GrimE (Grim Edit) is the long-awaited follow up to LucasArts' SCUMM engine. Having reached version 8 with Curse of Monkey Island, the programmers at LucasArts decided that the endless updates and improvements to SCUMM had to come to an end, and so a whole new engine was required.
Grime debuted in Grim Fandango, and appeared again, in improved form, in Escape from Monkey Island - for the latter game, it was also ported to PlayStation 2. The new engine gives both those games a very different interface to previous adventure games from LucasArts, since point and click has been dispensed with altogether. Grime instead uses a keyboard interface, although many gamers have felt this to be clumsy and detracting from the desired pursuit of puzzle solving.
Grime-based games feature 3D characters on 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, although the resolution is still limited to 640x480. In this respect, Grime is no more advanced than the latest versions of SCUMM.
The second release of Grime, featured in Escape from Monkey Island, features a number of small improvements; a key to quickly exit a room, for example. However, the much-requested feature of a "quick turn" button, as seen in more recent Resident Evil installments, is still lacking.
If LucasArts develop any furthur graphic adventures, and it seems likely that they will, it will require a much improved version of Grime to satisfy disillusioned fans. The graphical improvements over Scumm are undeniable, but many will not be satisfied until a return to the classic point and click style has been implemented.