Possibly LucasArts' finest game.
User Rating: 9.6 | Grim Fandango PC
Grim Fandango is a sublime art-house experience, rich in black humour, post-death conundra and crises. The game deals with Manuel Calavera (Manny to his friends), travel agent of death, agent provocateur, night club owner, scythe-wielding hero, dashing swindler and, erm, skeleton. Manuel is dead. As, indeed, are all of the other inhabitants of the Netherworld; the place through which freshly-liberated sould travel, on their way to the eternal security of the Underworld. Being dead is less awkward than you might think. In fact, Grim's denizens have created an entire society - complete with gambling dens, politics, strikes, travel, relationships and Good and Evil. It may be a spoof world, but it's entirely credible, enabling you to plunge without hesitation into its twsited plot.
The art deco, phantasmagoric world, depicted by the distinctive new 3D look, is wonderous. It establishes Grim's unique atmsophere and style. One of LucasArts most admirable achievements is the way it has applied the technology to help you. There is a revolution in object handling, as Manny's head turns to peer quizzically at anything that may prove useful to him.
The sheer number of characters and depth of plot constantly astonishes, too. But nowhere is the hard work and skill that staturates Grim more apparent than in the rich dialogue.
It's hard to see what could be improved upon, given that LucasArts is sticking to a conventional point-and-click forumla. Grim Fandango is the slickest, cleverest and most enjoyable adventure game ever seen.
