Ah there's that to consider.

Doesn't look like my GPU supports the remastered version anyway, so I'll sit out this one.

I hated the old controls on PC. I couldn't figure out why they went with that approach when the whole game would have worked perfectly well as a point-and-click. Looking at it now, I can see the developers would have needed to create and test an entirely separate input system to make that happen. It made more sense financially to develop a single input method for console and PC that was good enough for both, and that's what they did. Of course, knowing that doesn't erase the bad memories of maneuvering Manny with the keyboard.

Oooooh that might be enough to get me to pull the trigger on Massive Chalice... time to evaluate backlog and compile likelihood matrices for what I'm likely to play and when, compounded by desire for "GENRE X" type game vs. "GENRE Y."

Oh yeah because the high availability made it easy to get! The lack of materials they got to work with, they did a fine job with the re-release. It was nice to finally put my battered disc to rest. An item that most people do not have.

Um, you do realize that it was never released on anything else but PC.

Apparently not. I took it for granted they'd done a console release.

The control scheme makes some sense if they had their eye on porting it to game controllers after the PC release. For a standalone PC release it's a weird choice. I remember trying to figure out what direct control made possible that wasn't possible with point-and-click, and the only thing i came up with was added frustration.

Having discussed this (very briefly) with a friend of a girlfriend of a roommate back in the late 90s when the game was in the process of being created....

My understanding is they were thinking of "3d adventure" as a new beast. To be able to move about in the space reasonable, they didn't think just clicking would give the player reasonable control over the position or action.

Basically my impression is they were figuring out as they went along.

The retrofit demonstrates that the traditional input scheme does work OK for the game the ended up building, so in the end I think we can call it a failed experiment.

According to Tim Schafer, he thought tank controls would be more immersive, because you'd be concerned with orienting the character itself as opposed to referencing things in the window. Which just goes to show you that a developer who's amazing at writing isn't necessarily very good at understanding UI.

Well, I'll just leave this here:

I prefer Grim's old tank controls to the "new" mouse scheme. In fact, I think tank controls work much better with the game than what they did with the point & click interface. I'm glad it's there, since apparently I'm the only person in the whole wide world who actually prefers the old control scheme, and people have the right to choose, so, two thumbs up for including a new control scheme most players feel suits the game better, even though I personally don't.

As for the people on the fence about Grim Fandango: if you never played the original, buy this remaster. I understand how lots of folk would not recommend it or even get frustrated by the fact "the Grim Fandango they voted for on the GOG Community Wishlist is *not* Grim Fandango Remastered", but if you don't live in the US, UK or perhaps Germany, in which you can still find an original copy for a relatively cheap price, chances are you won't be able to find the original game, at least not for a decent affordable price, and to those I say: buy the Remastered edition. It's basically the same awesome game, yes, with pretty much nothing added, but to those who missed on Grim Fandango in the first place, it's still one of the best games ever made, and you're sure to have one hell of a time playing it -- amazing art direction, superb writing, clever humour, challenging puzzles, engaging characters and setting, probably one of the best video game sountracks ever made and a remarkable length for an oldschool adventure game, it has it all, and even in its original form it stands the test of time, so it looks even better with the revamped character models.

If you played the original and loved it the way I did, then I'd say buy it as well. It may not add anything special to the game we know and love, but the commentary and art galleries kind of make up for that. Plus, what would you actually add to a game that already has it all?! I mean... if it isn't broken, don't fix it. It's also more "convenient" to use and play than our old CD copies, which need a special launcher and some tinkering with files and whatnot.

I don't care about all the Double Fine hate; I can't talk much about Massive Chalice or Broken Age, but this is a great promo if only for Grim Fandango alone, and anyone remotely interested should get at least that one out of the three. I might purchase Broken Age, as I have it wishlisted for a long time, but I honestly don't care much for Massive Chalice (I don't really like or enjoy strategy games).

All the blind Double Fine hatred others seem to have aside, it's an awesome promo if you care about the games, and they have a pretty great discount as well, to boot.

Well, if internet comments are anything to go by, you're part of a pretty sizable group in preferring the "tank controls".
There's a bunch of people who sing their praises or at least believe there wasn't a problem.

I honestly didn't know about that, but it's kind of nice to know I'm not alone in this. :P (Though I was obviously exaggerating when I remarked that)

Yeah, that wasn't intended as a callout. It was pretty much supporting your position.

I've not yet gotten around to playing the game myself, despite downloading it to the macbook.

Massive Chalice.... Should I buy it?

Ugh, so GOG has been adding DRM, editing critical review(s?) of games, like Raizo886's review of http://www.gog.com/game/victor_vran and removing goodies, so that they can be sold separately.

Massive Chalice doesn't look to have any goodies in it, not even a pesky pdf manual, but you can buy the soundtrack for it!

but but developers/distributor wants it like that, says GOG, well frankly you should tell them to take a hike GOG.

I guess a lot of 3D adventure games bought into the same logic. And it's not a bad idea. Fluid 3rd-person controls give you more direct contact with a single character, as intended. But when the controls are cumbersome, they tackle you out of your immersion rather than carry you deeper into it.