Popular Adventures That Promise Epic Fun

By AARON CURTISS

Dec. 14, 1998 12 AM PT

At least since the days of Gilgamesh, the human story has been told through epic adventures. Somewhere in the tales of heroism lie truths that help us understand what it is to be human and how we fit in the universe.

Big concepts.

Happily, they are absent from this winter’s hottest video adventure games. All three--”Grim Fandango” for PC, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” for Nintendo 64 and “Tomb Raider III” for Sony PlayStation--offer epic tales of love, corruption, heroism and redemption.

But rather than think about my humanity or my humble place in the universe as I played, all I could think about was how awesome two of these three are.

The other one? Well, we’ll get to that. But “Grim Fandango” and “Zelda” shine because their adventures remind us that the world need not be so serious and heavy all the time.

For instance, “Grim Fandango” deals with perhaps the most serious and heavy subject around: death. Even so, the game’s gentle wit, preposterous premise, riveting play and enchanting story somehow make the Grim Reaper seem like a guy who’s just down on his luck.

Players assume the role of Manny Calavera, a travel agent in the Land of the Dead. I know it sounds ridiculous and explaining it is almost impossible. But imagine a cross between “Casablanca” and “Glengarry Glen Ross” starring papier-mache skeletons. And then throw in a few demonic beavers and some Beat poetry for good measure.

That’s “Grim Fandango.”

Manny shepherds souls to Paradise by selling them travel packages. Like any good salesman, he’s always looking for the right leads--souls whose lives merit passage on the No. 9, the train that saves four years of walking to Eternity. But all he gets are the deadbeats. So he’s stuck in a dead-end job with no hope of moving on to Paradise himself.

That’s where this tale, by the same team responsible for “Full Throttle,” starts. Over time, Manny realizes all is not well in the Land of the Dead and joins up with the resistance movement. During the next four years, he embarks on an adventure that offers one last shot at redemption.

Spread over two discs, the game shines with details that make play smooth and enjoyable. For instance, when Manny sees an item he can use or someone he can talk to, his head turns ever so slightly. It’s subtle, but it sure beats interfaces that require players to click madly on every item and every person in every room.

Particularly when played with a joypad such as Microsoft’s Sidewinder Pro Pad, “Grim Fandango” is easy to control. Inventory controls are smooth. Manny keeps everything in his jacket. Environments are rich, featuring an eclectic cross between Art Deco and Mayan architecture.

Sadly, the game may be out of reach for many players. Even on my Pentium II 333, the game sometimes slowed down and load times seemed excessive. The base system requirements are a Pentium 166 with 32 megabytes of RAM, but I shudder to think how the game plays at that level. Must be that Manny’s four-year adventure plays out in real time.

Players need not worry about load times or system requirements with “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.” That’s the advantage of Nintendo 64 and its cartridge-based architecture. The only limiting factor on players is the speed with which they move through the adventure.

That by itself takes time. Nintendo estimates “Zelda” has 100 hours of play burned into the cartridge. Who knows? I got the game before Thanksgiving and am still working my way through.

“Zelda,” quite frankly, is the game Nintendo 64 was built for. From graphics and music to play and story, it is the finest game to date for a system that depends too heavily on a few blockbuster titles. Although big games are few and far between, they make a big splash when they hit.

“Zelda” follows the adventures of Link, a forest person picked to save the land of Hyrule. With his fairy friend, Navi, Link sets off to save Princess Zelda and her land. Sure, it’s a tired story, but the execution is flawless.

Link moves perfectly. The camera follows play closely and players can adjust angles for specific situations. Control is made easier with on-screen prompts. For instance, the blue button takes on different functions in different situations. Like “Grim Fandango,” “Zelda” alerts players when there’s something of interest. So when Link needs to talk to someone, the blue button on the screen will flash TALK. Pressing the blue button launches a conversation.

Features like that make the game instantly playable. Even novices like my wife could move Link around and get him to perform simple tasks. Expert players shouldn’t mind the prompting either because the environments are so big and full of things to explore.

Graphically, the game is without peer. Creative light sourcing generates spooky effects, and never does the game engine slow down. Even with multiple enemies attacking at once, movement was smooth.

“Zelda” was worth the wait.

“Tomb Raider III,” although cool, was not. “Tomb Raider II” has been out for less than a year, and not much seems to have changed during that time.

Except that I’ve gotten sick of Lara Croft. Managing exposure is a critical element of being a celebrity. Lara Croft’s human handlers have turned the digital diva into her own franchise, and she is in serious risk of wearing out her welcome.

Remember, this is a video game. I don’t care how cool Lara Croft is if the game in which she stars is a dog. Control is as frustrating as ever.

Times staff writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games every Monday in The Cutting Edge. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send e-mail to aaron.curtiss@latimes.com.

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ESSENTIALS

Title: “Grim Fandango”

Platform: PC

Publisher: LucasArts

ESRB* Rating: Teen

Price: $39.95

Bottom Line: “Casablanca” meets “Glengarry Glenross” in the Land of the Dead

Title: “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”

Platform: Nintendo 64

Publisher: Nintendo

ESRB* Rating: Everyone