I have been a longtime fan of the monkey island series, and enjoyed the genre of adventure games generally since around the age of eight when I first played Curse of monkey island. However most would say that adventure gaming entered something of a recession around the time that the critically lauded yet financially underwhelming Grim Fandango debuted in late 1998. Soon after  Lucasarts decided that the genre was no longer commercially viable and all but shut down its adventure gaming departments to the dismay of adventure gamers everywhere. As a direct result rival company Sierra followed Lucasarts example and diverted their attentions from the genre.

 
At this point the genre is in a vegetative state, while a loyal contingent of dedicated fans remains there is very little to sustain them. Of course there are still adventure games being developed at this point, but not of a substantial quantity or quality. In 2000 the last of the Lucasarts adventure games was released. Escape from monkey island much like Grim Fandango was by no means a failure, critical reception was positive but again the game struggled at retail. Escape advanced upon the series itself by introducing monkey island not only to the third dimension but also ( perhaps even more surprisingly ) to the playstation 2. While a bold move on Lucasarts part, the move to consoles did not provide the stimulus to reinvigorate adventure gaming and the genre atrophied.  Studios moved to the more lucrative action gane genre, and while two separate attempts were made to produce sequels to Sam and Max hit the road but both were stillborn.

Six years pass, and you may assume that six years of little movement is not what a comatose genre needs, however it is in 2006 when Telltale games ( a company founded on former Lucasarts employees ) attain the rights to the Sam & Max franchise which they had previously been denied by their former company. Most would unequivocally agree that Terlltale has the pedigree to develop this beloved franchise, and they would be correct. Telltale find great success with Sam & Max season one. How? By catering to the first person shooter masses? By abandoning the humour for gritty gears of grey realism and gore? No. The burgeoning Telltale find success, firstly by adhering to the formulae that the neglected fans know and love and secondly by identifying a new distribution model which had not yet been implemented successfully and finding it to be the ideal match for their games. 

Telltale games have since found great success with their numerous series, including Wallace & Gromit and Tales of monkey island, not only finding the all important critical and commercial success but also the acclaim of a dedicated fanbase. Telltale games have went from strength to strength since, proving in the process that episodic gaming can work (even if bigger developers can't crack it) and provoking a resurgence in the market which resulted in Lucasarts remaking the first two . installments of the monkey island franchise. 
 
In my opinion we have now reached the true golden age of adventure gaming. But I can't help but wonder, if Telltale succeeded only in part because of what I have already mentioned, and in part because they simply delivered a beloved genre with an existing but malnourished fanbase into a new. generation of gaming. Could Lucasarts have found the same market without Telltale or would they have pulled the genre further from its roots and alienated existing fans while failing to impress new ones?

 
Has the saturation point been reached? Are we heading for a huge crash and another depression. I feel we are in safe hands.Regardless what is your opinion on the Telltale phenomenon and the state of these games today?    

My first experience with steam came when I intended to purcahse tales of monkey island, in the end I discovered that it would be cheaper to buy from telltale directly and my newly christened steam account was stillborn. However sometime later I made my first purchase, the peggle deluxe and nights pack for £10, almost entirely due to the fact that I greatly enjoyed the free game peggle extreme which steam entitled me to.

 
However I can safely say that I would not have made this purchase if I came across it instore, and the ease of a quick and easy online transaction has been a driving factor in most of my steam purchases. The other factor is the always beguiling steam sales, and so far I feel quite pleased with the spoils I've collected from these sales. This weekend I picked up beat hazard for around £5, and several weeks ago aquired the excellent torchlight for an incredible £3.75, in my opinion a complete steal. 
 
My problem is this, I almost bought "madballs: babo invasion" an almost certainly dreadful title that my netbook would never play convincingly, sight unseen, because of the £1.74 price tag. It was madness, and thankfully I did download the demo version and found it to be balls. Travesty averted, barely.  
 
I want to ask, what are your experiences with steam? Good deals, bad deals, moments of madness and sadness. What games do you wish you had avoided, and have you been buying games that you normally wouldn't be buying due to steams ease of use and price slashing tendencies?

Discuss.

I enjoy forums as they allow for people with similar interests to discuss topics of  interest, but there are a number of facets of forums that I've seen in my relatively casual use of forums that really spoil them. Its the use of internet only vernacular such as: flame shield; troll; fanboy;  overuse of memes like ...profit! or fail troll is fail as well as other general immaturity and arbitrary arguments that really irritate me. 

Does anyone else feel the same way/ have other examples to add? Is this just an acceptable part of the culture of the internet and something I just need to accept?

Injecting melted down lego blocks into your eyeballs.

I have just started using giantbomb and I have to say that its awesome. Achievement tracking, the bombcast, forums, endurance run and even the occasional game review.