move to Austin, and petition Eidos to take me in as a novice…
Thanks for the good new, Runner. I’ll be watching it now.
The late, lamented Simtex, the people who brought you Master of Orion and Master of Magic. I’d love to see what they could do now if they were still around.
Max, and I say this with the deepest respect, you are talking crazy talk. Sierra made the finest adventure games in the history of the known universe. I will grant you that Sam and Max and the Monkey Island series are fine stuff, but do they really stack up next to the fine tradition established by a Kings Quest, Hero Quest, Space Quest or a Gabriel Knight? Hell, even Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist or any of the Leisure Suit Larry games was consistently better than, say, Grim Fandango.
Ok ok, point well taken Juniper. Sierra had completely slipped my mind. Gabriel Knight and LSL were/are both fantastic series and I’ve played all of them, but there is no better adventure game than Grim Fandango. Totally original story, beautiful set and character designs, fantastic soundtrack (which I’d love to find on cd.) Can you say the same for, let’s say, LSL6?
Blizzard is tops. I only recently got into Starcraft, after being a major Warcraft II addict years back. Outstanding games, and they seem really responsive when it comes to patching bugs.
One that hasn’t been mentioned yet: Ambrosia. Their primary business has been Macintosh games, but for years they’ve released commercial-quality games on a shareware business model, and for that I salute them.
What, no mention of Bullfrog, makers of the first god game? Not to mention Magic Carpet 1 & 2, Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2, et al. I’m also keen on Bethesda Softworks.
I picked up the various “Infocom collection” sets a few years ago, and now have the entire library of games all on my hard drive. Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Strangely enough, both of my faves are out of business.
-Looking Glass Studios, makers of fine games like Thief, System Shock I-II and the Ultima Underworlds. And to think that Eidos let them die while pumping insane amounts of cash into Daikatana. :mad:
-Sir-Tech, for the Wizardry series, especially VI-VIII. And Jagged Alliance.
Blizzard hasn’t ever put out an RPG. Depite the Diablo conventions of leveling up, this was an action/adventure hybrid. Its a lot closer to Zelda than, say it is to Baldur’s Gate, PS:T, or even Icewind Dale.
Sierra made the finest adventure games in the history of the known universe. I will grant you that Sam and Max and the Monkey Island series are fine stuff, but do they really stack up next to the fine tradition established by a Kings Quest, Hero Quest, Space Quest or a Gabriel Knight? Hell, even Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist or any of the Leisure Suit Larry games was consistently better than, say, Grim Fandango.
