as an in-game bonus)
follows the hilarious
time-travelling escapades of three characters as they attempt to
rescue the world from
an insane mutant tentacle bent on world domination. Returning to the
scene of his earlier adventure, Bernard, the
typical nerd, is joined
by deranged caffeine
addict Laverne and
Hoagie, a heavy metal
roadie, as they work
to stop Purple Tentacle
across three time periods.
They accomplish this
by doing what adventure game characters
know best - combining
and trading a range
of random inventory
items, with a malfunctioning time machine
disguised as a portable toilet acting as
the delivery system
between characters.
Though some modern
gamers unused to the
wild leaps of logic typical to adventure games
may get confused, the
puzzles are generally
well designed, with a
common theme being
the meddling in the
fabric of space time
that allows the player
to overcome an obstacle, find an appropriate disguise, or find a
vacuum cleaner where
there was none before.
Sporting a loveable
cast of side-characters, including George
Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, a travelling
salesman, a talking
horse, and Ted Edison, a 3000 year
old mummy, Day of
the Tentacle contains
some laugh out loud
moments courtesy of
the stellar voice cast,
one of the first to be
made up of hired voice
talent, led by Richard
Sanders (WKRP in Cincinnati) as Bernard and
popular
voice-over
artist Nick Jameson,
who would return to
Lucasarts to play psychopathic bunny-thing
Max in Sam and Max
Hit the Road.
Looking
forward,
the triumph of this remastering bodes well
for Double Fine’s next
project, a rerelease
of Schafer’s 1995
game, Full Throttle,
his first game as solo
lead designer. The futuristic realism of that
game's graphics - a
dystopian tale of biker gangs and murder
complete with heavy
metal soundtrack - will
prove an even bigger
challenge. However,
all the signs suggest
that they will triumph
again. After that, why
not go to the next level,
and take on the underappreciated gem that
is Lucasarts' cerebral
science fiction masterpiece, The Dig?
Day of the Tentacle is
an undisputed classic
that still meets expectations a generation after
its initial release. For
fans of the original, it is
a must-have purchase
that will amuse you for
as long as it takes you
to recall the solutions
to all of the puzzles.
For those new to adventure games, there
is no better starting off
point to exploring the
genre than Day of the
Tentacle, a game of
limitless charm, fabulous humour, and an
engaging and warped
cartoon sensibility.
GRAPHICS: 8
GAMEPLAY: 7
SCENARIO: 10
ORIGINALITY: 9
23
Double Fine seem
to love remastering
their own games so it's a good thing
they're good at it.
8.5