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I can’t admit to being a huge fan of the point-and-click adventure. I’ve got unfortunate memories of being a kid and begging my folks for an awesome-looking new game…only to find that it was in fact yet another Sierra adventure. If you aren’t familiar with those, they were basically hint line delivery vehicles. You’d almost inevitably run into some brick wall of a puzzle or another and find your progress stymied…and in those days, you couldn’t just hit up GameFAQs. Man, I feel old.
So suffice to say, I never tried the original Day of the Tentacle. Apparently I was missing out, since Day of the Tentacle Remastered shows that this legendary game is both hilarious and engaging enough to be worth a look from adventure-averse gamers like myself. Perhaps most importantly, while the game’s puzzles aren’t always free of adventure game logic, the sort that sends you running to a hint guide, I didn’t have to consult anything to finish this one. It’s a miracle!
As for the plot…well, long story short, there’s a crazy purple tentacle on the loose with plans for world domination. Our saviors are nerd Bernard, apparent stoner Laverne and rocker Hoagie. They’re all kind of useless in their own special ways, so the bottom line is that we’re doomed. After a mishap involving a time machine/toilet, the heroes end up trapped in various time periods, trying to figure out how to get home and deal with that evil tentacle. Suffice to say you’re going to need Ben Franklin’s help to make it through this one.
This is well known as one of the funniest games around, and the humor of the original apparently remains intact; while I haven’t played the first I still found this one hilarious. I might complain about Double Fine’s fundraising methods but I can’t fault their comedic sense. As for the remaster part of the title, while the game’s animation remains a bit primitive, Day of the Tentacle Remastered’s graphics in general are very, very nice. Stunning, even. What’s more, you can switch back to the old graphics whenever you wish as in the remastered versions of Halo and Halo 2, which is always a great touch.
Fans of Tim “Moneybags” Schafer and Double Fine have already played the original, of course, and would be well served to give Day of the Tentacle Remastered a try. Newbies like myself are bound to find something they enjoy here as well, and I’d be amazed if you managed to get through this one without a laugh or two. Frankly, it’s a $15 release of a game considered one of the true classics of the medium. You can probably figure out a reason to pick this up!