![]() ![]() I’ve never felt more emotionally connected to a videogame character than when Manny picks up a ceremonial Day of the Dead baguette and sticks the whole thing in his inner jacket pocket. Manny isn’t one of them, which is why he’s working off his sins as a reaper, but a string of bum, low-commission clients has him treading water in this literal limbo. Most prized is the Number Nine, an express train reserved for those who’ve led sterling lives. Manny Calavera is a grim reaper, which in this art deco Land of the Dead means he’s a travel agent, sending dead souls to their final resting place through a variety of fine travel options. No bones about it, though, Grim Fandango holds up on its original merits as a stylish, humerus adventure. The non-tank controls are welcomed (as is the cheeky trophy for playing with tank controls). The latter has some nice dynamic lighting and new character models, but I stuck mostly with the former for its more vibrant colors. ![]() You can switch between the original and remastered look at the touch of a button. We’ve had an entire digital catalog–GOG.com–devoted to getting good, old games up for sale on a digital storefront, but no Grim Fandango? Many, myself included, have found it difficult to track down a copy to play. Grim Fandango didn’t need a remaster as much as it needed a re-release. A necessary title for fans of the genre that deserves to be in every classics collection.Spooky scary skeletons send shivers down my spine You simply won’t find a funnier, more original, more thought provoking adventure game, and now, people who missed out on it the first time finally have a chance to see why this game is so revered. It’s a classic of the genre, and a must own for anyone with an interest in adventure games. There’s really little that can be said about this game that hasn’t been said for years. ![]() Best of all, thanks to this new, modern adaptation of the game, players no longer need to resort to downloading and installing programs into their PC to deliberately impair performance so that the infamous conveyor belt puzzle can slow down enough on modern machines to be solvable. It holds up as a strikingly original and charming adventure game with some occasionally wonky puzzle logic that a quick consultation on the Internet can solve for those tackling the game for the first time. Same puzzles, same voice acting, same brilliant humor and writing. For audiophiles, the music has also gotten a major, orchestral touch up with fantastic noir/big band sound that plays great on modern speaker systems.Īnother big change, and certainly a welcome one for 21 Because these are upgrades to original graphical assets, they were never intended for the widescreen format, and suffer visibly as a result if people are trying not to “waste” screen real estate. ![]() Switching over to the modern 16:9 widescreen ratio simply causes a “squash n’ stretch” effect that makes all people and objects look short and fat. One thing I’d strongly advise players to do for this game is maintain the traditional 3:4 aspect ratio of the screen. The characters themselves were an early foray into polygonal graphics, but because Schafer’s team went with a simple, cartoony approach, the only real benefit of the HD upgrade is real-time lighting effects, and nice, sharp, aliased textures for a smoother look. Because Grim Fandango’s backgrounds were all pre-rendered, aside from looking a bit sharper, they haven’t changed much. Surprisingly, the change isn’t that gigantic not compared to something like The Secret of Monkey Island or Halo. Like other remasters of much older games, Grim Fandango allows players to toggle back and forth between the original 90s appearance and its modern graphical update. The other big change is, of course, the graphics. The most pressing is that the game is simply unavailable to anyone who didn’t buy the original CD in 1998, or stumble across it in garage sales. Unlike most of the games that are getting remasters after having only come out a year ago, Grim Fandango is a necessary HD port for a number of reasons. ![]()
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