The Adventures of Grim Fandango
The Last and One of the Best Graphical Adventure Games
Grim Fandango included a compelling storyline, many puns and gags, good humor, and challenging game play in an attempt to revive the genre.
Grim Fandango was one of the last true adventure games to be released for the personal computer. There are console games that still contain many elements of the adventure games, such as the Zelda series, but they are a far cry from the graphical adventure games that followed text offerings like Zork.
Many gamers consider it to be the greatest example of the graphical adventure genre. This adventure game is too good for those who appreciate games with good humor to pass up. Many of the puzzles in Grim Fandango are fiendishly difficult.
The Story of Grim Fandango
The last and possibly the best adventure game starts off by intorducing the player to Manny Calvera, a salesman who works for the Department of Death. When people die and are judged they can either make their way to paradise on their own, go directly to the place of eternal punishment, or if they are not terribly bad, they work off their debts to get into heaven.
Manny Calvera was once one of the top salesman for the Department of Death, but the best clients are now going to his bitter rival. Unknown to this Grim Reaper, his boss and his rival are swiping the best clients in the computer system for money. Manny Calvera's adventure really starts when a saintly woman dies and the struggling salesman preempts the salesman who originally assigned to the client. Manny Calvera is then drug into a plot exposing the corruption of the Department of Death.
Grim Fandango's Challenging Puzzles
The designers of Grim Fandango give players few clues as to what they need. Items can be gathered throughout the game, but where they need to be is used is often not clear. If a player can get past these hurdles or find a decent walk through for the Grim Fandango game, the game contains many visual puns that enhance an adventure gamer's experience..
The Humor of Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango has surprisingly good voice acting, although its graphics are a little dated. Grim Fandango also had a deeply emotional plot and the designers made it easy to identify with the characters. Because the game is American, most of the games user will not be lost on an American player.
It may be side that we will not see a game like the Adventures of Grim Fandango again. Perhaps Lucas Arts will come out with a seque to the best adventure gamel, or they will redo the graphics of The Adventures of Grim Fandango with a more modern engine. The Grim Fandango fan site has a demo that allows a player to play through most of the first year, for the person who wants to experience what may have been the best adventure game ever made.
