I have always loved graphical adventure games from my first experiences with them in the form of The Secret of Monkey Island to the more recent, and more scarce ones, such as games like Hotel Dusk and Heavy Rain. The draw of these types of games isn't so much the difficulty and gameplay as it is the story and atmosphere of the game. The game I believe best represents this genre and my personal favourite is Grim Fandango, a 1998 computer game made by LucasArts.
The main story of Grim Fandango boils down to this; you, Manuel "Manny" Calavera, are a travel agent for the DOD (Department of Death), tasked with selling people tickets to the Ninth Underworld based on the quality of their soul, ranging from a walking stick (With built in compass) to a ticket on the Double N straight to the Ninth Underworld. After discovering a mistake causing someone to be cheated out of their Double N ticket, you set off on an epic 4 year journey filled with conspiracy plot twists, and many great and unique characters.
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| Each character has their own personality that changes along with the four year path of the game. |
The game has a very well put together story that makes you care for everyone involved. Each character has a unique personality that adds something to the story, and as the story progresses through the years so to do the characters gain life experiences and seem more unique. Although it may generally be a serious game, it definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously and always takes the time to laugh at itself, usually through the use of incorrect item combinations.
Unlike many games in the graphical adventure genre, this game never really gets boring, the puzzles are all varied enough to avoid repetition and not to difficult as to force you to refer to a guide. Another plus to the puzzles is how well they are integrated story-wise as to make you feel like your actions are actually helping you get to your end goal and not something completely superfluous. The four year structure of the game is one of its shining points as it not only changes up the settings and characters, but also introduces a whole new set of objectives completely different from the previous year.
One of the best aspects of the game is the film noir atmosphere it creates, through the fantastic use of music, settings and dialogue. The music sets the perfect tone for each setting, be it jazz or classic Mexican music, it always feels just right and never gets to be annoying or too repetitive. Throughout the game you will be taken to simple places like a casino, a blues bar, the sewer hideout for revolutionaries to a morgue for the dead, that have somehow died again, and the edge of the world. The interactions between each set of characters is unique and gives you a sense of their relationships with each other and the well crafted dialogue draws you in like a good movie or book.
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The game perfectly captures the atmosphere of the film noir genre of movies. |
The game play itself is simple and the minimal amount of HUD elements allows the player to be more immersed in the game. Like most adventure games, Grim Fandango requires experimenting with different ways to interact with object and characters to advance, but even if you make a wrong choice the reactions of the characters is funny enough that you don’t feel like you’ve wasted your time.
The main reasons why I truly enjoy this game is because of the way it gets you to feel about all the characters and the world itself, and of course the atmosphere it creates (I am a huge fan of film noir movies). Also the story is something I could experience over and over again, and have, and still enjoy it.
- N. Gale
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