Agree. Adventure game fans of all stripes should give King's Quest VII a shot, it's a charming and beautifully animated game (even if I do personally prefer KQV and VI for purely nostalgic reasons).
But nobody should play KQVIII. A frustrating, ugly, unpleasant game with almost no payoff to reward you for putting up with it. One of the most disappointing last games in a series I can think of, especially given how good King's Quest was in its prime.

KQ7: Excellent game, one of the best in the series.
KQ8: To quote the Angry Video Game Nerd: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! Seems like they were trying to blend Tomb Raider and Quake (2 of the most popular games at the time) together and it just doesn't work.

I actually enjoyed KQ8 when I played it as a child. It had that strange eerie like atmosphere to it and the music was just awesome; also it reminded me of Drakan and Ashgan: The Dragon Slayer which both had that same kind of eerie like atmosphere and (especially in Asghan) that sense of adventuring in a strange world. All I can say from those screenshots they have here is that good ol' Maskie doesn't look that bad and actually kinda exciting in an Ultima IX kinda way.
EDIT: I just had to say something given that everyone always seem to be badmouthing this poor game. :(

No, you're not the only one... I loved this game even if I've never finished it. I started it again yesterday and, after a few minutes to dominate that terrible control system, I spent some hours enjoying. Yes, it was underrated because it isn't a point&click adventure, but it isn't absolutely a bad game.

Yeah, I really enjoyed KQ8, as well, but the games should either be sold separately, or all in one package together with the other KQ games, simply because they are so different.

I played both as well when I was younger (as well as the preceding titles).
VII is definitely a classic. The animation and the humor are spot on, and some of the environmental design is just lovely.
VIII I actually enjoyed quite a bit. I didn't really think of as a King's Quest game, more a spin-off in the same universe. The environments were cool though, especially at the start, very eerie and foreboding. Controls needed some work though

I need to play them again. But playing KQ7 back when it first came out (I didn't finish it) was disappointing to me. I remember the reason why I didn't like it was that it seemed to easy. With the mouse cursor changing icon whenever you could interact with something it just became a simple screen-hunt game. I think the UI was really simplified too. If I remember correctly, you only had Interact and Look? Instead of exploring the game world for adventure and puzzle like the other kings quests games, I remember feeling really constricted and as if I was just watching an interactive movie where I was really only just hitting a NEXT button.

I skipped KQ8 because I wanted more KQ adventure style, not a new game completely that looked like some RPG. However, I think I would go back and check it out, without the thought of it having to be like the old ones in the series.