Day of the Tentacle

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Name: Day of the Tentacle Year: 1993 Publisher: LucasArts Developer: LucasArts Platform: PC Genre: Adventure Total rating: 81.6% - rated 44 times rate now: please log in to rate Submitter: Toolband11 Score: 10 points Added: Feb 05 2006 Warez status: Warez

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Author: Frostyboy Date: Feb 22 2006 - 17:09 Score: 25 points

Despite the current unpopularity of the Lucasarts company, it's not too hard to remember a time when they ruled the adventure gaming scene. Churning out memorable games and talented designers at an amazing rate, there was a period from 1990 to 1995 when every adventure game they released was pure gold. Day of the Tentacle is one of those games.

A sequel to the '80s classic, Maniac Mansion, DOTT follows follows the adventures of three teenagers (Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne) as they try to rescue a mutant tentacle from the clutches of the mad Dr. Fred and try to prevent another from taking over the world. Add in a bucket-load of time travel, some heavy-handed IRS agents, and George Washington with an axe and you should have some idea of what this game will have in store for you.

The control system will be familar to anyone who has played a Lucasarts adventure game before. The game is controlled entirely by the mouse, using a series of nine clickable verbs (give, talk, look etc) to interact with the game world.

There is a twist, one that carries over from the original Maniac Mansion. You play as all three characters in order to solve the game. You can switch between characters at any time, and have to pass objects to one another to solve puzzles. This means that if you get stuck with one character, you can try to progress with another.

Graphics are pleasantly cartoony. A step up from games such as Fate of Atlantis, and closer to those used in Sam and Max. Despite looking somewhat pixelated, the graphics have aged well and I don't see how anyone could be put off by their age.

Sound is excellent. Sound effects do their job well and are used sparingly. Music is fantastic, the sort of thing you will have bouncing around in your head for weeks after finishing the game. It is only MIDI format, unfortunately, but we can't be too picky can we?

Voice acting, if you have the CD version, is brilliant. All the voice actors do their job well and the result is on par with any other cartoon voices you will hear. Bernard manages to be suitably geeky without being irritating, and Laverne in particular is wonderfully unhinged. The acting manages to hit all the right notes without going overboard.

Puzzles vary, some are very easy, some are quite difficult. But don't let that put you off, it doesn't make the game any less fun. They are not particularly obscure, but have their own twisted sense of logic. You have to try everything to have the hope of getting some of these right. The swapping of objects between characters does hamper things a bit, but soon becomes second nature. Most of the puzzles, once you have them figured out, are a delight. Figuring out how to get the hamster into the future, and doing up the mummy for the beaty pageant are particularly memorable.

Bottom line: Day of the Tentacle is a classic. Whimsical, funny, engrossing, it still has all the elements and originality to be accessible to the novice and experienced adventure gamer alike. It remains one of my favourite games, and one of the more memorable Lucasarts releases. You have no excuse not to play it. Simple as that.

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By Asiansensa909 - Aug 24 2007 - 22:36 wow my grandpa gave me this game when i was little and i couldn't stop playing it

By Sbrak - Jun 07 2007 - 02:14 Definitely one of the best ever. Along with Sam and Max of course. It's sad to see where adventure games have gone from here.

By Boypalos - Feb 02 2007 - 10:22 i loved this game!!!

By BIFFEXPLODER - Jan 14 2007 - 04:39 this game is an amazing masterpiece in the art of point and click games.

By Edwinjk - Oct 03 2006 - 09:39   just 1 of the best!!

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