Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode 1 - Homestar Ruiner

The Good
There's a lot of good that comes from adventuring with Strong Bad and company in his first outing on WiiWare. Long-time fans are quite familiar with the titular character and his special brand of hijinks that come with it, and the game conveys that sense of mischief throughout its gameplay.

What gamers are offered for this and all the subsequent outings is a classic style "point and click" graphic adventure, similar to those early Lucasarts and Sierra titles. It's a matter of finding the right items to go with the right situations and characters. While some of it may seem a little nonsensical, it does fit in quite well within the world. Being a fan of the series does give something of an advantage as understanding the in-jokes does lead to easier problem solving. The story itself is quite funny, and provides several comedic moments that keeps the game's pace lively and fun.

The graphics and sound are well suited for the series. It looks and sounds like the popular web cartoon, but with just a tinier bit more of polish. Matt Chapman provides every single voice in the game (with the exception of Marzipan), and that is an impressive feat in itself.

The point and click controls work well for this type of game, which likely could not be as well done on other types of systems. The remote's cursor provides quick and easy access for implementing actions, and is a good use for the Wii's unique control set-up, moreso than most games.

The Bad
While the game does a good job of telling a complete story, you can't help but feel sorry that the average length for each episode is 2-4 hours long. Some people may not mind the game's length, as the story continues on over a five month period, but it is a short experience.

The humor is funny, and mostly accessible to all audiences, but there is a greater sense of appreciation for fans of the series. What fans may find funny and cleverly referenced from the Homestar Runner website may be missed completely by those uninitiated with the series quirky sense of humor.

There are a few small graphical glitches and sound errors here and there. Nothing too terribly distracting, but there is a game-crashing bug during "Extended Play" (after the player completes the game) if the video settings are configured a certain way. It's surprising that this has yet to have been patched.

The Bottom Line
For those who have followed the Brothers Chaps over the years will find a respectful and fun send-up of those eccentric little characters and their offbeat world.

For those who are new to the series, know that the Brothers Chaps are old-school gamers through and through. One look at their spin-off Videlectrix website shows that they have long had an appreciation of those titles from the early console and PC days. If you liked the old Sierra or Infocom games, or loved your Atari 2600 and NES, you can see where these guys are coming from, and how much they truly do "get it".

I made a similar comment in my Penny Arcade review, and feel that the same can be applied here: It is so absolutely refreshing to see "real" gamers come out and remind us that there are still people interested in creating titles with the same amount of love and heart that drew so many of us into this hobby in the first place. The mechanics and sensibilities of games like this make for a nice reminder that there are people out there who still actually CARE to make games for fun, instead of cranking out the same overused genres and sequels and updates.

And it's also nice to see the "point and click adventure" genre get another nod, when it is a semi-dying genre these days. The puzzles actually make a lot of sense once the player understands how this offbeat little world works.

Strong Bad's game series is a prime example of what WiiWare developers should shoot for. The episodes are entertaining, but don't overstay their welcome, and continually introduce classic gaming conventions to the series. Between the "old is new" sensibilities, the solid control, and the humor, Strong Bad is a recommended title to play, and it is worth it to see where he ends up next.

Some of the best that the WiiWare service has to offer.