Maniac Mansion
| Developer: Lucasfilm | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Lucasfilm | Sound: |
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| Year: 1989 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Adventure | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
Dave teams up with two of his buddies to rescue his girlfriend, Sandy, who’s been kidnapped by the mad scientist, Dr. Fred.
Behind this goofy plot lies a cult classic packed with off-the-wall humour and groundbreaking innovations. Originally released two years earlier on the Commodore 64, it’s the first adventure game, as far as I know, to feature a point-and-click interface (you interact with the environment by clicking the mouse instead of typing commands, as was the norm before). Other novelties include constant animations and screen scrolling. The game’s engine, SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion), was later used in future LucasArts titles like Loom and The Secret of Monkey Island.
But Maniac Mansion’s originality isn’t just technical. Compared to other games of its kind, it’s far less linear. You can tackle puzzles in nearly any order, sometimes with different solutions, depending on which friends you pick to accompany you (at the start of the game, you choose two sidekicks from a pool of six). This encourages multiple playthroughs to see all the endings (nine in total!). One last quirk—though not everyone’s a fan—you can die! And so can your companions.
If a modern take interests you, let me introduce you to Unavowed (PC, 2018).
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