Day of the Tentacle

K. Fields
2009-01-25T17:35:27-05:00
Video Games

I made it through to the end of Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle. Adventure Gamers chose it as #1 in their Top 20 Adventure Games of All-Time. They stated “Day of the Tentacle, not a doubt in my mind, is the ultimate adventure game, the greatest ever.” Because of such high praise, I really looked forward to playing the game. I haven’t played a ton of adventure games but I’ve tried a fair number of them. I am inclined to agree with Adventure Gamers. Day of the Tentacle is an absolute masterpiece. Everything is top-notch from the story, the animation, the voice acting, and the puzzles.

The game features three controllable characters that you can switch between throughout the game: Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne. With these characters, you have to manage three separate inventories across three time periods (18th century, 20th century, and 22 century). This creative twist made the game more challenging but very enjoyable. There are some wacky puzzles and I had to resort to on-line hints at several points.

Day of the Tentacle delivered a thoroughly enjoyable experience as great as watching some of the finest and funniest cartoons.