Day
of the Tentacle Remastered
Genre: Adventure -
Point-and-click - Sci-fi
Works on: Windows (7,
8, 10) and Mac OS X (10.7+)
Languages: Audio and
text: Deutsch, English. Text only: español, français, italiano
Released: March 22,
2016
Company: Double Fine
Productions / Double Fine Productions
Minimum system
requirements - Windows: 7 / 8 / 10
Processor: 1.7 GHz
Dual Core
Memory: 2 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA
GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon 4870 HD, Intel HD 3000, or equivalent card
with at least 512 MB VRAM
DirectX Version: 9.0
Disk Space: 2.5 GB
Sound Card: DirectX
Compatible Sound Card
Additional Notes: Must
have OpenGL 3 with GLSL version 1.3
Recommended system
requirements - Windows: 7 / 8 / 10
Processor: Intel Core
2 Duo at 2.2 GHz, AMD Athlon 64 2.2 GHz
Memory: 3 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA
GeForce GTX 460, AMD Radeon HD 6850
DirectX Version: 11
Disk Space: 2.5 GB
Sound Card; DirectX
Compatible Sound Card
Additional Notes: Must
have OpenGL 3 with GLSL version 1.3
For Mac:
Minimum system
requirements - Mac: Lion 10.7 or later
Processor: Intel Core
Duo
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon
HD 4850, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, Intel HD 3000, or equivalent card with
at least 512 MB VRAM
Storage: 2500 MB
available space
Additional Notes: Must
have OpenGL 3 with GLSL version 1.3
Recommended system
requirements - Mac: El Capitan 10.11
Processor: Intel Core
i series processor
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 2500 MB
available space
Storage: 2500 MB
available space
Sound Card: Compatible
Sound Card
Additional Notes: Must
have OpenGL 3 with GLSL version 1.3.
I played this remaster
of an old classic using the GOG drm-free version, which did not offer
any bugs, glitches or frustrations that sometimes appear in games. I
will admit I never played the original, so Day of the Tentacle was a new
experience. I’ll trust the developers comments that the game remains
true to its twenty year old foundations. I’ll also complain about the
lack of a manual, though in-game instruction pages are included once you
begin play.
Mechanics
The interface offers
several controls you find by pressing the spacebar or hitting the ESC
key. The resulting screen allows you to select the following: New
Game, Bonus, Options, Quit, Resume, Load, and Save. Clicking on
Options is where you find what substitutes for a manual. Under
How To Play there are six pages explaining game navigation. Other
tabs, Controls, Settings, and Credits allow you to tweak
your game. You can choose to play the original pixelated classic, which
offers an interesting exercise to compare the old versus new. I did not
see any way where you could tweak graphics settings.
It is a mouse driven
third person cartoon game, retaining the old Verb style selections when
you right click on an object. A circle appears with multiple choices
such as Use, Look, Take, Cancel, Open, Close, and Give.
You simply highlight your verb to have the character take the action you
deem appropriate.
I’ll save you the
trouble of what has become a major frustration, the hunt for the elusive
save folder. It is located on Windows 7 at (Users\Name\AppData\Roaming\Doublefine\Day
of the Tentacle) I found no limit on saves, though I admit I did not
have that many. The game also autosaves.
The background music
and sounds are good, as is the voice action. I found nothing regarding
these essentials as problematic. If you switch from classic to
remastered mode, you will notice the differences, as in addition to
graphics, voice and music both have a makeover. I found the graphics to
be very good and well worth experiencing after viewing the original.
The Story/ Gameplay
What can I say? It is,
funny, irreverent, and silly in the mold of Sam and Max with a touch of
Gobliiins. There are many laugh out loud moments. I can imagine some of
you are like me and never experienced this game. You ask what is it
about? I’ll offer a basic outline. The Day of the Tentacle follows three
main characters who travel through time trying to save the world from an
evil Tentacle. Bernard, a nerd, Hoagie, who struck me as a cool or hip
dude and Laverne, a ditzy medical student are your protagonists or
heroes. A purple tentacle created by a mad scientist drank toxic sludge
and decided for some reason that he is set for global domination.
Dr. Fred Edison, his
creator, recruits our three heroes to stop him. To do so they have to go
back in time and shut off the sludge machine, thereby preventing Purple
Tentacle from drinking the sludge. It sounds simple enough, except as
often happens something goes wrong. The time machine sends each
character into a different era, Laverne in the future, while Hoagie is
200 years behind, and Bernard remains in the present. You play each
character switching from one to another when you complete the task for
the character you are currently playing.
Puzzles follow the
basic rule of pick up everything, often combining items in your
inventory. To access inventory, click an arrow on the lower left of the
screen, found by sweeping your mouse. Puzzles may make use of the
characters being in different time periods.
For example, you need
something not available in the 18th century. The remedy have someone
drop an item into a time capsule. Then another character alters it in
the another time and sends back to the past.
There are no quick
action or sudden death events. You can take your time, even when
speaking with a group of feuding founding fathers. Yes, George
Washington makes an appearance. You will find another unexpected
addition to this game. Do you recall the old game, Maniac Mansion? When
playing Day of the Tentacle you can actually play a full version of that
game on a console appearing as an ancient computer. I suppose I’ll have
to go back and try it. That is another game I missed. The surprises just
keep coming.
Conclusions
If you are looking for
a fun diversion, or a chance to play an old classic without having to
set up various aids such as ScummVM or DOSBox in order to get a working
copy on a modern machine, this game is for you. DOTT is a fun nostalgic
trip into the past, remastered for today’s advanced machines. I dare say
it is one not to be missed. There is another bonus offered during
startup. You can listen to the Developers comments. You may want to
enable this to get an idea of what they were thinking.
GameBoomers Review Guidelines
March 2016
design copyright© 2016
GameBoomers
Group
