Нет комментариев 03.08.2006

I’ve got so much to say about Grim Fandango game that I become rather confused trying to write a brief article. It’s extremely hard to write about things you really like. And Grim Fandango is one of the best. If not the best one.

It may seem that I overpraise this game, but Grim Fandango deserves it. Like many other games it has all the constituents of the successful project, – i.e. plot, graphics, playability, sound, humor, but it also possesses a special emotional constituent, with the help of which all the components are joined into a single whole. Grim Fandango is not just a game, but a book, a movie, a story, told by means of game.

Aztecs had a legend, according to which the soul of a deceased gets to the Land of the Dead to start a four-year journey to the ninth underground world, the place of final rest of all alive. Tim Shafer used this legend as the basis of Grim Fandango plot.

The Land of the Dead; traveling agent Manny Calavera works off his mundane sins, selling touring packs to the souls of new-comers. Depending upon the life-merits of his client, Manny can sell him traveling by car, liner, or, if the client is saint (or nearly saint), - train №9 ticket. This train will rush the person to the ninth world not for four years, but four minutes. For some reason Fortune avoids Manny, the client is exceptionally worthless, no good money can be made. A bit of manipulations – and Manny borrows an ideal client – Mercedes Colomar, who by all signs deserves №9 ticket. But the Death Department computer denies it. And than Manny begins to suspect that someone plays dirty tricks in the Death department… Meche disappears…  Manny must find her and help her cross the Land of the Dead!

It’s impossible to quest without a friend. And a big cheerful orange smth, called Glottis – a creature with a big and sincere heart, a demon belonging to the Land of the Dead, created with only one aim and a dream – to drive!

That’s the beginning of our story. A four-year soul-traveling is prepared for Manny Calavera; and each year at Dia de los Muertos – the Mexican Day of the Dead together with Many we’ll search for the lost love, which turns out to be stronger than the death, in the dead world.

Life is in full swing in the Land of the Dead. We are going to face plenty of characters while traveling. In Grim Fandango you enjoy the play of the pictured characters as if the best actors were doing their best. It’s a real pleasure to watch the mimics and the behavior of each personage. If I were a theatrical or TV critic, I would certainly pay note to masterly performance of the actors. It’s especially surprising taking into account that the mimics is shown by rather simple means. 3D personages have got only schematically drawn faces, which seem to copy the masks of the Mexican carnival of the dead. I wonder how the game designers managed to impact each “skully” its unique personality. It amazes that women skeletons can look rather alluring and sexually, positive characters cause our liking, while baddies – our disgust.

I especially want to distinguish the work of those actors who scored the characters. When the game was released, the majority of Internet-reviews admitted that Grim Fandango was scored as or even better than the best Hollywood cartoons. Glottis (Alan Blumenfeld) is certainly the best, his voice and performance are so realistic that don’t let you doubt the existence of real demons; while not every actor in the movie manages to prove that he’s at least alive. Mannie’s voice with mild Spanish accent is reach with intonations, it attracts and seems to prove that Manny is a good guy, a very sly one; and it’s not clear whether he’s scoffing or serious; but certainly he’s of our kind.

In addition to the brilliant voices, the soundtrack (its author is Peter McConnell) to the game is incomparable. Each location has its main theme, making the world even more rich, colorful and realistic.

The graphics in the game is unusual and captivating. Nowadays it’s hard to surprise anyone with a beautiful background, but thoroughly worked Grim Fandango worlds still strike with their beauty.

Grim Fandango isn’t reach with jokes, but the humor runs through all the game. It’s “trade” lambent Shafer’s humor, which appears from the very game situations. For example, trouble- revolutionary bees or the keen torture of Glottis on the winding tower count for much. Light humor and irony waves are everywhere – in the interiors, signs and dialogues. The creators’ sense of humor has even overstepped the limits of the game. In the game instruction, put into the box, there is a note for all those exasperated with the number of constantly smoking game characters: “For those who are disturbed by the amount of smoking in Grim Fandango, we offer two reasons: 1) we wanted to be true to the film noir atmosphere, and 2) everybody in the game who smokes is DEAD. Think about it.”.

Grim Fandango is music of the best feelings, where love is playing the leading part. Love for the woman, friends, money and power. In the dead world only love and dreams make sense and turn into passion. The captain in Rubakava forsakes everything so as to see his ship again; grave-digger Membrillio is spending all his days hoping to find a treasure; Lupe, the cloakroom attendant, is engrossed in the creation of a modern super system of coat-and-hat distribution; Salvador Limones is a high-minded revolutionist, fighting for the happiness of the souls; and Manny is looking for… for his Meche. Love here is closely connected with death and not by chance flowers present the most frightful sight in the game. In the dead world, where everyone is dead long ago, flowers appear to be far worse than death. All those, being “sprouted” disappear without leaving a trace. Forever.

My main complaint against Grim Fandango is that it comes to an end too fast. And the reason is not that the time you spend playing is short, but the world you can’t find enough strength to part with. That’s why don’t be surprised if you’ll become sad after finishing the game…

Summing up, I can say the following: I envious for myself that I’ve already played and go on replaying this game from time to time. I feel sorry for those people who never play such games and therefore miss such masterpieces. The same thing happens if a person never reads anything - a complete culture layer passes by. And Grim Fandango is undoubtedly the significant phenomenon of this very culture.

How to play on the modern PCs:
1) Install the game
2) Setup the patch.
3) Switch on 3D acceleration in the game properties.
4) Make sure that hardware 3D acceleration is selected in 3D acceleration properties.

The most complete fans’ site about the game is http://grimfandango.net. Here it’s possible to download the soundtrack, the game launcher (though I managed to start the game without it), all the saved games; and look through the concept-art and etc.