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Tim Schafer delivers a delightfully macabre tale of the beyond.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

One of the last great examples of the dwindling graphic adventure genre of video games, Grim Fandango combines a compelling plot, lovable characters, razor-wit dialogue, and head-scratching puzzles to create an enjoyable adventure for anyone who can poke a bit of fun at death.

The player steps into the shoes of Manny Calavera, a travel agent for the Land of the Dead. Manny's job is to find recently dead clients and send them on the way to their eternal rest. Bemoaning of poor clients that prevent him from gaining enough good karma to find his own rest, Manny sets out to improve his lot, which runs him across Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, a veritable saint who for some reason doesn't earn her deserved passage on the vaunted "Number Nine", an express train that shortens the normally four year journey to four minutes. What follows is a trip across the Land of the Dead, finding lots of interesting characters to interact with as Manny unravels the conspiracy surrounding his woes.

Created by noted game designer Tim Schafer (Full Throttle, Psychonauts), this game is presented as a graphic adventure of the classic variety, where Manny wanders around areas, finds items to use elsewhere, and converses with characters to forward the plot. Action is secondary to the relaxed feel of being able to take your time, explore, and think on how to solve all the myriad puzzles you encounter. The graphics and sound are a little dated, the game having been released in 1998, but still retain a stylistic charm, from the vivid and varied environments, to the deceased characters themselves, who take on the form of Mexican "calaca" figures. Only two complaints come to mind. The first is common with most graphic adventures: that there will be times when the puzzles just seem to wacky or esoteric, and you find yourself more trying to follow the designer's train of thought than logical conclusions. The second is that the control scheme is based around the keyboard (or joysticks/gamepads), so the usual mouse control is sacrificed.

Despite these minor failings, I'd recommend this to anyone who loves witty dialogue and solving puzzles.

Amazing narrative, characters, settings, and dialogues...and it's smart!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

An exemplary adventure game, this story of Manny Calavera and his quest through a Mexican limbo (in the afterlife sense) for a beautiful woman cheated from the afterlife she deserves takes us through a vivid world of politics, corruption, and heroism. This is no shallow game, but that doesn't mean it doesn't offer the thrills and fun of one. The script, music, and performances are of the highest quality, and the effect is both fun and moving. Play this!!

Still a good game after all these years

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is still great. The characters, the storyline, and the acting is exactly what I expected it to be coming from the days when LucasArts was GOOD. Overall, still a great game to play for those looking for an adventure game, but wants a good start.

A different kind of game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I like these kinds of games. Unfortunately I got stuck and got fed up and bored. Maybe if I had tried harder, I would have had more fun with it. But I really liked the look, animation and feel of it.

One of the best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My son and i played this together when he was still a boy, and it was the most involving and most fun of all the adventure games we played together.And the graphics and small slice of latino life were fabulous, too. Highly recommended for preteens and parents to play together!

Instant Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

When I first played this game it was a demo back in 1998, and I was blown away.

I bought this game and played it on my good old Pentium 2 350 MHz and I just loved every minute of it!

I still to this day play it at least twice a year! its a shame that all of the Tim Shaffer games though are very, very, very good don't seem to sell well (Psychonauts is another great game).

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is the EPITOME of graphic adventures. No other game has even come close to GRIM FANTANGO when it comes to humor (of all shades and shapes), inventiveness, delicious irony, creative graphics and plain good-ol' FUN!!

This is a 10-year old game mind you - yet, it retains its freshness as any true work of art. THIS IS HOW COMPUTER GAMES SHOULD HAVE BEEN - and not the pathetic cookie-cutter products of mega-corporations working in-tandem with GX-card companies...

Your character (hilarious and lovable Manny Calavera) is already...dead when you start. In fact he has been dead for some time, stuck in limbo, trying to pay his way to a better afterlife by selling tickets to other souls on their way to paradise. Guess what: corruption is not limited just to this world. And where there is corruption, there is oppression; and where there is oppression, there is always a revolution brewing...

Realizing he is being duped, Manny reluctantly joins the afterlife underground and takes us in a tour de force of one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL GAME EVER PRODUCED. Immersing noirish atmosphere, detailed art-deco settings, fast Bogartian dialogs - with a subtle ironic frosting.

WARNING: There are known problems with today's faster processors. So, unless you have a really old system running Win98 you will need the WinXP PATCH (otherwise you will not get past the crane scene).

WITH THE HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS!!!

One of a kind game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is without a doubt one of the best games ever made - adventure or otherwise. It is fun, amusing, original, colorful, and challenging without being annoying. The only games that came close to it may be the Monkey Island series or The Last Express. The game is beautifully designed, with unforgettable characters, amazing landscapes, and reminds me of being inside a really well-written movie. Sadly, LucasArts stopped making games like this, a loss for the world.

Great little game, good mystery

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

great game for a 1 time play. the story line is wonderful, along with the voices and humor. Wonderful for a 1 time play. Not replayable in my opinion, but worth the buy, old game, so don't expect current graphics etc.

Simply the best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: October 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I think this game is simply the best game I've ever played. I think about it, after the fact, all the time. The visuals are gorgeous. The voice acting is superb. The soundtrack is good enough that I actually listen to it by itself! No other game has influenced me so much as this. Do whatever it takes to play this game.

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