Adventure Manian Mansion 1

Twenty years earlier, a meteor crashed on the grounds of a mansion, waking up its inhabitants. Now, in the present day, you and two friends have come to the house, because you are sure your friend Sandy was kidnapped by the evil Dr. Fred who lives in the house.

As the player, you get to pick two friends to accompany you. Each friend will have special abilities, which will allow you to tackle certain of the puzzles in specific ways, depending on who you choose. Bernard, for instance, is a bit of a geek, and he will be able to repair a radio. But, he is also somewhat of a coward, and thus runs away screaming when he encounters one of the tentacles that live in the house.

Michael, on the other hand, is an aspiring photographer, and will be able to develop some film later.

The game leads you through the house, and introduces you to the people (and other lifeforms) living there bit by bit, at times interlacing the story with cut scenes. You will be able to manipulate a lot of the environment, and use a lot of the items you find to further your search for Sandy. As you go, you will learn what happened to the meteor and why Dr. Fred abducted Sandy.

Maniac Mansion was one of the first Lucasfilm games I got to try when I was younger, and the first to employ the use of the SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) engine. That same Engine would later on be used in a bunch of other Lucasfilm games, including Zak McKracken, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the Monkey Island series.

The GOG version of the game contains both the original (EGA) as well as the updated VGA version of the game. The adventure itself is not changed; the graphics just got an overhaul.