Customer Reviews

Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To this day, I still consider the old Lucas Arts games to be on par with Halo and the like. Witty, Montey-Python-esque humor beats shiny graphics anyday. My proof? First is FFVII, and second is this gem. If you've ever played Monkey Island this is for you. If not, buy Monkey Island, and then buy this. Trust me. Despite its age, it still creates interesting characters and awesome dialogue that simply cannot be beaten. There's even a SCUMM interpreter (google it), that can make it run on Window's XP. The only negative part is that it might be hard to find, especially for a good price.

Day of the Tentacle is a fantastic adventure. No top 10 adventure game list should be without it. It was developed at LucasArts in their adventure game hey day and was created by Tim Shafer, the man behind other marvelous games such as Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and the more recent platformer, Psychonauts.

DOTT is the sequel to the first LucasArts adventure title, Maniac Mansion. The only original playable character from that game is Bernard. Along with his friends, Laverne and Hoagie, he must stop an evil tentacle from taking over the world, so they are once again, off to the Edison's mansion. Just like the original game, you take control of three different characters to solve puzzles, but what makes this game so unique, is the three of them are all in the mansion, but in the past, present and future. That makes for some very interesting time altering puzzles. Changing things in the past of course affects the future, so you sometimes must rely on the other characters to help you progress. This keeps it entertaining and fun, because if you get stuck with one character, you can always just switch to another and try to solve different puzzles. For even more playability, the original Maniac Mansion is included in this game. Just use Ed Edison's computer and you can play the whole thing. Very humble beginnings.

The jokes in here are hilarious, and the characters memorable. The graphics were really great and still look good, like an animated cartoon. The sight gags and animation are very Looney Tunes and the puzzles aren't too challenging, even for a new gamer. This one I can still play ever so often and not get tired of it. They really don't make them like this anymore. Hopefully Tim Shafer will return to the world of adventure gaming soon because it needs him desperately.

Day of the Tentacle is the sequel to Maniac Mansion, but although based on the same basic premise, is a completely different game.

With insane artists that were seemingly taken directly from Warner Bros.' classic Road Runner, combined with the talent of the likes of Ron Gilbert, Day of the Tentacle is more than just a game: it is an insane, surreal adventure with a long and complex story.

Basically what happens is this: Purple Tentacle, one of crazy Dr. Fred's creations, drinks contaminated water from Dr. Fred's Sludge'o'matic, mutates into an insane genius and grows arms, and now he's plotting to take over the world. In an effort to stop him, Dr. Fred sends the three insane friends, Bernard, Hoggie and Lavern back in time to yesterday, in order for them to turn off the Sludge'o'matic and stop the sludge from spilling into the river. Naturally, the cheap doctor uses a fake diamond over a real one in his time machine, which blows up sending Hoggie 200 years into the past and Lavern 200 years into the future.

This is where the story begins: with the help of a few items you can pass through time with the use of the Chronojohn you must bring back Hoggie and Lavern and stop evil Purple from taking over the world.

Any fan of DOS-based point-and-click adventures are going to love this game. It's seriously not serious. The game is meant to tickle your funny bone, which is does very well at doing. You don't really need to have a certain type of 90's humor to like the game. The way the game is written is entirely hilarious and well delivered. Those unaware of the series, this is the second game in the Maniac Mansion series.

This game takes off after the first adventures of Maniac Mansion. Dr. Fred has been working on his mad science experiments in his basement, which is also polluting the city's river. In turn, Purple Tentacle (conveniently named) takes a drink from the river and grows a pair of arms. Somehow, this manages to give him the idea that he's able to take over the world. Ultimately, he does just that. The characters you'll play as are three entirely different types of characters. There's Bernard, the nerdy pocket protector kid; Hoagie, the fat 1990's metal kid; and then Laverne, who is a dope head chick with a few screws loose. Your characters get involved in the story, thanks to a hamster who tells them about Dr. Fred's experiments and Purple Tentacle's plot. Upon arriving at the Edison's mansion, you'll find yourself getting involved in a time traveling port-a-potty.

The overall feel for the game is a history altering adventure. Bernard is left to stay in the present, Hoagie goes to the 18th century, and Laverne is sent to the future. The way the game plays out is to solve clues for the future, you need to change things in the past from happening or to happen. For instance, having George Washington cut down a cherry tree helps release Laverne in the future from being stuck in the tree. Sending schematics of a tentacle helps inspire the first American flag. Things like that.

The game is very colorful, cartoony, and brilliant. The graphics are not that bad, even for a game based on 256 colors. The astonishing feature of the game is the voice acting. It's really good. I consider this to be more of a really fun puzzle solving movie just because of the voice acting. It's fun to just sit back and listen to the hilarious dialog between a '90's metal thug and Benjamin Franklin. The gameplay is simple. It's a typical point-and-click adventure. You highlight your cursor over an object and pick if you'd like to use or pick up the item.

There's really no errors in the game. It's a DOS game, so some users may want to load up a DOS emulation program such as DOSBox to play the game. Overall, if you don't mind playing older games, you'll end up finding a new game to add in your list of "best game evar!".

10 out of 10.

This game is truly an epic, hilarious game. The game takes place as three misfit characters return to Maniac Mansion, to learn that Dr. Fred's creation, Purple Tentacle, has escaped and drank toxic sludge that mutated him into a better, evil tentacle. Now it's up to Bernard, Hoagie and Laverne to travel through time and stop Purple Tentacle from taking over the world.

This game is a really, really, great game. There are so many actions to chose from. The options for chating are really free floating, in a great way of course, there are so many options for questions and answers when talking to other characters, something you don't find in many video games.

There are many items to collect that all benefit you in some way. The time travel element works really well, for example, Laverne gets sent to the future and gets stuck in a tree, while Hoagie gets sent to the past. In order to save Laverne, Hoagie must tell George Washington to cut down the tree that Laverne is stuck in. Since that tree no longer is there in the future, Laverne is no longer in the tree.

This game is hilarious, the funniest game I have ever played. It will truly put a smile on your face.

You can also play the original Maniac Mansion if you use a character's computer in the present mansion.

Trust me, this game is amazing, get it. But in order to play it on newer operating systems, you'll need a software called DOSBox, just Google it and it will pop up.

Thanks for reading, I hope this helps.

Sure the graphics are now dated, but that's about the only thing wrong with this game. It was this game's humor, graphics, style & characters that make it still a fantastic way to spend your time. One of the best adventure games ever made & if you liked Sam & Max, you will love DoTT.

If you would like a game that was created before the era of heavy graphics and complex games that came with the CD ROM revolution, then DOTT is for you.

If you played them back then and liked them, you still will.

If you came along after, you won't.