WaruiReview: Grim Fandango (PC)

[Jango]

Intro: You know, these days, I'm really wary of what people on IRC or on IM tell me to try out. For example, back when I messaged everyone's favorite Randomselect suck-up, Edward, I was suckered into watching the entire Haruhi series, a series I need not remind you of how much I hate. So naturally, when our good friend in Youtube Poop, TyrannosaurusReich, suggested that I play through the old cult classic video game, Grim Fandango, I was a little nervous. Considering it was a game I'd never heard of before, and one that I don't regularly hear about on discussion boards, I was wondering why there was no exposure. So with some free time on my hands, I got myself a copy of one of the least talked-about video games ever made.



I don't care what anyone says. If your loading screen features the Grim Reaper sitting on a hotrod with a big fat guy driving the whole thing, there's no way you can go wrong.

Gameplay: Here's a type of gameplay you don't really see that much these days. The basic premise behind Grim Fandango is basically to talk to people to find out what you need to do, explore the environment to find tools and points of interest to interact with, and then work together with them to get what you're looking for. In the beginning, most of your tasks will be pretty easy, but as the game progresses, you might find yourself breaking out your reading glasses looking for anything that you could possibly interact with. In addition, as time goes on, you'll be required to improvise with your items in ways that aren't always obvious. I'd give examples, but to do so would not only give away the story, but also remove from the point of the game, which is exploration.

My main complaint here is movement. To move Manny, you rotate him with Right and Left, walk forward by pushing up, and walk backward by pushing back. It's not a game killer, but it definitely takes a lot of time getting used to. It also doesn't help since the camera is always set to fixed POVs, which can affect your judgment for long shots, or affect your ability to properly get into a tight space in a close-up.

Sound: I'll be honest with you. This is one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game. Although it's not incredibly varied, the music is really well done, and really puts you into the mood of the game. I think one of the better aspects of it is that the music you hear usually happens independent of what's going on in the scene, or, almost as it would be had the scene occurred in real life. This doesn't happen all the time of course (for example, cut scenes), but it really immerses you in the world that you're in, whether you happen to be in a festival or in a nightclub. If I was to pick one song that really sticks out, though, I'd have to go with the Bone Wagon theme song that plays when you get in your car. Of course that's a given.

Voice-acting is top-notch in this game, and it seamlessly blends drama with various degrees of humor, from the dryness of Manny's sarcastic comments to Glottis' over-the-top zany antics ("Don't talk, kitty-cat, JUST RUN, BABY").  Most of the voices have a distinct Spanish accent, but that's perfectly fine since the setting is based on Latin American mythology.

Length: This is where it really varies, depending on how you approach this title. If you go without a walkthrough, you could probably spend about two weeks on this game. With a walkthrough, you can pretty much blow through it in about three days or less. Having said this, however, I highly recommend that you play this game without a walkthrough, as doing so is a much more rewarding experience than to have every detail spoon fed to you.

Rehash Factor: There really isn't much of a reason to play through the game again after you beat it. You can go look for all of the hidden cameos here that you might've missed the first time around, but once you know how to play it, you can pretty much beat it every time.

Plot: You play as Manny Calavera, a deceased being who inhabits the land of the dead. In order to work off his time to get to the afterlife, he is a professional Grim Reaper, or, as the game calls it, a "Travel Agent" who helps the recently deceased find a travel package to reach the afterlife which matches their lifetime deeds (for example, the people with the highest moral fiber can zip to the afterlife in a matter of hours). Unfortunately he's been getting a string of bad "clients" who don't qualify for the premium packages, and he's in trouble with his boss. As the game goes on, you progress through a total of four years, during which you'll meet a large cast of characters, go to quite a number of locales, and find a sinister plot running behind all of it.

Difficulty: I'd say this game is incredibly difficult, just because it requires you to really think out of the box for solving a lot of the puzzles. If you have low patience for solving problems, you will probably become frustrated with this game very quickly.

My Score: 8.999999999etc
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In a nutshell:

+ Totally innovative gameplay (DON'T USE A WALKTHROUGH)
+ Great soundtrack
+ Some of the best voice acting I've heard in a while
+ A deeply involving storyline
- Awkward controls
- Might be frustrating to retards who need the walkthrough
- Once you beat it, that's pretty much it
- I HATE YEAR 3
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QUICK NOTICE
To get the game to run correctly on your PC, you'll need to download the patch and the modified installer, both of which can be found on http://www.grimfandango.net . In addition, you may need to set the game's compatibility mode to Windows 2000. If all else fails, the aforementioned link also has a support forum that answers a lot of questions there.

[Tyrannosaurus Reich]

I TOLD YOU THIS GAME WAS AWESOME

also should i do more reviews y/n

[UHMEEEEBA]

y

[Insanius]

I gots to get this