Page 1 of 2

Games like Grim Fandango

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:33 am
by Gandhi
So, both my wife and I loved Grim Fandango. Of course, I like other game types as well. Unfortunately, she does not share my enthusiasm of pancaking other players with a manta :cry:

So I was wondering if there are any other old or new games similar to Grim Fandango that I can purchase. I would like for her to get more into gaming. I must also state that she did like NOLF 1 a lot and played half way through, I think.

Any suggestions?

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:35 am
by emkubed
Grab Full Throttle and The Dig and DOSBox 'em!

I miss GF. Such an underrated game.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:45 am
by Gandhi
Well I managed to track down Full Throttle on Amazon, but no luck on the other game.

Incidentally, what does DOSBox mean? You mean playing the game via a command DOS prompt?

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:50 am
by emkubed
Gandhi wrote:
Well I managed to track down Full Throttle on Amazon, but no luck on the other game.

Incidentally, what does DOSBox mean? You mean playing the game via a command DOS prompt?


http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1

Full DOS environment emulation. Can be a resource hog (amazingly), but configurable by an easy-to-edit config file and runs everything I've thrown at it.

DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library which makes DOSBox very easy to port to different platforms. DOSBox has already been ported to many different platforms, such as Windows, BeOS, Linux, MacOS X...

DOSBox also emulates CPU:286/386 realmode/protected mode, Directory FileSystem/XMS/EMS, Tandy/Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA graphics, a SoundBlaster/Gravis Ultra Sound card for excellent sound compatibility with older games...

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:05 pm
by Dizik
Damn I miss that game.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:07 pm
by emkubed
Dizik wrote:
Damn I miss that game.


Then feast your brain on THIS!

Manny Calavera wrote:
You can't hide from the Grim Reaper. Especially when he's got a gun.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 3:50 pm
by VTNC

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 3:52 pm
by kvndoom
The Longest Journey was an excellent adventure game. She may like that too.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:01 pm
by emkubed
VTNC wrote:
www.scummvm.org


Yes. Scumm VM is the shizzle for Lucas Arts adventure games.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:49 pm
by Jebus
It's funny you mention this today. I just grabbed a demo today for a game called Psychonauts. The little snipet over at GameSpot describes it as "like Grim Fandango and Full Throttle". It's not from Lucasfarts tho. Getting ready to install it and try it out, I'll let you know what I think. If you want to grab it yourself, head over here to FileRush and try it out.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:33 pm
by meanfriend
emkubed wrote:
VTNC wrote:
www.scummvm.org


Yes. Scumm VM is the shizzle for Lucas Arts adventure games.


Scummvm is indeed great, but does not support Grim Fandango. GF is not a scumm engine game.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:46 pm
by kvndoom
Jebus wrote:
It's funny you mention this today. I just grabbed a demo today for a game called Psychonauts. The little snipet over at GameSpot describes it as "like Grim Fandango and Full Throttle". It's not from Lucasfarts tho. Getting ready to install it and try it out, I'll let you know what I think. If you want to grab it yourself, head over here to FileRush and try it out.


It's not from LucasArts, but it IS from Tim Schafer, who created GF and FT and many of Lucas' other classic adventures.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:48 pm
by Juic3
Full Throttle and The Day of the Tentacle, wait the Larry series was also good but maybe just for the male audience, dunno about the wife.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:51 pm
by meanfriend
To the OP, you mention that your wife liked GF and NOLF, which are two completely different styles of play (obviously) but both feature pretty good storylines and voiceacting. Along those lines I'd recommend:

Sam N Max
Curse of Monkey Island
Day of the Tentacle
System Shock
Deus Ex
Metal Gear Solid (The PS version is perfection, dont know about the PC port)
Splinter Cell
Max Payne

Some of these might be hard to find because they are quite old. Sadly, graphical adventures are pretty much a dead genre nowadays, with a few excpetions like Syberia and Longest Journey which are apparently quite good.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:57 pm
by Rookie
You should have her try MYST. It is an old game, and you could probably pick it up for a few bucks at a used game store. MYST is a great puzzle RPG type game that women seem to love. I remember my mother used to ask me for hints about this game all the time. The only problem is that it is not a multiplayer game, so you can't play together, but at least she will get more into computer games right? :wink:

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:08 pm
by Gandhi
Thanks all for the replies. I tried to get her in to the Myst series - even purchased the special edition that hass all the sequesl - but she did not like it. She did not like the Longest Journey either.

AS for other games like System Shock and Deus Ex, I do not think she will like those - interface is a bit complicated for her to get in to it.

But I will try out the Scumm and Dosbox ideas for some of my classic games.

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:09 pm
by totoro
Sam and Max rules!

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:44 am
by Aphasia
Monkey Island
The DIG

Then you also have all the Sierra games like Space Quest and Kings Quest series.

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:57 am
by drfish
Get her to pick up NOLF again, then have her try NOLF 2...

Otherwise Psychonauts might be good...

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:06 pm
by Jebus
Ok, I been tryin to play Psychonauts, and I can't stand the controls. The mouse is inverted and I can't find a choice to make it otherwise. I guess in a very very small way it's similar to the Lucasarts games, but it's much more a platformer. It could be a great platformer too, if I could change my controls to my liking.

You might still try it out.

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:23 pm
by Crayon Shin Chan
Only one post mentioned Monkey Island so far! What is wrong with you twerps!

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 9:15 pm
by Aphasia
Actually, there were two posts, where the first named it with the full name, "curse of monkey island", and i only named in monkey island. :P

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 9:15 pm
by Jebus
Crayon Shin Chan wrote:
Only one post mentioned Monkey Island so far! What is wrong with you twerps!

Monkey Island was good, but I'd rather play:

1) Full Throttle
2) Sam n Max
3) Day of the Tenticle
4) Grim Fandango
....then Monkey Island :P

And does anyone remember the Kyrandia series? It was pretty rockin too.

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:48 am
by Beelzebozo
I would recommend Day of the Tentacle, Sam n Max and especially the first two Monkey Island games. I get a warm feeling inside just thinking about those games... :)

She will definetly like those. :wink:

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:50 am
by dougjustdoug
It's all about space quest! The space quest adventure games were quirky, fun and sometimes pretty challenging. Although the undisputed king by far is monkey island and monkey island 2. "They call me Cap'n Loogie"!

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:26 pm
by Gandhi
I placed an order for Psychonauts from EBGames. At $29.99, with $10 in-store rebate, I thought it was a good deal.

Thanks all for thier tips! :wink:

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:48 pm
by emkubed
Gandhi wrote:
I placed an order for Psychonauts from EBGames. At $29.99, with $10 in-store rebate, I thought it was a good deal.

Thanks all for thier tips! :wink:


Awesome, let us know how it is.

Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 4:11 pm
by Gandhi
Got the game for the PC. It is addicitive!!! In terms of gameplay, it is almost exactly like the game Beyond Good and Evil, so if you loved that game, you will like this one.

The best thing about this game is that the environments and characters are so lovingly created. Sure it does not have the high-zoot graphics of Doom 3 or Half Life 2, but it has more personality then both those games combined (yes, even Half Life 2).

I highly recommend this game. It has some platform elements, but that is really not the point of the game. It is more about exploration and puzzle solving. And the sense of humor comes through time and again.

About half way through the game now, and the best level so far is **spoiler** where you become Goggolor. The developers make fun of every Godzilla cliche used in moveis so far and take it up another level.

ANd yes, my wife likes the game a lot. But since it is a platformer, and we have a keyboard and mouse, she gets a bit frustrated by the controls and has not progressed as far as I have. There is probably about 20-25 hours of gameplay, if you choose to solve all the puzzles and not just run through.

Buy this game if for no other reason then to support developers who have the guts to produce something unique and interesting, rather than churning out sequel after sequel for the same tired IP. Picked it up from EBGames for $35, with a $10 in-store coupon. No complaints from me.

Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 3:20 am
by Beelzebozo
Best part of Psychonauts is the humour. :D

Every time you free some 'emotional baggage', it brings a smile on my face. :)

Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 7:04 pm
by Jebus
I'd love to play this game, but like I said earlier, I really disliked the controls. If I could personalize them more, it would be awesome. Looks great tho.