The DIG:

Before you get into this review, I should make it clear that there is
a happy ending; I give it thumbs up in spite of all the whinging that
follows.

The game starts off really slowly, where you have to guide your character
around on a space shuttle mission to plant some nuclear bombs on an
asteroid to force a course change.  There's not much in the way of puzzles
here, you just "join the dots" and listen to the conversation between
the characters.  The conversation is pretty bland, almost like being
forced to listen to a military training course on good teamwork.

The game play picked up fairly quickly after this opening sequence; too
bad the conversation didn't.  If anything, the character interactions
and conversations got progressively worse throughout the game.  I was
actually wincing when I heard some of the lines spouting through my
speakers.

Graphics:
	Fairly low res, but very nice in places.  The subway trips
	were particularily pretty.

Plot:
	Fairly simple.  You got sent away somewhere, and you want to
	get back home.  Solve the alien puzzles until you succeed.
	There are actually a few fun items thrown in when you start
	talking to the aliens, so the plot is quite acceptable.

Characters:
	Awful doesn't even begin to describe it.  This game gives all
	the appearances of a Myst-like game which had some extra characters
	thrown in at the end to satisfy the Myst-haters.  I would have
	considered this a much better game if the other two characters
	in the game somehow got lost at the beginning.

Voices:
	Considering the crud they were forced to spout, the voice talents
	did a very good job.  No complaints there.

Puzzles:
	Nothing obnoxious, but there were a few where I resorted to
	the walkthrough.  No mazes, only one timed sequence, but it was
	easy enough even for me.

Highs:
	Some fairly interesting puzzles, and the aliens are actually
	rather fun.  Too bad the humans were so bad.
Lows:
	Characters added to a game that would work far better
	without them.  Hideous conversation, from characters you would
	rather not have met.

Final Score:

It's really hard to believe that The Dig was a LucasArts game.  It
has none of the humour of their other games; instead, it appears to
be an attempt to produce a serious space opera.  Instead, we are forced
to play through some of the most banal, sterotypical conversations I
have ever heard.

In spite of the irritating characters, it was a reasonably fun way to
waste my time.  I probably won't play it again, but I don't have the
urge to run out and sell it as soon as possible.

To plagiarize Ebert, I'll call it a marginal thumbs up.