Day Of The Tentacle was a product of its time yet, even today, possesses an appeal that will pull in even those who weren't born during the height of the early 90s PC Adventure Gaming Era. And the re-master does a good job applying just the right amount of polish while retaining the cartoony, two-dimensional style its remembered for. Even the sound, while fitted for modern PC stereo speakers, remains firmly entrenched in MIDI with no orchestral interpretation. That's not a bad thing. The story is still humorous as ever and the time-crossing antics of the beloved Bernard, Hoagie and Lavern, the off-kilter kookiness of the Edison Family, and the world conquering mechanisms of the evil Purple Tentacle will have you laughing, snickering, or even cracking a smile. And for the purists not to enamored with the modern graphical touch-ups, they have not one but many options available at their fingertips: Original, Pixelated Graphic Style with new interface, old-interface with new look, you name it. Just fiddle around, enter any combination you want, and enjoy. There's something for everyone. Yes, it's a great game that stands the test of time (no pun intended). However, and I'm probably a vocal minority in this, the voice acting is...not good. When I first played the CD-ROM edition, I admit bias slanted towards my interpretations of the floppy-disk text version, imagining what they'd sound like in my head. Still, I cannot bring myself to tolerate it even a little. The inflections and tones lack the sort of deadpan, straightness that would generate greater laughs from the punchlines. Instead, they miss the point entirely. Yes, how sacrilegious and blasphemous of me. That's only my opinion. Everything else is just right. Though I wish there was an option for text-only instead of turning the voice down to nothing. Perhaps I'll warm to them overtime. Until then, I'll enjoy the ride. So will you.
I'm familiar with this game, having experienced the original. So I was interested in this new take seeing as how it's using the engine from The Cat Lady (another game I enjoyed). Barely about fifteen to twenty minutes in the game and the graphics are what you expect befits the developer's style. Animations too. Except one really sore spot which explains the low rating: The Voice Acting. It. Is. HORRIBLE! How...how did such atrocious, below-par depictions, especially of the main character, make the final cut instead of tossed in favor of another take?!? Seriously! This is something you'd usually find in a dime-store budget, z-grade film. Tell me, how am I supposed to identify and even feel for the characters when I'm cringing in agony at their bad delivery of the dialogue? Every single emotional reaction, if any, is WRONG! Doesn't even match emotions illustrated by the facial expressions! For example at the beginning when he's having an argument with his wife. That's supposed to be ANGER?!? UGH! And that boy in the beginning. Don't even get me started! Worst of all is I recognize the voice actor behind the protagonist. He's capable and talented. So what happened here? His standards are better than this! Let this review serve as a warning: If you're expecting even decent acting, you're not going to find it here. Yes, two star review sounds harsh but you know what? If an adventure game like this relies on voice acting to draw the player in, then this grade school amateurish result is unacceptable. Apart from that, the story is still fine and intriguing. Play mechanics are similar to The Cat Lady so whether you love or hate it depends on that factor. I liked it. But there's no avoiding the terrible job they've done with the voice acting.
