When it came to detective games I really like the Gabriel Knight series as well as Westwood's Blade Runner.

Yeah I did the survey. I should mention that I don't play many adventure games, but those two were my favorites. I also recently play a demo of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, and it was pretty good. The most important thing, in my opinion, is story.

I'd say the story and the interface are the most important parts. The interface has to be easy to use. Blade Runner was strictly point and click. You didn't have to select any complicated menu options, you didn't have to select "Dialog" mode or "Grab" mode. Gabriel Knight 3 was somewhat similar in that when you clicked on something a list of options came up (which was alright).

As for story, you need a good one. I never played Myst, but I did hear about it, and I played Timelapse, which I hated. These games were all puzzles and no story. The worst experience I've had in any game (adventure or otherwise) is when I have no clue what I am supposed to be doing, as it happens this is what most of them are like, and so I don't play them often.