The pick of the month is a little late this time so for the sake of brevity let me quickly announce rein.

It's almost painful short but the desolate atmosphere, muted colours and gruesome animation make it certainly worth 20 minutes of your time.

Fans of Zombie movies will enjoy Escape from the Chaotic City as you fight and adventure your way through what might be some sinister experiment gone wrong.

BRAIINNSSS!!!!

Well, Cold Meat has been recommended to me various times for Pick of the Month (thanks to all who made any suggestions there!) and it also won the vote on my blog, so I have no qualms at all about recommending this award-overlooked game to you. Go Helme!

Well, in case you missed it, Ben304's games gathered about 30 nominations between them for AGS Awards but he only won 2 in the end. Backlash? Maybe...

So, in response, here's my forwardlash... a tribute to an awesome and charming game made last January by Ben, Annie Android although most of Ben's games are good enough to be a pick of the month.

Well, its the time of year to pick a deserving game that missed out on any AGS Award nominations and such a game is How They Found Silence. Not a visual masterpiece, but very atmospheric and with a good plot and characters it proves that you don't have to draw like Da Vinci to make a good game. The name always makes me think of the "Silence Dogood" letters that were mentioned in National Treasure but its not about that! Author discordance has also just made a great winning MAGS game, so there's lots of potential here.

A game that had some controversy on the AGS forums when it was originally only given a low rating by the AGS games page cup committee, The McCarthy Chronicles has attracted praise and criticism. What it all boils down to is a similar problem to many other adventures: the puzzles are not hard. To some, this is a good thing, to others its a failing. Why not download and play and decide for yourself?

The Marionette is one of the most visually beautiful AGS games around and if you like puzzles and escape-the-room style gameplay, it will be just your cup of cocoa

Aaargh, sorry its late this month! Anyway, this month, Trekkies should be pleased with this offering from a collection of AGS forum veterans but game dev newbie-ish guys. Star Trek Newton is Star Trek, so yo'll have some idea of the universe but you're not dealing with a mainstream ship so don't expect lots of famous characters.

Well, here's one of those picks that may not be to everyone's tastes, but certainly this game went under my radar when it originally came out in January 2008. It then took even longer for it to get into the AGS Games database but it's quite complex little game even if the graphics aren't Da Vinci standard.

Fasmo 2 follows the adventures of an alien insect who find himself in the Wild West. Expect surrealness, but also fun! You can also play the original Fasmo from the same author.

Apart from having one of the most intriguing titles of the year, this game is also author Scavenger's first release, despite having been around the forums for ages. It looks like it was worth the wait as Death wore Endless Feathers has been quietly gathering praise from many corners.

Rockabilly Kid won the "5 Years a MAGS host" special edition of MAGS back in May and so far opinion on this vignette has been pretty positive, garnering 3 cups from the review panel and in the high-seventies in user votes. It's a fun little Lucasarts-style game and worth a shot.

Never let it be said that we don't support commercial AGS game authors. As Zombie Cow release the sequel Time Gentlemen, Please, the first game is worth looking at if you haven't already. Witty, British, and most of all fun, Ben Thre, Dan That is quite a joy to play. Amazingly, it didn't win any AGS awards (perhaps because of alleged derogatory comments about AGS itself?) but I liked it.

Its hard to believe that none of Ivy's games have made it to these hallowed pages before. The guy picking games must be an idiot! Not to mention his dodgy expenses claims... Anyway, Erin Robinson has had acclaim throughout the known universe for her games and has won oodles of prizes. One of these praiseworthy gems is Nanobots.

Nanobots won 3 AGS awards and presents some great puzzles and entertaining gameplay to the user. So much so that AGS alumnus Dave Gilbert's Wadjet Eye Games have signed Erin up to make a commercial sequel called Puzzlebots. Meanwhile, bask in this first slice of bot-based goodness.

There are not many first person AGS adventures, as it takes a bit more effort to do one than with the standard 3rd person games, but as games like Unbound show, they are possible and with very good results. This month's pick, Fading Shades is another good example. The game oozes atmosphere and is well worth a try.

Not only do blog readers think that this is the best game so far of 2009, but it had mentions far and wide across the web. And it's not even author Ben304's first game this year! Other authors hoping to gain the Best Short Game award in next year's awards should hire a PI to expose some dirt on this guy or he's going to walk away with all 5 nominations at this rate!

Oh yeah, I better say which game... Shifter's Box of course, where you've got to find out what this box does (since no-one ever reads the instructions) in a strange and wonderful blue-tinged world. Hmmm, sounds a bit like the AGS beginners forum.

Quest for Glory II VGA is a remake of Sierra's classic title with more pixels and more colours. There's been an amazing amount of work put into this by the same team who remade the first two King's Quest games.

QFG2VGA won an award at this year's AGS Awards, but also won the blog poll for game that should really have had more nominations, so we're honouring this perhaps undervalued game here as Pick of the Month.

Montague, author of similarly under-rated Cayanne Pepper has come up with another quirky game that lots of people though should have got nominated somewhere in this year's AGS awards... but it didn't quite manage.

In This Game (and don't try searching for that name, as you'll get loads of useless hits: maybe that's why it missed out!) you play as a mobile phone salesman trying to make a sale, but plenty of humour and some great little animations ensue in the process.

Prick Peckard and his very much unwanted partner have to work together to reverse the effects of the Big Crazy before it claims Evansville as it has so many cities before. This episodic series (Barn Runner 5) has won much acclaim from those who have played it but has gone under some people's radar. You may, if you wish, want to play the earlier games in the series of serieses first to get some more background but you'll certainly find that all of the games are entertaining and the latest ones even more so. It also came second in the blog vote for December's pick of the month

Well, this month's pick won the poll on the AGS blog. Damsel is a funny parody of classic stories like Rapunzel but this time, you're the princess and you've got fed up waiting for some charming chap in shining armour to show up, so it's rescue-it-yourself time.

Author "Strange Vistor" has also been a creative force involved in A Cure for the Common Cold and Chicken vs Road so you'll definitely love it if you enjoyed those games (and who didn't?)

It's hard to do high-resolution games as an amateur, as all those extra pixels take a lot fo the work if they are not going to just be filler. One game that does it better than most is Cosmos Quest II. It's pretty hard, but if you're not afraid of tricky puzzles or don't mind occasionally referring to a walkthrough then you'll be fine!

The eponymous cougar is really just a wee black kitty cat, trying to get outside (and any cat owner knows that they are always on the wrong side of any door). This fun MAGS game from a couple of years back is a hidden humourous gem in the AGS Games database and those who have played it have few criticisms.

An often-ignored classic, Jessica Plunkenstein is a hilarious romp with, err.... "eclectic" graphics. It is a very decent length, full (and pretty good) voice acting, a mountain of humour, good puzzle design, and best of all an evil bBaron bent of mind-controlling all of Broadway!

Go play!

A complex conspiracy, an island military base, absolutely no farming and lots of racist controversy all go to make Frank the Farmhand part 2 an interesting title. Fish-out-of-water Frank tries to overcome the racists and power-hungry military Syndicate to save the day.

Avec les pirates est une female pirate known as Dread MacFarlane. Elle est la heroine de this game and it has had grande acclaim et praise from many.

The game is based on author Marion's own comics, as is the just-released sequel, so this is kind of two picks for the price of one!

If you like sci-fi and you like parodies, you'll probably enjoy Charlie Foxtrot and the Galaxy of Tomorrow from the BaRoN who brought you The Winter Rose. It squeezes all sort of parodies from Star Wars to Sesame Street and Dr Who to the Matrix. Its characterisation seems to be quite strong with a few characters having got write-in nominations for the AGS Awards and it had full nominations in a few categories, but didn't quite win.

The illustrious Dave Gilbert said "GREAT fun so far! Reminds me of Space Quest back in the day, with all its funny scifi references".

As an American soldier behind enemy lines in 1944 France, you are defending the eponymous village La Croix Pan to save your own skin and that of your comrades-in-arms. This is a great first game from The Jburger and it got quite a few nominations in the AGS Awards, and like Earl Bobby didn't win any (its not like Earl Bobby in any other way, though!).

This tense and nicely drawn game is short, but is certainly worth a look.

It gathered quite a few nominations at the 2007 AGS Awards, but Earl Bobby is looking for his Balls didn't manage to win anything. It's a pretty fun game, although some of the double-entendres are as crude as the one in the title. It boasts voice acting, loads of amusing animations, and quite a decent amount of gameplay. I'd say its worth a play and a few laughs!

Poor Purgatorio just missed out on getting an AGS Awards nomination this year in the music and short game categories. Using photoshopped real pictures taken with a camera and single-handedly produced as a college project, the game has had acclaim for its graphics in particular and many other aspects.

Definitely the best game of 2008 so far at its release date! Once Upon A Crime has fabulous artwork, a fun story and very short skirts on Red Riding Hood!

You play the part of Red as she turns Private Investigator to get to the bottom of the Big Bad Wolf mystery and explore this entertaining fairytale land that debut author Bjoern Ghost Ludwig has created.

Prepare to be mesmerized by the spellbinding Trance-Pacific. This game made its en-trance to the September MAGS competition count and won against 6 other worthy competitors. The rules for that month were "Innovation" and there certainly are plenty of those in Trance-Pacific. You won't be feeling very sleepy when you play this game and if you think I'm sayiong it's good, you must be a mind-reader

By the way, it's about hypnotism

For the last couple of years the team over at Adventure Gamers have made up a Christmas special game, but given the number of adventures that lot have played (and yes, I am on the staff over there, too, but I didn't get involved with this game and someone else suggested I make it Pick of the Month) and the fact that some skilled and experienced developers are on the team means that this parody is actually fun at any time of year, and not just after you've had too much of Auntie Gladys's sherry.

Anyway, to the plot: you find yourself having to perform a rescue operation for the National Elf Service, re-plumb your kitchen sink, deal with an irritating comedy sidekick and fight through hordes of groan-worthy references to classics of the genre, all in aid to get to play the Best Adventure Game Ever. Ho ho ho!

OK, so usually I pick a less well-known game but the sheer awesomeness of probably the only amateur adventure in existence that is full or pirates but without being a Monkey Island ripoff forces me to choose it!

Nelly Cootalot is the story about pirates and saving a doomed species and most of all about fabulous adventuring. Just enjoy it, ye landlubber!

Ah, the joys of a lovely long lie-in... waking up late, gently snoozing for hours, eventually getting up and lazily getting washed and dressed, finding that your space station has been evacuated and you only have minutes before certain death...

This short game, Trevon Daison in outer space is the first chapter of what is promised to be an epic tale, and certainly shows promise. Let's hope its not too long before another instalment of this story arrives.

A "unique" achievement in AGS graphics, the mildly surreal Life of D. Duck manages to be both terrible and great in the very same pieces of artwork. There is a whole load of animation and the slightly terrifying hand-drawn-and-scanned look to the game is consistent and functional.

The best aspect of Life of D. Duck is the wacky humour and situations. The puzzles have a twisted logic to them and the whole game is very entertaining. Just make sure you don't get hit by the train!

Many of those who have ever tried to make a game in AGS will be able to associate with T.Z.Games's problem: unhappy with his own artistic ability, he tried for a year to recruit an artist to his team, ultimately unsuccessfully. He has released Beyond the Horizon with his own artwork, which is certainly no Syberia but does the job necessary for telling the story.

Like an Ugly Betty of the AGS world, hidden behind the initially unappealing exterior is a real gem. When I came across this game in the database and saw the voting scores, I though some guy had got his friends to vote for him, or had faked accounts, but it the plaudits seem genuine and the acclaim deserved. Even better, one of the protagonists nearly has the same name as me!

So, press on past the dodgy graphics and English (yes, I've gone for an unspellchecked game again) and you'll find Beyond the Horizon a witty, multi-ended, clever, twisty game that will occupy you for an enjoyable few hours!

Are you on tenterhooks waiting for the Deathly Hallows, quivering in anticipation of the film of Order of the Phoenix? Well, sate your Rowling-esque desires by playing this Potter Parody, Warthogs by famously 'different' AGS author Radiant. META's Cuppit makes a cameo appearance, too!

Another game that was nominated in a few categories, but just missed out in them all was Sydney Finds Employment. The Independent Gaming bloglisted it as "narrowly missed it" on its top 20 adventures list, so it seems that its always a bridesmaid, never a bride! But Pick of The Month will be its dashing suitor this month...

Okaaay....

The game is funny and satirical, but the satire has a serious side and does actually look at the issue of homelessness. On top of that, excellent graphics make this a noteworthy debut for author Ivan Dixon

There's not too many games come with voice-acting, and those that do generally have a high profile, but the farm seems to have crept below many peoples' radars. It got quite a few votes for nominations for the AGS Awards 2006, but not enough to make it to the final voting round in any category.

In the farm you have been forcibly removed to a health farm-cum-asylum for the portly in a dystopian future where chubbiness is akin to terrorism. It's an interesting concept and some nice animation and graphics complement the story. It could do with a few less default responses to actions, but on the whole its a worthwhile play.

The game was also apparently nominated in the student category for the British Interactive Media Association's awards, and the EUROPRIX Top Talent Award.

Sorry for the late pick this month... but on with the show!

Emerald Eyes was a MAGS winner from Sinitrena, a regular MAGS competitor. It has some dodgy grammar and simple graphics, but the story is a cracking one. The game opens with your own death, but all is not as it seems. Your first puzzle in the game is then to kill a famous swimmer, but then you wake up and realise that it was all a dream... or was it?. As the body count racks up, what is going on, and can you stop the killings, or do you want them to continue? It's certainly worth playing this one through for the whole plot to be revealed.

Both of the Robotragedy games feature excellent graphics and interesting stories, but also slightly dodgy English. But don't let you put that off, it is very playable and worth exploring the strange alien worlds and saving the universe in this game, Robotragedy 2: Countdown to Doomsday.

AGS's first meta-game, Meta, is very unusually and innovative. It starts off as a very badly-written game similar to those first attempts of a n00b, but you soon discover that Radiant, the game's author has written a nearly complete simulation of AGS itself, IN AGS! So you'll need to edit the game within the game to progress and deal with Cuppit, who has wrestled Clippy's crown from him as most irritating "assistant" in a computer program.

And so the game progresses, with puzzles getting more fiendish as it goes on, but it is a very clever and entertaining game. Those with some experience in AGS scripting might do very well, but there is an underlying thread of logic and the sense of satisfaction in solving the puzzles is enourmouse. Think outside the box, and let Cuppit guide you through the maze of the AGS editor...

Save the world from the Ice Dragon! Fire your only arrow at things! Try to extract knives from the posterior of a yeti! All these things and more can be expected from The Winter Rose.

Our eponymous heroine journeys through a land covered in snow, yet always with nicely drawn, interesting locations and characters both frozen and living. The animation is also very well done, with much more of it than many games give you.

Many find games where you can die irritating, but this one gives you plenty of amusement when you do and lets you restart from where you left of without having to remember to save constantly, a great feature that makes this a very playable game.

The music is just a bit of quiet Vivaldi, but the dialogs, animations and humour make up for it and this charming game will entertain you for a while.

The mind of Richard Evans has produced some wierd and wonderful games, such as Magsic, Crave, Where's m'hat ma? and Zugzwang and Bog's Adventures in the Underworld certainly qualifies for both of those adjectives

You start off trying to cook some food and the recipie ends up somewhat, er.... unorthodox, to say the least. From there, you descend into hell and have to find your way back to your beloved wife, but not before you've terminated termites, beckoned for bacon and numerous other surreal and humourous escapades.

Bog's Adventures in the Underworld has the honour of the longest hints-and-tips thread on the AGS forums: its puzzles are a bit unusual, but there is a thread of wierd logic going on, and those who persevere are certainly well-rewarded. So, prepare to descend into hades....

Despite being a comic homage to the Leisure Suit Larry, Chick Chaser seems to be popular with the girls as well as the boys. It's less sleazy and the sexist guys in the game learn some things.

This was actually the game with most write-in nominations across all categories in the 2005 AGS Awards that did NOT get nominated in any... it was one vote off a "Best Puzzles" nomination.

Cirque De Zale, created by Kinoko, a fairly new addition to the AGS-crew, is indeed something special. Even though 2004 has not been a weak year in the games department, this might be the favourite title so far.

A great sense of humour is what brings Cirque De Zale from a decent game with nice but not outstanding graphics and puzzles, to a masterpiece with an ingenious dialogue.

Writing a funny manuscript might be the most difficult thing you can do, while also being the thing that most unexperienced people think they can carry out, which constitutes an unfortunate equation. Too many games end up with repetitive and cheap slap-stick jokes of the kind that people concieve who never leave their rooms, or who simply are very young.

And sure, after a while you can start to recognise the jargon of protagonist Zale's cynical comments, but since the most brilliant punch-lines appear on regular basis, you will just wait for the next opportunity to laugh.

The highly original plot also helps adding to the fresh wind that this game is. Zale nonchalantly ignores all who cannot help him pursue his dream of having his own circus, and the ordinary ingredients of epic fantasy - saving princesses and so on - are sarcasticly disregarded.

All in all, this is one of my personal top ten games ever, and I can only congratulate Kinoko for her great work.

Delicate simplicity can be used to describe both the graphics and the gameplay per see; the game is short, it features no advanced scripting and the puzzles are down to earth. The plot is based on the all-familiar "mad scientist is going to destroy the world", and does little to present twists or unexpected elements.

Simply put; this game will not make your head spin, but it has a professional and picturesque atmosphere, and is very easy on the eye.

Unfortunately, the maker (Linus Larson, aka 2ma2) only produced a few titles after this (one of which is the mags-game Who killed Kenny Rogers, featuring real ags-members in a short detective parody), although his in-production title since many years, What time is it?, has raised high expectations in the forum.

DJCM, the second RON-game by the expressionist artist Captain Mostly, is more well-known for the controversies it caused in the RON-community than by its own qualities; killing off Davy Jones was by many considered a violation of the RON-code, and the (maybe even more controversial) decision to resurrect him was soon made.

From the misspelling of the title (it actually says "Davy Jones it is dead") to the final scene where the protagonist is sexually abused by the devil, DJCM is a short but intense exercise in morbidness. Whether you care for the well-being of Davy Jones or not, this "game" (I would prefer to call it a very short semi-interactive story) will undoubtedly disturb you.

Less attention would probably be paid to Captain Mostly's games if it were not for the fact that he still is essentially the only expressionist game creator in the AGS-community. With the exceptions of Novo Mestro and Captain Muchly Drinks Bleach, which both must be considered just parodies of the genre, Dada: Stagnation In Blue might be the only competitor so far (which I personally consider nothing but expressionistic, although the title suggests something else).

It is safe to say that this genre still has much room for development within the AGS-community.

Graphic-wise, NOTH goes for the late LSL-style, and does it well; both animations and backgrounds are top notch.

Unfortunately, its sometimes far too difficult puzzles (albeit still ingenious at times) weakens the gameplay somewhat, and the astronomical number of inventories will confuse even the most cunning players.

One could say that NOTH sets its aim very high, and reaches almost all the way; with just a slightly less complicated plot, NOTH could have been taken for a Sierra-title any time (given, of course, that many of the voices were replaced by those of real voice-actors).