Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic, February 12, 2000
By A Customer
If you're reading this review, you may be under the impression that I'm trying to oversell it. Perhaps I am. It doesn't matter; this game deserves it. Hands down, I have never seen a more beautiful and challenging game. Every scene is a postcard. The music is so perfect you think they chose the playlist first and worked the game aronud it. It made me laugh, though the humor is wry and subtle and may be hard to appreciate. It made my eyes water, though there's no heavy-handed sentimentality. You'll fall in love with the characters, whose voices are perfect. When something goes wrong in the story, you'll feel genuine delight or devastating depression, depending on the situation. Lucasarts could easily have made a movie based on the interesting characters and elaborate cutscenes alone. (And, for my money, I hope they do...)The game is not perfect, but in an industry fixated on violent first-person shooters and manufactured WarCraft clones, Grim Fandango is a welcome breath of fresh air. They say the adventure game is dead; this is proof to the opposite. It is a disappointment that the game sold poorly, because it's just this kind of game that makes me glad I own a computer.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buenos dias!, June 3, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I don't go for adventure games, personally. Ninety percent of the time, I prefer shooters. But this one...man, it's so weird, so unique, and so GENIUS through and through, how can you not love it?
Here's the story. Manny Calavera is a low-level salesman trying to earn an honest commission and make a decent day's pay, but it never seems to work out for him. His boss is constantly on his back, he's routinely snaked by a competitor, Domino Hurley, and the right sales never come his way. It's a lousy life to have.
Especially if you're already dead.
That's the twist; Manny, and just about everyone else in the game, is dead. This whole game takes place in the Land of the Dead of Mexican/Aztec folklore, with a strong Art Deco influence, with heavy doses of '30s crime noir thrown in. Everyone in the game is fashioned to look like the sugar skeletons used in Day of the Dead festivals (called 'calaveras'; get it?).
Manny works in the Department of Death, trying to work off his time for his misdeeds when he was alive. He does that by trying to sell 'travel packages' to the recently deceased, so they can make their four-year journey across the Land of the Dead, until they reach the portal leading to the Land of Eternal Rest. The quality of life this person lived determines whether they get to use a car, a luxury liner, or the exclusive No. 9 train, which speeds its passengers there in four minutes, instead of the customary four years.
Unfortunately, the kind of lowlifes who keep coming Manny's way only deserve walking sticks at best, which does absolutely nothing to help Manny work off his time. So, he decides to take matters into his own hands and STEAL the right kind of client.
And that's when he gets in over his head.
The story is pure crime noir with a technicolor twist, like Raymond Chandler meets Tim Burton. The plot Manny uncovers is convoluted, brilliant, deeply twisted, and diabolical like you've never imagined possible. It's also incredibly, unspeakably funny. Tim Schaefer is one absurd individual, make no mistake.
Yes, it's an old game, I know. But the true classics know no age, and this is a classic all right. So take advantage of the price, snap it up, and book a trip with your new favorite travel agent. He's waiting for you...
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best ever!, May 24, 2001
If they made more games like this, I'd be a pauper. Intelligent, funny, easy to use, easy to solve, and no bloody chess problems. It's also thought-provoking, gorgeous, well-written, and as believable as talking skeletons and elevator demons can make it. One of my favorites that I play over and over again. One caveat: At least one puzzle seems to be tied to processor speed, so if you have a fast machine you'll need to download a patch from the manufacturers' website. Well worth the trouble, though.
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