Very recently I was given the chance to play Grim Fandango. For those less fortunate, it is an adventure game by LucasArts. The character depicted is Manny Calavera, the antagonist of the game. I have always loved the Adventure game genre. There was a time that Adventure games were the most popular, which included the Kings Quest and Monkey Island series. These of course, I have experienced as well. Other series I have played are Maniac Mansion, Phantasmagoria, Zork, and Leisure Suit Larry. Although I have enjoyed these, you don't see me drawing any fanart the aforementioned games. So, what makes Grim Fandango stand out from the rest? The easy part of course is the graphics, given the time, these graphics are very clean and no lag was noticible. There are no bad camera problems, of course, all the backgrounds were pictures, not rendered. For the most part, I really enjoyed the graphics of this game, and definately fit the mood of the entire game. One of the highest points of this game is the sound. The voice acting is superb in every possible way. There are no dumb lines like "I hope this is not Chris' blood" (know where that quote came from, and win 10 brownie points!). Not only is the voice acting/casting good, the script as well. The musical score has much Mexican influence on it (since it is inspired by a Mexican folklore, which makes a great touch to the game's atmosphere). The humor, the drama, the thrills.. EVERYTHING! In addition, the facial reactions to what they are saying makes the game more realistic as well. Many people complained about the controls of this game. For starters, the player didn't use a mouse, and controlled Manny. So, it wasn't the standard point-and-click game. I personally didn't find anything wrong with it. In fact, I rather enjoyed it, it really made you closer to the characters in a sense. Many people complained about the doors/elevator, and its difficulty of use. If you ask me, they were just being stupid or something.. I never had that much of a problem with it. Additionally, Manny could RUN! RUN! As in faster than walking! I don't remember any adventure game that the character could run. That in itself made the game much better. This game is pretty challenging, but knowing that it is impossible to "screw yourself over" made the game easier. And of course, since you are already dead, that made the game even easier. No fear for doing stupid things, like running into fire beavers. As long as I have the items needed, I have my ultimate strategy for adventure games. HAHAHA.. no parts of this secret will be parted. Fun factor is of course, the most important part of all games. With the great storyline, challenging puzzles, whitty storyline, how could this not be a good game? I don't think I have played a game that made such a big inpact on me since Super Metroid. Hmm.. I guess you'll know I really like a game or not if I draw a picture of it, huh? Intangibles is what makes the game stand out above and beyond the rest. And this game certainly had plenty of that. Not only very colorful character, and niec plot twists, but one other intangible factor.. Manny's determination. Throughout the game, he is determined to find someone, but in the process, he also shows his determination between years. From a janitor to a club owner, then from a deck swabber to a captain. Another Intangible is that Manny is a great dresser! Excluding a fur coat, all of his 'costumes' are excellent! I love well dressed men, and he has them all! Unless another game catches my eye, expect more Manny fanart from me soon! The making of this art is on my art page. The official Grim Fandango Web Site. A great fan page on Grim Fandango. Okay, so this is a relatively boring "about me!" chapter, but it's mostly for my own benefit anyways.