Review: Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People - 8-Bit is Enough (PC)

Mon, Dec 15, 2008

8bit-title With the fifth and final episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People now published for PC and WiiWare, Telltale Games' latest episodic series has reached the end of its debut season. By now, if you've been following the games, you need no introduction to the series' staples: point-and-click adventure puzzles, 3-4 hours in length, plays just like an extra-long Homestar Runner cartoon. SBCG4AP hasn't deviated far from the formula it established back in Homestar Ruiner, but that formula hasn't grown stale, either, thanks to a handful of creative new puzzles in each episode, and the continued presence of H*R's hilarious cast.

The season's final entry, "8-Bit is Enough," holds true to everything we've come to expect from SBCG4AP thus far, with one exception: more fanservice. If you thought the inside jokes and references were thick in Dangeresque 3, that was just the beginning; 8-Bit is Enough is a game that relies almost completely on pre-existing jokes, established premises, and cultural literacy both inside and outside of the H*R universe. It's nearly a detriment, in fact -- the game has been crammed so full of humor and throwaway gags, that it largely forgets to tell a story. 8-Bit is Enough is designed for players who will "get it," and makes very little concession to the uninitiated. If you happen to be the target audience, mind you, this game is perhaps the funniest thing you have ever played, story or not.

8bit-arcade Matt & Mike Chapman, creators of Strong Bad and Homestar Runner, have long contended that video games were a central part of their upbringing, and those influences pervade their work in many areas. As can be deduced from the game's title, 8-Bit is Enough relies fairly heavily on video game humor, deriving its entire plot and nearly every single puzzle from the tropes and cliches of our favorite hobby. The game's premise revolves around Strong Bad's "Trogdor" arcade cabinet, which malfunctions in such a way that its titular dragon escapes the machine and begins wreaking all manner of havoc and burnination. Strong Bad, naturally, needs to repair the machine to stop Trogdor's rampage, which requires him to enter the world of games -- where extra lives are plentiful, save points are physical objects, and scorpions and thrown barrels are a major concern.

One might imagine that such humor would have a very broad audience; surely anyone playing the SBCG4AP game is the right demographic for game humor. 8-Bit is Enough narrows its focus, however: while some of the jokes require only a basic knowledge of video game culture to properly appreciate, the majority of the jokes are centered around H*R's specific interpretation of video game cliches. The various game worlds that Strong Bad explores are based off of the universe's Videlectrix catalog, including Peasant's Quest and Stinkoman 20X6 -- games which are, themselves, parodies of King's Quest and Mega Man. 8-Bit is Enough makes jokes about jokes about videogames, relying on a level of meta-humor engineered for a select few.

8bit-mainframe These jokes, on the plus side, are nothing short of hysterical. Between Stinkoman's poorly-translated taunts, Rather Dashing's self-awareness of his failures against Trogdor, and Marshie's baffling commercial tie-in game, longtime fans are in for plenty of laughs. The game's non-Videlectrix jokes, too, are terrific -- moments such as Homestar as an annoying in-game helper who shouts "Hey! Listen!" and Coach Z being assaulted by pixelated scorpions will put a smile on any gamer's face. If nothing else, 8-Bit is Enough is an excellent reminder of how consistently good the humor has been in SBCG4AP; while some puzzles or gameplay elements might have been sub-par, the series has always been funny, and that's certainly still the case here.

On the other hand, it can't be ignored that the plot for 8-Bit is Enough is probably the weakest of the series. Simply put, there's barely a plot at all, which really seems like an omission for the season's final episode. I'm not saying that a Strong Bad game needs to tell the next Tale of Two Cities, but consider the season finales from Telltale's other series, Sam & Max Seasons 1 and 2. Sam & Max never told an incredible story beyond "The mafia is making hypnotic toys" or "Germany has vampires," but at the end of a run, there has been some form of closure -- some sort of ending sequence to tie up the season's (admittedly thin) overall storyline. SBCG4AP has never really played at having any sort of overarching plot, but the fact that 8-Bit is Enough barely has an ending, story-wise, more or less confirms that plot-hungry gamers need not apply. The game employs humor for its own sake. Still, if you're just here for the humor anyway, this probably won't bother you.

8bit-strong-sad Gameplay-wise, 8-Bit is Enough does an excellent job. The series' puzzles had started to get overly difficult in Dangeresque 3, but I never found myself frustrated by the puzzles in this title. It's perhaps slightly surreal to be playing a game whose challenges revolve around playing games, but this does keep the puzzles and their solutions on the intuitive side. Still, at times, some of the puzzles may even seem overly simple, due either to bugs or the game's own hand-holding. At least once, I attempted to use an item improperly, causing Strong Bad to reply, "I think Strong Sad would want this," long before I had even encountered Strong Sad or had any idea why he would want the object in question. For the most part, though, the puzzles in 8-Bit is Enough are typical, straightforward adventure fare: an inventory full of "Tab A" items in a world full of clearly marked "Slot B" locations, requiring little to no guesswork.

In addition, with the premise revolving around playing video games, players can expect a few mini-games and game-centric extras, which are executed quite nicely. Gamers will want to visit the actual Videlectrix and H*R sites if they wish to play the extended versions of Stinkoman or Trogdor, but 8-Bit is Enough deviates from the standard point-and-click mechanics in a number of fun ways -- including an endgame sequence that has to be seen to be believed.

I must mention that I'm a little disappointed not to see Teen Girl Squad make a final appearance in this final episode, but it seems Telltale did hear at least one of my prior complaints: Early in the game, the Taranchula Black Metal Detector is actually broken and destroyed. Thank you.

8bit-stinkoman The final verdict for 8-Bit is Enough is one you've heard before, applied to every other episode of SBCG4AP: If you're a big fan of Homestar Runner, it would be a serious shame not to get this game, since it was designed specifically for you. If you're not, there's a good chance this game will still make you laugh, and by the end of the adventure, you'll be a little more experienced in the strange and wonderful ways of the H*R universe. Even if the humor is heavily self-referential, it's tough to fault the game for that -- even if you'd never heard of Strong Bad before SBCG4AP came along, you've still had four prior games to get to know him by this point.

It's always a bittersweet thing when any favorite serial entertainment reaches a season finale. There may have been high points and low points, yet, generally, it's been a good ride -- but the ride is over for now, and the loyal fan is in for a long, long wait before seeing anything new from the characters and world he has come to enjoy.

8bit-burninating SBCG4AP is a somewhat special case, of course; it's based on an existing, current serial entertainment, which still provides new material nearly every week at the H*R website, so fans don't need to wait until next summer for new Strong Bad hilarity. Still, from a gamer's standpoint, I know I'll certainly miss Strong Bad's monthly interactive adventures, and will be keeping my fingers crossed that the network chooses to renew the series.