When Maniac Mansion hit the shelves in 1987, nothing like it had been seen before. The unique use of humor, character personalities, and a cutscene driven gameplay made it an instant classic.

The Maniac Mansion game engine, known as SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) revolutionized the adventure genre, by allowing the player to navigate and explore the environment by simply clicking. The engine would be used by LucasArts for more than 10 years.

Maniac Mansion wasn't a hit just because it was easy to play. It featured many new gameplay elements, that would become the basis of most modern videogames. Maniac Mansion features 7 playable characters, a concept that was very new at the time. From this group of 7 characters (all of which have different abilities and personalities), the player creates a team of 3 to raid the mansion. By using the strengths of the members of the team, the player progresses through the story. The games features multiple endings (which would become common in more modern games) and a plethora of secrets.

Most notably, Maniac Mansion was one of the first games to capture the feel of a movie. The personalities of the games characters, along with the elaborate use of cutscenes creates a feel that previously was only found in movies. Creating a movie-like experience would become the focus of many modern videogames.

Even though Maniac Mansion would introduce many new game elements that would become common in videogames, it remains very unique nearly 20 years after its release. This is mainly due to the comedic elements. Maniac Mansion is filled with tongue-in-cheek humor, that typically never finds its way into a videogame. Decades after its release, Maniac Mansion still remains a breath of fresh air.

Thanks to some fans of this classic, a remake of Maniac Mansion has been created, that runs on more modern Windows systems. It's an excellent remake.
Check out Maniac Mansion Deluxe.