Free D.C.! - Many Happy Returns

By Ilmari

My fine fellow adventurers! I have today with me two guest stars, you have all learned to love in the previous weeks. Please say welcome to Avery Zedd and his trusted companion, Wattson, from the instant unhit and none-seller, Free AC!

I know, I always confuse the two currents

Game 66: Les Manley in: Lost in L.A. (1991) - Introduction

Written by Aperama

I truly can't believe that they roped Boris Vallejo in!

Les Manley 2: Lost in LA. I can feel the shuddering from behind your screen as you read that we're about to play this. Why? Because the first one most likely drove The Trickster into an adventure game coma. Thankfully, I am something of an old hand at terrible games, so I feel more than confident that I'll be able to muddle my way through it (I played it once several years ago and don't think I needed a walkthrough, unlike Les Manley 1 where I was incapable of escaping the initial few screens due to my unwillingness to shovel dung.) There's one noted difference between the two games – in spite of the fact that it's a very similar bunch of developers who came back to wrack the brains and emotions of prospective players one more time: they're now on a point and click interface! Essentially, this means that in the absolute worst case it becomes a pixel hunting exercise, right? So you guys don't need to worry..

Conquests of the Longbow – What the Fulk?

Written by Alex

Ho-hum. Another day, another rescue. Much like day five’s jailbreak of the Widow’s three sons, day six finds Robin springing another unfortunate soul free from the brutal clutches of Prince John’s lackeys. But his day didn’t start with the intention to free anybody, oh, no. Robin Hood awoke with one thing on his mind: Maid Marian’s ladyparts. And in order to get to them, he needs to recover her hand scroll from the monks in the fens.

Missed Classic 18: Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood (1985)

Written by Joe Pranevich

Or roughly 404,686 m².

It seems a bit strange now, but there was a time thirty years ago when Al Lowe was famous not for his adult humor, but rather for his excellent children’s games. His first efforts as an independent programmer brought us Dragon’s Keep and Troll’s Tale, both in 1982. Sierra was very impressed by these games and not only bought the publication rights, but also hired Mr. Lowe to develop games for them. Over the following years, Lowe would come to create several more adventure games for children including Mickey’s Space Adventure (1984), Winnie the Pooh (1985), and The Black Cauldron (1986). One further game, Donald Duck’s Playground (1984), was primarily a collection of minigames implemented in an adventure game engine. Mr. Lowe’s successful career as a children’s game developer would come to an end in 1987 with the launch of his Leisure Suit Larry series. He would return to this genre roots only once more, Torin’s Passage in 1995. In a world with infinite time, I would love to play through Mr. Lowe’s back catalog as a series of Missed Classics, but perhaps that will come another day.

Free D.C.! - Free For All

By Ilmari

Avery Zedd Journal #4: D.C. is saved from the clutches of evil robots! But I could not rest on my laurels and spend the rest of my life with my new lady friend, since I had a new foe to reckon with - a bigger and cuter and Frenchier! It was my solemn duty to destroy this new vermin from the face of the whole Earth. But wait, even they weren’t the real baddies, since something even bigger and comfier was out there! What was it? You’ll see if you join me in the next episode, Free Amazon!

You took the words right out of my mouth

Free D.C. has overstayed its welcome many times by now. My emotions have gone from “My God! Why does this thing still have to drag on and on! Let it stop already!” through brief “Finally, I am beginning to get somewhere!” to the final “That was it????? Did they hire some French person to invent the plot????”