Genuinely funny, and very clever. An excellent example of what a point and click adventure should be.
It's a sequel to the well crafted, and very funny Maniac Mansion. This games keeps everything that was great about Maniac Mansion, and makes it even better.
You play as one of three characters, whom you can, and must, switch between on the fly. These characters include Bernard, the nerdy hero that appeared in Maniac Mansion, Hoagie, the long haired metal rocker, and Laverne, the ditzy air head. Together you must stop he that is own as Purple Tentacle (who now has all that he needs to take over the world since a toxic mutation caused him to sprout arms). To do this, you must travel to the future using Dr. Fred Edison's port-a-potty time machines. Unfortunately when the 3 heroes entered their respective machines, there was a miscaculation. Bernard stayed in the present, Hoagie was sent to the past, and Laverne was sent to the future, and the power source for the machines was damaged unable to return the characters that are lost in time.
You spend much of the first part of the game just working to fix the time machines so that you can rejoin in the future to defeat purple tentacle. You do this by solving puzzles, and finding, combining & using items available to each character. You must work together by sharing items, which you can give back and forth to each other by flushing them through time. Once you do fix the time machines, it's time to go for another ride, and do what you were supposed to be doing in the first place.
The puzzles are clever, not to mention crazy, much like the characters you'll meet along the way. The point and click interface is easy to manage. You can navigate your inventory quickly, the items are simple to distinguish from each other, and using your treasure trove of junk is intuitive. The designers also did a wonderful job to encourage you to try anything. You can't lose the game via trial and error, only by giving up.
The writers even did a great job with continuity through the time periods; better then most sci-fi shows you'll find on TV. The art and design of the game is quite fitting, and very well done. The voice acting is top notch, and matches each character wonderfully.
What separates this game the most from others like it, is the humour that can be found everywhere. The conversations you'll have with a variety of characters, the environments, the activities; it's genuinely funny, and it's entertainment value is so much, you'll want to play it again even if you know all the puzzles off by heart. There's also lots of fun references for those that previously experienced Maniac Mansion, and a chance to replay the original game.
A great gem in gaming, that's as much fun today as it ever was. If you ever get the chance, pick up copy and give yourself a laugh and a rousing challenge. One of the best point-and-click adventure games available.