Why are you looking at the reviews? You should already have, and be playing, this one-of-a-kind adventure!
I don't own many adventure games (compared to the other genres I own. Just take a look in my games collection on my profile.), but this one always caught my eye in the store. It took me a couple of years after release to actually buy it, and it is possibly one of the best purchases i've made.
The graphics and the art in the game is truely amazing, considering it was created in 1998, I think it was amazing for that time, especially for the genre. It's like no style i've ever seen in a video game. Even though the year is now 2006, I still give the graphics a high 10, as it suits this game perfectly. The amount of places you visit in this game is great. Not only do they play brilliantly, they look brilliant.
Now onto sound, and only two words shout out in my mind. Voice acting. It's truly amazing. If you just forget that they're all skeletons and demons for one second, and you can almost imagine you're there, talking to real people. The dialogue is intelligent, humorous, I mean, there are many lines I still remember from it! But saying that, I only played it all the way through a week ago. The sound of objects/interactions in the game, including from the backgrounds, are great too. They fit perfect with whatever it is you're using, or seeing. Finally, in the sound area, the music is the best i've ever heard in an adventure, maybe going further than that. Very jazzy, lots of saxophones.
Gameplay. The most crucial thing in a game. To be honest, I can't think of a good word that I haven't used already to describe it's superiority. Oh, there's one! I've never played a better adventure game, I fully enjoyed every second of Grim Fandango. I mean, as soon as I hear something that could even be slightly related to it, I go jumping for a chance to play it again. There are many challenges in this game, easy and hard. This makes it just right, and after accomplishing one of the harder tasks, you'll feel riveted and you'll want to keep on playing. The interface is easy to use, and you'll get used to it within a matter of minutes.
Now, this isn't included in the main reviewing criteria, but Story. This is what gives the game it's originality, and godliness. The many locations, characters, and plot lines give this a real kick! The majority of the characters are linked in some way, and you can always work this out one way or another. The voice acting boosts this, just listening to their voices when you talk about other people can give you the right idea of their opinion. There isn't a point in this game, at least I don't think, where the story ahead is predictable. I know I was surprised by some things that happened in the game at my first run through, or maybe that was just amazement?
Well, there's only so much I can explain. I want to go and play it right now. Anyway, only you can discover the magic of this game. In fact, why are you looking at reviews? You should already have this game and be playing it, or have recently. Or even, you should be ordering this game, or getting out your money to be getting ready to go to the nearest store and buy it.
You won't regret it. Manwell Calavera won't disappoint.