Most folks are familiar with Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Or, more accurately, they are familiar with the family-friendly, Disney-fied versions of Grimm’s Fairy Tales that have been made into popular movies over the years.
Yet the Brothers Grimm, who originally wrote their dark fairy tales in German in the 19th century, had far darker visions than the versions traditionally passed down by Walt Disney and Company. In fact, most of them would seem like appropriate bedtime tales for Jack the Ripper and Adolph Hitler, rather than visitors to Disney World.
American McGee’s Grimm plays off both the dark origins of these tales, and their popularized, less-frightening versions. The game, which is being distributed in three seasons of eight episodes each, via GameTap, allows players to take control of Grimm, a dwarf who has the ability to bring darkness to everything around him. He uses this ability to transform Disney-fied fairy tales into their darker German counterparts, to effects that are at once both amusing and scary.
At its heart, American McGee’s Grimm is more or less a platform-style of game delivered in brief, half-hour bursts that keep the action flowing and are not allowed to drag, which heightens the overall entertainment value. The gameplay emphasized keeping Grimm moving and converting objects in the game to their darker versions; he does this by means of a butt-stomp kind of move, and doing it enough increases his “Dark-O-Meter,” which allows him to convert more and bigger objects.
American McGee, by the way, is better known as American James McGee, and is one of the original designers of the first two versions of both Doom and Quake. He worked for Electronic Arts for a while before going independent, and now works through his development house, Spicy Horse, which is using the Unreal Engine 3 in the making of Grimm. Still, the system requirements are not very high and even most notebook computers should be able to handle the game.
Aside from the platforming genre, Grimm generally falls under the growing new category of so-called “casual” gaming, a trend sparked in part by the Katamari games, to which Grimm compares in mostly-favorable ways. That means that Grimm is not a hardcore-gamers paradise, full of complex moves and keyboard combinations; instead, it is a relatively easy game to play, and the focus is more on experiencing the story than conquering difficult levels.
So far, American McGee’s Grimm is well on its way through its first season; episodes already released include A Boy Learns What Fear Is, Little Red Riding Hood, The Fisherman and His Wife, Puss in Boots, and The Girl Without Hands. Still to come are Godfather Death, The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs and Beauty and the Beast, which concludes Season One, and will be released on Thursdays between September 4-18.
The distribution model for Grimm is unique; each episode is available to play for free on GameTap for 24 hours each Thursday; after that, they must be purchased for a small fee, or continue to be available to paid GameTap subscribers. American McGee has also confirmed he is considering releasing Grimm to the Xbox 360 platform via Xbox Live; no mention of PS3 or Wii releases have been made to date.
The graphics are stylistic and fun; the gameplay is easy to pick up and enjoy; and the episodes are brief enough to hold one’s attention from beginning to end, without a break, since they only average about 30 minutes per episode anyway.
As a unique idea in the market, well-executed, American McGee’s Grimm is an enjoyable, if somewhat disturbing at times, offering. Currently unrated, the content is likely to eventually fall somewhere between E10 for everyone ages 10 and up, to perhaps T for Teen. The graphical charm, clever tales and unique concept make American McGee’s Grimm worth a look for most gamers.
