RockguyKev's Full Review: Stupid Invaders for Dreamcast
Evil Villain: "What's the difference between a wimp and a man like me?"
Evil Villain: Your momma.
Does that make any sense? No. Is it funny? A bit. Is it funny in a video game involving an alien who is lacking all but the most basic cognitive skills? You bet it is. This is only one of the many hilarious lines out of a way-out-of-the-mainstream new game called Stupid Invaders.
Gameplay
5/10
If you had an NES and were any kind of a real gamer you know what Maniac Mansion is. It is one of the best games ever made. It was nothing more than a point and click solve one puzzle before another adventure but it was incredible. The storyline was very funny and the puzzles were often very inventive. Playing Stupid Invaders really reminded me how great Maniac Mansion was. I had all but forgotten about it (and left it off of a recent top 10 video games list I made) but Stupid Invaders brought it all back.
This game is a story driven point and click puzzler. You play Stupid Invader 1 who must work to find the kidnapped Stupider Invaders 2 and 3 (they have names but I wouldn't want to ruin any of the comedy). You start in a room with nothing to click on but a door. Should you choose to click on said door the evil villain will end your life immediately. Instead you must walk to the nearest room (a bathroom) where Stupid Invader 1 gets into many comical situations. He comments on how he will never eat chili dogs again in a rather graphic scene. He also smells the toilet paper of the female stupid invader. If you find this type of humor grotesque, don't get this game. I find it hilarious myself.
I will give away the first puzzle here to better describe gameplay if you don't want to read it skip this paragraph. In the bathroom you find a plunger. You also find some heavy duty toilet paper. By combining the two (push a to bring up your item menu then drag one onto the other) you can create a type of grappling hook which is then lobbed up to a window where you can climb out of the bathroom/ room of death. Sounds easy right? Well, yes and no. The main problem I had is that no matter how many times you click on the heavy duty toilet paper, Stupid Invader 1 won't pick it up. You must push B on the controller first which turns the icon into a grab icon which then allows you to pick it up. I don't see why they didn't just have multiple buttons do multiple things. A could be look, B could be pick up, X could be use, etc. Oh well.
The game gives you the ability to save at any time which is nice. More times than I can count I've opened a door and ended up dead. There seems to be a slight bug in the saving though as when I saved one of my games every time I would load it I could not move my guy. I had to start over completely. So, safety tip number 1, keep multiple save files. They are only 4 pages of memory card space which is nice.
If not for the humor I could not recommend this game. The puzzles are not fun to solve at all. Most involve walking into random room 1, picking up random item 1 and using random item 1 in random room 2. Maniac Mansion had fun puzzles. This game has puzzles that get in the way of the comedy. What is especially frustrating is the load time between rooms. The rooms are quite small but since they are pre-rendered each must be loaded invidually. The rooms are relatively empty as well, never containing more than one or two "hot" items, that is things your character can interact with. It's a shame really as the items that do have interaction are very entertaining. (Special note: always answer a ringing phone, you'll bust your gut laughing, I guarantee it.) So, you are often stuck with long treks from random room 1 to random room 2 with tons of load time in between. It upsets me really.
Controls
8/10
You move a cursor and you click. The only real complaint is the above lack of multiple button use. I can't say much more as they are so basic.
Graphics
6/10
The FMV sequences are pretty grainy. Otherwise the graphics are pretty good. They are pre-rendered after all so they should be. The characters are fully 3D (they were rendered from clay models actually) and move as such. Still, the graphics are nothing special. The backgrounds don't even look as good as the pre-rendered graphics that a Playstation game can produce. The backgrounds are often bland and don't leave much room for interaction. Finally, the load time is troubling. I hate load time and this game has it.
Sound
7/10
The background music is forgettable at best but the voice acting is great. The voices are funny and all fit their characters very, very well. The line I used to introduce this review sounds so perfect when you hear it in the game. Very well done. If only the music and effects could keep up.
Replay value
4/10
Point and click puzzlers have never been long on replay value. Once the puzzle is solved there's little interest in doing it again. This game has a bit more than most due to it being very funny.
Rent/buy?
You can probably beat it in a rental period, especially if you're willing to get help with the few puzzles that are very difficult. With that in mind it is absolutely worth a rental. The comedy alone is worth it. I would not recommend a buy though, I just can't see it having that much play value in the long term.
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