Why this isn't a Hollywood movie, I'll never know...
+Outstanding music and voice acting, along with great graphics for it's time.
-Moving Manny can sometimes be a hassle.
-No word of a movie yet.
Grim Fandango was the first game I bought with my first paycheck back in the day. I waited for the game for so long after playing a demo I got from my PC Gamer magazine. As a young kid, this game had everything. Skeletons, smoking, drinking, love, death, murder... basically, the works. On top of that, it's made by my favorite company: LucasArts. They have always been known for their terrific adventure games, and Grim Fandango proved they still had it.
Grim Fandango takes you on a fantastic adventure through the land of the dead as Manny Calavera. He's a reaper. A grim reaper. He collects souls from the living and brings them to the land of the dead, ultimately, to send them on their voyage to the afterlife. Aside from just collecting souls, Manny is also a travel agent. His job is to give the dead a comfortable, yet, deserving travel package to their voyage to the afterlife. Travel packages include a walking stick (being as you're a horrible person) all the way to the Number Nine (the cushy train ride for the good citizens). All is good until Manny steals a 'sale' from his rival, Domino. Meche is the name of the person he steals, and also finds out something horrible is going on at the travel agency. Good people are getting the shaft.
Aside from the terrific, well written story by Tim Schafer (who also did Day of the Tentacle and Psychonauts), the gameplay was new for it's time. For one, it was a 3D adventure that wasn't point and click like traditional adventure titles. The gameplay is terrific, but on certain points of the game, it's hard to control Manny. You will be holding up and then turned around when the camera angle changes on you, leaving you going right back where you started.
The graphics were really well done for it's time too. They seamlessly blended motion video with gameplay for an extra unique look. The cutscenes were outstanding as well. Even though a lot of the characters were low polygon, they actually looked well done thanks to the graphics engine and the way the design was put together.
By far, one thing you'll remember most about Grim Fandango is the voice acting and the music. Every voice actor did a terrific job at delivering the lines to the characters. The music is really great. I actually bought the soundtrack for this game, which is rare for me to do since I usually turn game music off.
Adventure games are either really good or really crummy. This one is just one of the really good ones. It's funny, sad, and well written. Almost 10 years ago, I bought this game. I still have it, and I still get to relive the story of Manny's adventure to save Meche (and himself). Overall, a terrific game that is worthy of a sequel, even a Hollywood director.