Day of the Tentacle Remastered Review (PC)

A long time ago in what seems like a galaxy far, far away point and click adventure games used to be all the rage. Lucas Arts were well known for its skill in making graphic adventures and Day of Tentacle is one of its most famous titles. Now in its new spruced up form we get to see if the game still stands up today.

The sequel to Maniac Mansion, Day of The Tentacle starts with Purple Tentacle drinking some toxic sludge which causes him to develop super intelligence and the urge to take over the world. Enter our three heroes Bernard, Laverne, and Hoagie who arrive fresh from receiving a note, delivered by hamster, from Green Tentacle asking for help. The original Maniac Mansion is also hidden away in the game but it hasn’t had the same graphical overhaul sadly.

Dr Fred, the man responsible for all the trouble attempts to send the three back in time to yesterday so they can turn off the machine polluting the water. However, something goes wrong and Hoagie, a fat rock loving stoner and Laverne, an insane spaced out drip, end up stuck in the past and future respectively. Players have to solve the puzzles in the different time frames to bring everyone home and then work out a way to stop Purple Tentacle.

The game has a unique graphical style which has really helped it to keep its place in many people's hearts. No other game out there looks quite as weird as Day of the Tentacle and the oddball graphics help portray the characters and complement the twisted humour really well. The HD re-working of the graphics sticks to the style well and give the player more of the game on screen by removing the interface commands at the bottom. If you just want to experience it in its original glory you can do that too at the push of a button.

There are a few new interface options to replace the old system. You can use a controller now if you wish or mouse commands which now revolve around holding down the right button to bring up an action wheel. It’s similar to the interface used in Full Throttle and most ‘classic’ styled point and click games now.  We found ourselves naturally slipping into it and it certainly does the job well.

The biggest plus about game, the crazy humour, can also be its biggest frustration. It's almost impossible to get through Day of the Tentacle without using some kind of guide as the puzzles often require you to think in the oddest and most obtuse ways possible. This would be a major problem if it wasn't for the fact that the game is so incredible hilarious. Every line is delivered perfectly and the three main characters all bring their own quirky nature to proceedings. The excellent voice cast also adds a whole new level of genius to the game.

The puzzles, although quite clearly programmed by the insane, also raise a smile. It's hard to describe any without giving the game away. Needless to say, Hoagie crashing the signing of the declaration of independence and Laverne being sent to a future where earth is run by tentacles and humans are kept as pets offer up a plethora of opportunities for madness. Throw in a hamster and a talking horse and you really can't go wrong.

It's good to see that after all these years that Day of the Tentacle is still worthy of all the praise that gets lavished upon it. There has never been a funnier game and if more titles had characters as well thought out as these then the industry would be a much brighter place. Even though the puzzles can drive you to madness it's all worth it to experience one of the most unique and original adventures out there.

Overall 8/10

Broken Age Review (PS4/PS Vita)

Lucas Arts’ point and click adventures are undoubtedly some of the finest game you will ever have the pleasure of playing. Unfortunately, the adventure game has (or at least had) fallen out of favour for a long time. There’s been a slight resurgence in the genre recently with output like the Walking Dead and other episodic games.  But Broken Age is a return the classic point and click roots of 2D graphics and logic puzzles to solve.

We played the first part of Broken Age some time ago and it’s testament to it that starting from scratch in the now complete version didn’t bother us one bit. You follow the story of a young boy named Shay who is trapped on a space ship and a young girl named Vela who is set to be sacrificed to a big monster. You need take control of each of them as their fates become strangely intertwined.

The first thing to say is that the interface on both the PS4 and Vita works very well so moving from mouse to controller is certainly not the issue it used to be with games like Discworld on the PS1. You can use the analogue sticks to move the cursor or the touch pad/screen. Buttons are used as shortcuts and it all works very well. There are a few puzzles that require good timing but the windows are large enough for either controller to be perfectly up to the job.

The graphics are beautifully drawn 2D art that have a certain charm to them. Shay’s space ship and Vela’s island are wonderfully brought to life in a sort of illustrated kid’s fantasy story kind of way that looks gorgeous and sets the scene wonderfully. Environments are imaginative and unique and it’ll certainly be a change from most of the lands you’ve been adventuring through in video game form.

The dialogue and writing is also excellent throughout the game. Even minor characters have interesting things to say and the script is always sharp and often both touching and funny. There are a couple of puzzles that could do with a bit more of a pointer towards their solutions but on the whole the voicing and dialogue do a great job.

Adventure games live and die by their puzzles and Broken Age is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to this. The first part of the game is quite straight forward with small logical leaps needed to get through. You also don’t need to switch characters to solve anything and so it acts as two separate adventures that become interlinked as you move into act 2. It should be noted as well that unless you start with Shay there could be some serious spoilers going on in Vela’s story.

Once you get into the second act it all ramps up a bit. The puzzles become tougher but are for the most part still the right side of lunacy. We also didn’t descend into trying every object we had on everything more than about twice throughout the game. Some kind of sign posting about needing to change characters for certain things would also have been greatly appreciated.

There are, however, some insane puzzles that need solving which could have done with a lot better explanation about how they are meant to be beaten. There are a couple of occasions that require you to rewire things which will have you throwing controllers across the room unless you stumble upon how to do it. This is a throwback to the past we really could have done without.

It’s difficult to talk about the story as almost any information will spoil the experience for players but we can say that by the end there are a series of serious payoffs that make the adventure well worth undertaking. There are a few big twists and turns along the way and we really enjoyed unravelling the mystery and seeing how it all fitted together once we had the big picture.

Overall, Broken Age is a strong return for the classic 2D point and click genre. It’s funny and heartfelt and the story is both original and interesting. There weren’t many moments that we found we were completely stuck and even then we were almost always enjoying it. It’s certainly getting up there with some of the best in the genre. Ok, so the start might be a bit easy and the end might be a bit hard but it’s just a big ball of invention with a dash of lunacy and there isn’t enough of that around. It’s an original title with imagination and fantastical story telling at its heart and any adventure fan should thoroughly enjoy it.

Overall 8/10

Grim Fandango Remastered Review (PS4)

It’s been a very long time since we last delved in the circle of the underworld inhabited by Manny and his Noire inspired friends. For those new to the game, Grim Fandango follows a simple salesman as he tries to sell the recently deceased travel packages to Heaven and thus work off his own purgatorial debt. However, all is not as it seems in the land of the dead. Why does Manny never get the good clients? And why when he gets a saint do they not qualify for the best packages? In line with all the best Noir stories something is rotten and Manny has decided to find out what it is.

Grim Fandango was the first Lucas Arts adventure to move away from the more traditional 2D point and click interface. Instead, players moved Manny around on a tank track system in 3D environments. Left and right would spin him around while pushing up or down would move forward or back. It was awkward at the time and we’re very glad to see it has been replaced with a more sensible system where the left analogue stick is used to move. For those that want to experience the old style you can always switch back in the options menu but you really don’t want to.

Aside from the controls the games characters, objects and movable parts have been given a bit of a facelift and smoothed out. It’s nothing dramatic or drastic but it does help to make things look that little bit more like a macabre cartoon than before. The static environments haven’t really had much done to them though so those expecting a super full-on HD remake will be disappointed. 

As Manny wanders around he will move his head to look at objects of interest which can then be examined, used or picked up. The ‘look’ system can be a little tricky to use as it’s not always obvious if there are objects around to pick up that you can’t really see. This can end up in an inch by inch movement and button press-athon but for the most part you shouldn’t be stopped too often by it.

You will however be stopped by the puzzles you come up against. Things start out fairly well with progress not that difficult to make once you get your head around the strange logic required. Indeed, there is little here players who have experienced other point and click series’ will find that taxing. But as you progress things start to get very odd and some solutions will leave you in disbelief as to how you were ever supposed to work them out. Tie this in with some objects being fairly difficult to spot and it can end up with players wandering around aimlessly for far too long before they eventually give up and head to a guide.

The real star of Grim Fandango is the writing. The script and story are excellent with an intriguing and engaging tale filled with excellent characters and excellent voice acting. From the sneaky sales men to the downtrodden residents and the strange elemental creatures left looking for purpose after they become obsolete, every character has something about them and they remain far more memorable than many other games.

It sets up an interesting and unique world that is difficult to find anywhere else and in this respect the game still stands head and shoulders above most others out there. The mix of Noir iconography and surreal fantasy also mix very well and shows how imaginative games can be when left in the right hands.

Overall, the decision as to whether you are going to enjoy Grim Fandango will come down to how much patience you have. There will be frustrating moments that stop you in your tracks but they are well worth persevering with in order to engage with one of the best tales that has been told through a video game. It’s a slow burning game of depth and invention and it may not be perfect but it’s certainly still well worth sorting through the mystery of what’s rotten in the land in of the dead.

Overall 8/10