During my first visit, to the deep and wild heart of the land of Free Town, USA, I was caught entirely unaware by what I eventually saw. This time, I assured myself, I would not be caught unprepared for the the unpredictable events I was about to see: unfortunately, that didn’t quite work out. Due to the entirely unexpectedly stringent level of Free Townian customs all my preparations were undone in the blink of the eye. In fact I had to use Strong Bad’s computer to write this review…at least until the next e-mail arrives. That could be anytime now so let’s get to it without any further delay.
First, it has to be said that the land of Strongbadia has not yet fully settled down: terror has gripped it in the from of a malfunctioning game console that has launched Strong Bad himself on a quest of musical glory and widespread vandalism all for the restoration of the natural right to functioning gaming equipment. Moving Strong Bad through the game will take firm and decisive movements of the mouse, the sole means of navigation through the game. This method is so pointed that covers everything from person to person interaction, inventory control, and general movement. It is a venerable tool, true, but one that every gamer experienced with this genre will adapt to it with consummate ease.
All these characters, locations, and various items you collect are possessed of a bright and vivacious nature. You don’t get to see many more places then you saw in the last chapter, with the exception of the inside of Marzipan’s house, till near the end of the game and to tell what that surprise would simply be spoiling. Suffice to say, however, as you make your way through the game you will be impressed with the quality of the graphics and amused by the exaggerated features of the characters. Apart from some flashy moves pulled by Strong Bad at various moments during the game the graphics of the game haven’t been changed since the last episode but they still maintain their great level of quality. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
What also hasn’t changed in the Strong Bad series, but what remains enjoyable in its solid state, is the writing. It remains fresh and vibrant even though the game is in its third episode, and remains filled with appreciably cheap laughs and puns. Most of these one-liners come from the main character, Strong Bad himself, but he is assisted in a variety of sight gags by the rest of the gang: Strong Sad, Strong Mad, Marzipan, and all the rest. There’s also a special musical guest that, for risk of spoiling, again cannot be explained in further detail but rest assured that the voice acting still holds itself up to the previous standard left by the other two games in the series. The voice acting is also backed up very well with a well established range of sound effects and music that fully rounds out the ambiance of the game.
While the game is not repetitive, it can be a challenge to get through. The difficulty mainly stems from the puzzles which, which can get complicated in the middle of the game. This is because that you have to get yourself in the mindset of a short boxing glove wearing individual which, as you will see, is quite a tricky challenge. Once you’ve gotten into that mindset you will have little trouble figuring out what to do. Of course, when everything is fails, you simply have to try everything. As the game is good for about four hours of gameplay it is, of course, very linear in terms of play: once the game is done, however, there is an extended play mode that allows players to explore all the areas previously explored in the game to find other extras and up their score.
In the final summation, Baddest of the Bands is not the baddest(in the traditional sense) game but -is- the Baddest(in the modern sense) games that are currently out on the market. While being short and rather linear, it’s a four-hour-long period of gameplay that is packed full of enjoyment and laughs that that fans of the adventure genre, of Telltale’s other products, or of the other Strong Bad games will find much to enjoy about this one. Laughter and your chance at stardom…who can ask for more?
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