Grim Fandango (Jewel Case)
by LucasArts Entertainment
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Our Price: $23.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Video Games See more product details |
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Video Game Reviews of Grim Fandango (Jewel Case)
Customer Review: Is a game SO different, so great, so well done. And so Hard!
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's get this straight from the start: I believe that Grim Fandango is one of the hardest Graphic Adventures I have ever played, maybe only topped by "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis", which I think was harder. It gets frustrating at times, and yes, I had to use a walkthrough more than once. But it is such a great experience (calling it just "a game" would be an underestatement) that maybe even solving the whole game with a walkthrough would make for a good experience, because it still is like watching a great movie. Not a good one. A GREAT one.
The whole game is incredibly detailed and well designed. The interface seems akward at first, but one you get used to it, is not hard, and is incredibly simple.
The graphics are awesome. Not from a technically speaking point of view (specially now in 2003, since the game is old) but from an artistic one. The art design is impressive. The sign in the entrance of a cafe, the carvings on the walls in buildings, the inner decoration in every place, the colors, the textures, the lighting... all together makes it for city which would amaze you at every corner if you visited it in real life. And you do get amazed in the game.
The story & the characters.
This is for me the best done part of the game. The characters are so believable and so well developed, that you really get into the story. It has so many touching moments, that even though this game makes you laugh so much and so hard, you never feel like the quest before you is anything less than very serious, being also intriguing and dramatic. You really care about what's going on, and you really hate or love characters. You get involved with each and everyone.
The music is also awesome. It sets the appropiate mood in every situation and it does it damn well. Film noir-like music, and some folklorick mexican-like (not exactly like any music I've heard here in Mexico) mixed with such a good result, that It makes you wonder if there's a soundtrack CD available. The music is so important and so varied depending on the different moments on the game, that it is a real treat.
In the end, you can tell that the people who made this game is people with very high artistic skills, but most of all, with a very deep perspective and feelings about the whole life and death subject. The people who made this game clearly have lived, have suffered, have loved and have enjoyed happy moments (it also has a great sense of humor). That is something you can tell when you play this game.
The only negative part is that once the game is over, you get genuinely sad, since you had got used to be there, and it feels like very good friends are departing to a very, very far away place.
Customer Review: My Vote for the Best Light-Hearted Title of the 90s.
Summary: 5 Stars
There is little to add to the wonderful comments regarding the game's plot and puzzles that would be of use to the consumers biding the next New Year to receive this game as a present. It may not be a bad idea, but you'll only succumb to haggard exhaustion if you do. I like pleasant surprises, and high expectations easily turn into disappointments. This game plays well as a pleasant surprise because many of the puzzles are quite tricky to interfere with the enjoyment of the plot. I used a walkthrough in places myself, and I accede that some puzzles had obscure hints. "SPOILER"--> the puzzle with the ticket for the photofinish which required you to guess the day of the race from the announcer's comments on the cat race balcony and the date from the mummified cat's plaque--I mean, come on, people!
Another place where he must grind the severed hand in order for the bones to sprout to track the fled florist. What underworld did they come off with this idea?
<--"END SPOILER"
In some places the Manny character froze so I had to restart the game. There is a place in the game - despite the positive remarks that you cannot make an irreversible error - where you must resume a saved game because you have not done something previously, but most likely you'll do it right the first time around.
"SPOILER" - the place where Manny speaks with Toto (is it?), the small-time gangster in his cafe. I was not able to obtain a VIP pass because I did not complete one optional conversation thread and later Manny wouldn't talk to him.
<--"END SPOILER".
Despite these small flaws, which very well may be avoided, the game shines in the inventive that-damnable-click-free user interface which I loved and like to see more of in other Lucas games, the music and backgrounds, carefully rendered for each individual location, from the cat mosaic on the walls of the cat track to the most detailed bas-relief of the train station relating Manny's four-year adventure. I loved the Adams-family type humor, the characters, the voice acting, but the plot-that most attractive of elements in any adventure game- most of all. On the technical side: the fast off-CD downloads, the small installation size, quick save restores made starting and resuming the game effortless.
I was very sad to see this game end, especially in the light of the fact that Manny had spent so much time getting to the Eighth Underworld, I would have liked to see him settle there with his missus and with some skin on! Also what he had done to deserve the unfair treatment of being recruited into the most awful of all professions - travel sales - remains a mystery. I would have liked to know what it was for complete happiness.
"SPOILER" -->And have those poor sprouted saps in the field resurrected would have been tremendous. After all, they is good people, no?
<--"END SPOILER"
In short, play it, play it soon, and you won't regret it.
Viva la revolucion!
Customer Review: My Vote for the Best Light-Hearted Title of the 90s.
Summary: 5 Stars
There is little to add to the wonderful comments regarding the game's plot and puzzles that would be of use to the consumers biding the next New Year to receive this game as a present. It may not be a bad idea, but you'll only succumb to haggard exhaustion if you do. I like pleasant surprises, and high expectations easily turn into disappointments. This game plays well as a pleasant surprise because many of the puzzles are quite tricky to interfere with the enjoyment of the plot. I used a walkthrough in places myself, and I accede that some puzzles had obscure hints. "SPOILER"--> the puzzle with the ticket for the photofinish which required you to guess the day of the race from the announcer's comments on the cat race balcony and the date from the mummified cat's plaque--I mean, come on, people!
Another place where he must grind the severed hand in order for the bones to sprout to track the fled florist. What underworld did they come off with this idea?
<--"END SPOILER"
In some places the Manny character froze so I had to restart the game. There is a place in the game - despite the positive remarks that you cannot make an irreversible error - where you must resume a saved game because you have not done something previously, but most likely you'll do it right the first time around.
"SPOILER" - the place where Manny speaks with Toto (is it?), the small-time gangster in his cafe. I was not able to obtain a VIP pass because I did not complete one optional conversation thread and later Manny wouldn't talk to him.
<--"END SPOILER".
Despite these small flaws, which very well may be avoided, the game shines in the inventive that-damnable-click-free user interface which I loved and like to see more of in other Lucas games, the music and backgrounds, carefully rendered for each individual location, from the cat mosaic on the walls of the cat track to the most detailed bas-relief of the train station relating Manny's four-year adventure. I loved the Adams-family type humor, the characters, the voice acting, but the plot-that most attractive of elements in any adventure game- most of all. On the technical side: the fast downloads, the small installation size, quick save restores made starting and resuming the game effortless.
I was very sad to see this game end, especially in the light of the fact that Manny had spent so much time getting to the Eighth Underworld, I would have liked to see him settle there with his missus and with some skin on! Also what he had done to deserve the unfair treatment of being recruited into the most awful of all professions - travel sales - remains a mystery. I would have liked to know what it was for complete happiness.
"SPOILER" -->And have those poor sprouted saps in the field resurrected would have been tremendous. After all, they is good people, no?
<--"END SPOILER"
In short, play it, play it soon, and you won't regret it.
Viva la revolucion!
Customer Review: My first and still favorite of the Lucasarts adventures
Summary: 5 Stars
Grim Fandango was the first of the Lucasarts adventures that I had tried when I played it in the summer of 2000. I had heard they all were very good and because Grim Fandango was the only one I could find in a physical store, I thought I would give it a go. I had moderate expectations for the game because I was still somewhat new to adventure games when I tried it. I soon found that I had definitely underestimated this game! This game is a ton of fun. The story starts out strangely enough; you are Manny Calavera, a "person" who works in the Underworld for the agency down there that brings people over who have died and tries to sell them a travel package to the afterlife. While Manny is trying investigate why a great client was shifted from his responsibility to a rival's, he discovers the LSA, the Lost Souls Alliance, an underground alliance group trying to break through the money hungry agency that Manny works for. Manny ends up joining, getting himself into more than he bargained for. I'll stop there as to not give away too much of the fantastic story of this game. But the real reason I loved this game is that it isn't like any other adventure I had played before. I had played Myst, Riven, Zork Nemesis and Zork Grand Inquisitor before this, but none of them had such a great plot, such a great interface, and only Zork Grand Inquisitor had as much humor. Thats what makes this game special. The web of story, humor (intelligent and immature alike), puzzles that don't get you frustrated (like Myst), a great interface and great graphics (for the time, but anti-aliasing makes it still look amazing compared to todays games) combines to make a great game that is the second adventure I've seen for the PC that IGN gave over a 9. (Grim Fandango got a 9.4 and The Longest Journey got a 9.3).
If you love or even just sort of like adventure games, get this game now! If you've been curious about adventures, this is the game to start with! Overall this game is a AAA game and is tied for my favorite adventure game of all time (with The Longest Journey).
Customer Review: Quite Hard, but Entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
I had been wanting to play _Grim Fandango_ for a long time, so I was excited to get it as a Christmas present. Perhaps it was that my anticipation was so great, but the enjoyment level of the game didn't quite lead up to my expectations.The premise is both original and amusing: You are Manuel (Manny) Calavera. Your job as a travel agent with the Department of Death is to sell packages to souls on their way from the 8th level of the Underworld to the 9th and las
t. If a soul has been really good in life, it has earned enough spiritual wealth to get a ticket on the #9 train and make the trip in just hours. "Poor" souls have to walk, a journey of four years. Manny finds out that a ruthless crime syndicate is stealing train tickets and depriving souls of their just rewards. AS he follows the trail of the mysterious and beautiful Mercedes Colomar, he must stand against the crime syndicate and work for the freedom of souls everywhere. Phew!!
There are a lot of really good things about this game. Number one is, you can't be killed. Even in situations that look dire where other game manufaturers would certainly have put a timed puzzle, you have all the time that you need. Thank you, LucasArts! The character development is wonderful, aided by some of the best voice acting ever. The plot is engaging. The art, though an older 2-D style that might bother some players, is a lovely mix of MExican and Art Deco styles, with lots of "Day of the Dead" references (e.g., the characters). I thought it would be hard to relate to weird 2-D skeletons, but I soon knew them as people. And the script never takes itself too seriously, poking good natured fun at everything from revolution to open mic night at the local bistro.
The set up is a good mix of linear and non-linear, with levels that have to be accomplished in a certain order but a great deal of freedom within the level itself. IN general, the game sustains its momentum very well. So often in this type of game you see very complex first and second levels but towards the end the levels get so easy it seems the game developers were running out of ideas. Although the second level was the most difficult, the third and fourth levels offered enough to keep me interested.
On the other hand, GF is very, very difficult -- hard enough that the frustration level at times interferred with my enjoyment of the game. Take it from this experienced gamer: anyone who claims to have completed this game in 12 hours or less was playing with a walkthrough at his elbow, not applying his brain to the puzzles.
The puzzles were strictly the application of inventory variety, with some amount of gathering clues from conversation. I don't usually have any difficulty with these types of puzzles, but two things made them really hard in GF. One was the interface itself. The game is completely keyboard operated and your character turns his head to look at things with which you can interact. Unfortunately, where things are close together, it's hard to tell what it is Manny's looking at. There were several times that I thought I didn't know the solution to a puzzle that I did in fact know, just because I couldn't get Manny in the right place to interact with the appropriate person or item. So I'd go haring off all over the game looking at every other possible solution until I was frustrated enough to go to the hint page, where I invariably found out I was right in the first place, I just hadn't had Manny positioned correctly.
The other thing that makes this game difficult is that many of the puzzles are logical only in retrospect, often because there is a piece of information missing in the middle, requiring the gamer to take such a leap of imagination that you generally only stumble upon the solution by chance. A little more information from Manny, pointing you in the right direction, would have been helpful in some cases. As it was, as often as not I solved the puzzles in a completely random fashion; for only about half of them had I any plan of action.
Despite its cartoony appearance, Grim Fandango is not a game for kids. There is a lot of smoking and drinking, if you object to that (every time you aren't actively playing for a while, Manny lights up. I thought this was pretty funny, but some people surely won't). There are some skeletal sexual inuendoes and quite a bit of violence, both real and implied. The latter is softened a bit by euphemism and the fact that the characters are already dead, but GF is not a light game. Plus, many of the references and jokes that make the game worth playing would probably be lost on anyone under 25.
There is a lot of running back and forth, particularly in the second level: some map or zip feature would have been very helpful. IN a couple of places it was hard to maneuver and Manny got sucked into doors simply by passing them, whether I wanted him to go there or not. Grim Fandango also features one of the grossest puzzle solutions I've yet come across.
It took me 25-30 hours to complete this game. It would have been less had the frustration level not been so high. I give it relatively high marks because it was well done, original and ran very smoothly, but the puzzles really deserve only three stars. For the money, I'd say GRim Fandango is a good buy, but not for everyone and certainly not for those with a low frustration threshold.