Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People - Episode 5: 8-Bit is Enough
Video Game review by Sombrero Grande
The epic that is Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People concludes with the fifth installment, entitled 8-Bit is Enough. And, boy, does the series go out with a bang... a bang that unleashes the fan-favorite, fire-breathing dragon that is Trogdor the Burninator all over the world of Strong Bad and Homestar Runner.
Strong Bad, evading the wrath of unhappy viewers of Dangeresque 3, accidentally further damages his long-time inoperable Trogdor! video game machine. His attempt to repair it unwittingly tears the very fabric of reality (as these kind of things tend to do in cartoons) and merges the video game world with the "real" world of Free Country U.S.A. You must guide Strong Bad through multiple parodies of video game genres on this point-and-click adventure that is perhaps the funniest of the series and certainly the most creative.
If you're a fan of old-school video games (like the guys at HomestarRunner.com obviously are) and enjoy the antics of Strong Bad or Trogdor, you have no reason not to pick up 8-Bit is Enough. The parodies and gags in 8-Bit is Enough are a hoot for old-school video game fans (if you get the reference "A Winner is You," you'll really get a kick out of this game) and the classic point-and-click, puzzle-solving gameplay is as solid as ever.
While each episode in the SBCG4AP series makes passing references to the others, they're all individual stories unto themselves. 8-Bit is Enough is no exception, but is more fun when you've had a chance to at least try the other episodes first. Why? Well, every episode contains a small mini-game done in old-school 8-bit style. In 8-Bit is Enough, each of those games ends up playing a role in this final story, as Strong Bad must venture into the games or at least team up with their protagonists, such as the Snake Boxer or Math Kickers, along the way. Strong Bad even gets to experience the new mini-game in this episode, Gel-Arshie's Pro Fruitboarder, both inside the game and out.
But there's more game worlds to explore than just the ones that have already show up in SBCG4AP episodes. The whole Videlectrix catalog explodes into Free Country U.S.A., including many from the web site, including Peasant's Quest, Stinkoman 20X6, Kid Speedy, and, of course, Trogdor!
It's hard to say if 8-Bit is Enough is the best episode of the series, but it's easy to declare that it's a very fun and funny installment in a series already packed with fun, funny installments. The more you know about the Homestar Runner universe, old-school video games (and particularly the new, old-style games on HomestarRunner.com) and point-and-click adventures, the more you'll enjoy this game. Experience with the previous episodes of SBCG4AP is good to have, but not required.
8-Bit is Enough is now available for the Wii (downloadable through the Wii Shop Channel for 1,000 Wii Points) or you can pick up the whole "season" of five episodes for your PC here for $34.95.
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