Friday, November 21, 2008
Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People - Episode 4: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective
Video Game review by Sombrero Grande
With Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People - Episode 4: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective comes not only the longest and most confusing video game name in history (as far as I know) but the long, long, long awaited third installment of the Dangeresque trilogy.
For the uninitiated, the Dangeresque trilogy is a movie series within a cartoon series at HomestarRunner.com. They're ultra-cheap, spy-oriented, action, "home" movies made by e-mail-checking anti-hero Strong Bad and his "friends." The third installment was originally promised for the summer of 2004 but has finally arrived as an adventure that you actively get to play through.
To jump into Episode 4: Dangeresque 3, you don't have to have played any of the previous episodes of Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People, nor be super-familiar with all aspects of the Homestar Runner universe (though both would be helpful). You should, however, have seen the previous two Dangeresque "movies," Dangeresque 2: This Time, It's Not Dangeresque 1 and Dangeresque 1: Dangeresque Too? (and yes, they are meant to be watched in that order).
In Dangeresque 3, Strong Bad reprises his role as the "world's greatest crooked cop," Dangeresque. Armed with his deadly nunchuck-gun, Dangeresque travels the world, from Venice to Strongborneo to The Stick, in his biggest mission ever. This time, his own partner, Dangeresque Too, may be working against him, requiring Strong Bad's sunglassed super spy to work together with his former nemeses.
The storyline plays off of loads of action movie cliches and everything is presented as though it was really being filmed with a home video camera. There are bad cuts, cheaply redressed locations that serve as "sets," and even times when the "camera" gets set down while the "actors" converse out of character. These are the best aspects of the game, setting this episode apart from its predecessors. The only negative is that, due to the game's nature as an old-school point-and-click adventure game, the pacing can get quite slow. While it can work well with other more methodical storylines, the creeping way the plot points unfold here runs in stark contrast to the action movie setting and magnifies the plodding feel.
If you're a Homestar Runner fan, "you're going to have to jump" and pick this game up pronto. Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People - Episode 4: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective is available now on Wii through the Wii Shop Channel (for a cost of 1,000 Wii Points) or here for the PC (for $8.95).
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