"I bet Nostradamus didn't see this coming"

If there's anyone who can make a charming, genuinely funny and utterly involving point-and-click adventure, it's LucasArts. This may not be as long as Sam and Max, and it's not nearly as varied, but I found it to be a little tighter.

The story is a truly bizarre one, and wouldn't look out of place in a B-movie. A disgruntled tentacle drinks some toxic waste by a professor's motel, resulting in him growing arms. These new arms (and perhaps some side effects from the toxic waste) make this tentacle (Purple) want to take over the world. The professor finds out what has happened and ties Purple tentacle, and his innocent and disapproving friend Green up in his lab, but not before green can write a letter. He writes to his old friend Bernard (Currently a stereotypical college nerd. Pens in the breast pocket and thick rimmed glasses? You bet) to come and fix things. So Bernard goes along to the motel with his airhead friend Laverne and punk rocker Hoagie. Here they separate, and Bernard frees the tentacles, soon after realising that purple tentacle has run away and is continuing hid bid for world domination. Oops.

But the trouble doesn't end there. The Professor (Ed Edison) is furious. He decides that the only way to clear up this mess is to turn off the toxic waste tap that Purple drunk from..... YESTERDAY! (I'm only quoting the game). So to increase chances of survival, he sends Bernard, Hoagie and Laverne all back in time to yesterday in separate bathroom stalls acting as time machines. BUT. But the crystal he used to power his time machine was cheap and breaks down while the three are travelling time. This causes Hoagie to land back at the motel 200 years in the past, Laverne to get to the motel 200 years in the future and Bernard to end up exactly where they started.

More plot? Yes. Purple tentacle is still on the rampage (Your game is often interrupted with clips of spinning newspapers where a 'mysterious triangle shaped villain' will have tipped some cows) and without a new diamond for the time machine, you can't do anything about it. So you must figure out a way to get Laverne and Hoagie back to present day AND get a new high quality crystal for the time machine.

In DOTT, you take control of all three characters, albeit not right from the start. Progress through a certain bit with Bernard, and the option to switch to Hoagie will come up. Do the same with Hoagie, and the option to play as Laverne will come up. You can switch freely between any of the characters at any point in the game, and you can also swap items between each other.

The game follows the usual Point and click rules. A big options menu decorates the bottom of the monitor, with options like 'pick up' and 'open'. Also along the bottom are all the items you have collected, use them or just have the characters' personal opinions of them by looking at them. It's all point and click puzzles as well, so if you've been spoiled by Sam and Max's carnival or golf mini-games, you may be disappointed. But if you do want some clever, surreal and superbly original challenges thrown at you (Dressing an old mummy up to enter into a human show for instance, but not before you've got your main rival unfairly disqualified).

And this is where DOTT shines so brightly, the presentation of it's tasks. Helping Ben Franklin in his studies, ruining the sculpture of an identical twin or simply pushing an old lady down the stairs, it's all fun and never gets old. It's not easy either, some bits will have you thinking for ages, but you'll never be really stuck. This gives the game a pleasantly easy going pace, without being too easy.

The use of different time periods throws up some excellent ideas too. Like putting a bottle of wine in a time capsule in the past, so when it is uncovered in the future by Laverne, it has turned to vinegar. I won't spoil any more puzzles like I did just now, but I will say that overcoming an obstacle in DOTT is immensely rewarding. Not just for the feeling of achievement either, oh no. You are rewarded with hilarious cut scenes, fantastic items to play with (a cat painted to look like a skunk anyone?) and some brilliantly defined characters to interact with (The impatience and pompousness of the sculptor and model twins, and the eerily calm (but not always calm) insanity of the stamp collector are great examples).

So it's not genius puzzles or a deep moving plot that makes DOTT a timeless classic, it's undeniable enthusiasm and character. Even recurring characters who don't say one thing in the whole game are memorable. Who could forget Ted the Mummy or the long-suffering hamster? To find out who these strange sounding people are, you must play the game yourself. It's always funny, charasmatic and inventive. If you've ever played a point-and-click game before and liked it then you just have to sample this game's delights. And if you're looking to get into the genre, I couldn't suggest a better start than this. It eases you into everything gently, and is relatively (although never disappointingly) simple.

It's an old game though, so if you're the kind of person who goes on looks alone, then you may frown upon this. It's not shoddily done or ugly at all. It just pales in comparison to modern 3-d additions to the genre, like Escape from Monkey Island. Still, the environments are attractive and pleasingly detailed. The game's character animation is outstanding, as full of personality as the game itself. Watching Bernard raise his eyebrows or seeing the disturbing smile Laverne makes when she catches her cat won't fail to make you laugh. It is all drawn in a very cartoony style, fitting in with the game's nature perfectly.

The sound is almost as much of a high point as the gameplay. The music is actually very good. Each character has their own jingle which plays whenever you switch to play as them. And I can remember them all. Vividly. Laverne's music is perfect for her character especially. Comedic overplayed sound effects are also present and (thankfully) correct. But the best part of the sound, by far, is the voices. Stuffed with overacted stereotyping (While not being stereotypical overall) and enthusiasm. This, along with the character animation and the personality in dialogue, rounds off the characters to be a whole host of freaks that will never leave you.

It's by no means a short game, but it still ends sooner than I'd like it to. It doesn't feel rushed or padded anywhere though, so this could have been because I was having so much fun. Perhaps some tougher puzzles and more advanced character development would have helped the length of the game. But as it stands, the abrupt finish is the only thing wrong I could find with this solid and splendidly engrossing point and click game. Oh, and if all that doesn't grab your interest, there's an old classic hidden in here too.

Two Legs good
+ Never EVER boring
+ Consistently and genuinely funny
+ The best voice acting money can buy
+ filled to the brim with character
+ Never takes itself seriously
+ Strangely enough, the plot developments are quite compelling
+ Commendably inventive
+ Uses it's premise excellently
+ Good multi-character system
+ You'll have no problem about playing through it all again
+ A whole other game is hidden within (This isn't a metaphor)

One tentacle bad
- Not short, but not long enough.
- Dated graphics
- It's a Point and click, so no stuff to unlock or alternative routes to take.
- It's all point and click puzzles, so if you want Sam and Max style mini-games, then you'll have to get, well, Sam and Max.

If you like this....
Sam and Max: Bigger and arguably better.
King's Quest V or VII: Still slightly light-hearted, but more fantasy style point and clickers.
Any of the monkey Island games: A lot deeper than this game, but just as funny (In very VERY different ways)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/01, Updated 09/29/01