Grim Fandango

Lucasarts latest graphic adventure takes the graphical adventure genre to new heights. You are cast in the role of Manny Calavera, travel agent in the DOD (Department of Death.) You are a reaper, sent to a the Land of the Living to retrieve the recently departed souls and set them on a journey to their final resting place. Lately, however, Manny's clients have pretty much been lemons, y'know gangsters, tuff guys and society's other decadences. Something is seriously wrong in the DOD, and its your job to bring the house down. Go Manny, go Manny...

GRAPHICS: Stunningly atmospheric, capturing perfectly the hispanic flare of the Mexican Land of the Dead. Despite 95% of the characters in the game being skeletons, their emotions and general demeanor are easily distinguished through the lines and shapes of their faces.

SOUND: Very cool perfectly fitting the game's tempo. Lucasarts rarely disappoints in this area, but in this case, they have composed something truly memorable. And the voice acting is the PC equivalent of Metal Gear Solid's...yes, that good.

CONTROL: Instead of the standard SCUMM engine point-and-click interface. Manny controls via the keyboard arrows ala Resident Evil, minus the guns. But then again, who you gonna kill, everyone's already dead!

GAMEPLAY: Despite occasional hangups on the scenery and a few obscure puzzles, the game moves along at a smooth clip. The characters are quirky and memorable and is reasonably long, but it all still ends too soon. But dont let that turn you off, come immerse yourself in the world of Grim Fandango, and you may never want to leave.

GRAPHICS: 9 SOUND: 9 CONTROL: 8 GAMEPLAY: 9 OVERALL: 9

-Ragnarok the Red