Grim Fandango

The Good
Graphically this game was quite cutting edge at the time. I just finished it in 2004, quite some time after it's 1998 release, yet it didn't seem particularly dated. This is a commendable achievement that few games can claim. Part of what makes the graphics remain fresh to this day is the creative and interesting scenes you find yourself in throughout the game. There is a consistent neo-aztec feel to the architecture which is quite cool and has yet to be recreated to such an extent. Additionally, there is a consistent lack of repetition in the environments that modern games could learn alot from. The character models are varied and full of character. It's amazing to me how much personality the designers put on a skeleton's face.

The sound in the game is quite nice as well. The music fits the various environments quite well, the sound effects are great, and the voice acting is superb throughout. Some of the best voice acting I've heard in a game actually. The conversations are crass and entertaining. The sound helps immerse you which is necessary for third-person adventure games. The sounds all suit the events that they are matched too, which is another thing modern games could learn from.

The gameplay is pretty good for the most part, though see below for some complaints. Character control is through the keyboard, as was common in that day and age. It is, of course, and adventure game, which means the challenge in the game is figuring out what it is you're supposed to do. I must admit I'm crap at adventure games and I always need a walkthrough of some kind, but even with this handicap, I found that the tasks you're supposed to engage in are logical about 50% of the time. It IS difficult at times to see what items you're supposed to manipulate. If there is any weakness to this game, it's in the gameplay.

The story is superb. I found myself enjoying the main character immediately, which is yet ANOTHER thing modern games could learn from. It's a compelling story, the characters are quite humorous, and above all, it's an enjoyable story. Sometimes the conversations lead to confusion about what one is supposed to do, but at all times your 'main' goal is clear. I play adventure games for the plot alone, and I was quite impressed by this one. It's not an epic-hero story, unlike most RPG's and some action games, which is a nice change. It's a fun, engaging detective story that I think everyone can enjoy.

The Bad
The only weakness in this game is in the gameplay. A good 50% of the puzzle solutions are absolutely obscure. The decision of which inventory item to use where and when is quite frequently illogical in my opinion. This could be because I haven't the knack for adventure games, I grant that, however, I think there is a latent difficulty to this game that isn't due to my lack of cognitive capacity. This flaw is made worse by the difficulty in finding all of the necessary items to solve problems. This gets annoying quite quickly, but there are a myriad of walkthroughs available on the internet, as a simple google search will show. So while this flaw is noticeable, it's not a major problem to playing the game.

The Bottom Line
I would recommend it to anyone. It can be found for practically free from game vendors. It's got a wonderful plot and the characters are great. It's almost a perfect example of how good a game can be. I was even more impressed for the fact that i'm not usually an adventure gamer. This is a 'must-play.'

The Good
Everything.The extraordinary storyline,the clever humour,the great jazz music,the excellent voice music,the amazing graphics,and just about anything else you can think of.

The Bad
I had a small problem with the control but nothing is perfect.But this,comes awfully close.

The Bottom Line
The smartest,funnest and most rewarding game that you can find currently on the PC market.Unless their's an excellent sequel,this will reign supreme for a long time.

The Good
In 1997, LucasArts released, what is considered by many to be it’s finest game, Grim Fandango. From the twisted mind of Tim Schafer. The genius who brought us other gems of gaming such as: Full Throttle, and the recent, Psychonauts. An adventure game harkening back to the days of old. Grim Fandango is a fun and hilarious game. But how does it compare to the classics?

“An Epic Tale Of Crime And Corruption In The Land Of The Dead”

In Grim Fandango, players assume the role of Manny Calavera. He is stuck in between Heaven and Earth, in the land of the dead, a sort of purgatory. Working for the DOD, or Department Of The Dead, where he takes the recently deceased and sells them travel packages. The more virtuous a soul was in life, the better packages they earn. From a walking stick, to the ultimate, a ticket of the #9. A luxurious train that takes it’s passengers to the afterlife in style.

On one particular Day Of The Dead,( a Hispanic holiday in which deceased family members are honored.) we find that Manny is in a rut. He was once the DOD’s top agent. Now the only clients that he qualifies for were scumbags in life. This only serves to make Manny spend more time in purgatory. (The better clients, and the more # 9 tickets an agent sells, the quicker they can move on to heaven or hell.) On this fateful day Manny meets Meche. When he cannot find a good travel package for her, she wanders off. Manny then begins to uncover a conspiracy to steal the tickets of honest souls, and use them to gain wealth. From here Manny will set off on a four year journey, to find Meche, and set things right.

Manny: “I’m gonna go. That sound makes me want to kill someone.” Clown: “You two?”

The world of Grim Fandango is a very unique and interesting one. The sights and sounds are inspired by Aztec and other Hispanic design. The land of the dead looks interesting. And is filled with many wacky characters.(My favorite side characters is the Angry Clown, you meet in Year One;) And the inhabitants of the world seem real due to the excellent graphics and voice acting.

The script is also well written. And filled with jokes. Humor is often hard to pull of in a video game, but in Grim Fandango, it is pulled of every time.(I suspect that Tim Schafer got his comedic timing down during his years writing for the Monkey Island series.)

Most games fail, to make the world seen believable. Grim Fandango does not stumble here.

“Can You See What I’m Smelling?”

The Graphics in Grim Fandango are just as sharp and clean as they were ten years ago. Either with or without a 3D card. As you can set the game to use software rendering.(One of the few games with this option.) The pre-rendered visuals are some of the best of the era. And the often photo-realistic backdrops still look gorgeous.

The polygonal inhabitants of the game look great as well. Better with a 3D card, as it smoothes out the edges, and gives everything a clean look, with no jaggies.

“Ohh Ohh Ohh, Bonewagoooon,” -Glottis, The Bonewagon Song-

The music in Grim Fandango is excellent. The music fit’s the game very well and is inspired. Off the top of my head I can’t think of a track I don’t like. It’s that good.

The voice acting is also excellent. Since timing is so important in comedy. A lot of the funniest parts of the game are thanks to the great voice work of the cast. Some you may recognize from other games/TV shows. The voice acting in this game is better than that of most TV shows(particularly anime) and some animated movies!

“Is it you, or am I you?”-The Collected Poems of Manuel Calavera-

It may disappoint some to find, that the controls of Grim Fandango, are not the standard mouse based.(Therefore, Grim Fandango, is not a point and click, as some have called it.) But once you learn the controls of the game, I think you will find that they are just as good, if not better than mouse based adventure games of old.

You use the directional keys to move around, and scroll through your inventory. There are even quick keys to pull out crucial items, such as a Manny’s scythe.

The controls can also be changed to suit the camera settings. Either camera relative. That is to say fixed camera angles. Or Character relative, which as I am sure you have surmised is based on Manny’s movements. I prefer the camera relative.

The Bad
Well the game can take a bit of work to get it up and running of Windows XP.

And I don’t really care for Year 3. It just felt lacking.

The Bottom Line
“Clambake!”-The Collected Poems of Manuel Calavera-

Grim Fandango is one of the best Adventure games every made. Perhaps the best. It is such a well made game and filled with the most hilarious moments in the history of video games. I love the part in Year 2, when at the beatnik bar you can read poems, the sillier, the better.(And any parody of bad poetry is automatically funny.)

And in the end it is simply one of the best games ever made. Fans of adventure games owe it to themselves to play this one. And fans of games in general.