Classic Review: Grim Fandango

As for the game itself, it follows the tried-and-true adventure game formula of tricky puzzles which advance the game's storyline. While Grim is certainly not as easy as Schafer's previous "Full Throttle", it didn't take me too long to figure out most of the puzzles in the game (Some, however, are fiendlshly difficult). Many sections of the game are open-ended, so if you get stuck in one area of the particular town you're in, you can always head to another and try a different solution.

Unlike previous adventure games, Grim Fandango is uses a 3-D engine, similar to the classic action title "Alone in the Dark" -- you view the Grim world from various camera angles and control Manny using the arrow keys.

A lot was made about this new 3-D graphics in Grim Fandango before the game came out, the big question being: Could 3-D characters really replace the cartooney animated 2-D graphics that had been LucasArts' hallmark? Personally, I'm a little wary to answer in the affirmative, simply because I have major reservations on the capabilities of 3-D: While the technique works well in Grim Fandango because the characters are, for the most part, similar looking and simplistic (they're all basically skeletons), I seriously doubt it would work well in other situations. I mean, no matter how many polygons you put in a 3-D model, you'll never be able to recreate the beautiful and stylized hand-drawn animation of, say, "Full Throttle" or "Monkey Island 3".

Nevertheless, Grim Fandango does use the technology to good effect, features an engrossing plot in a fantastic world, and certainly gets my recommendation.

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