DoctorFinger
10-04-2010, 08:34 AM
Comic Jumper Review
Title - Comic Jumper
Platform - XBox Live Arcade
Developer - Twisted Pixel Studios (http://www.twistedpixelgames.com/)
Publisher - Microsoft Game Studios (http://www.microsoft.com/games/)
ESRB Rating - T (Teen)
MSRP - 1200 MSP ($15)
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet
What's Hot: A fun and pretty challenging shooter/brawler. Great style and variety in graphics. Great dialogue and setting. Pling-Pling.
What's Not: Not enough variety in the (optional) challenge levels. Kind of short.
About 6 hours into my playthrough of Twisted Pixel Game’s Comic Jumper I had to put the controller down and assure myself that I wasn’t having some sort of stroke-induced hallucinogenic episode.
Comic Jumper is hands down one of the funniest and most entertaining games of the year. From the minute you launch the game until the coda after the final boss, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud with alarming regularity. Best of all, the gameplay manages to stay just as entertaining and fresh as the dialogue and the wonderful visuals.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5050472719_8ee4e26c20.jpg
Modern Captain Smiley & Star escape from a ‘Splosion
In Comic Jumper you play as Captain Smiley, superhero and failure. Smiley thinks he’s god’s gift to superheroics, but his book sales are beyond bad. So to make some quick cash Smiley is forced into guest spots in other comic books. With hilarious results.
The characters in Comic Jumper are the real stars of the show. Smiley himself is filled to the brim with a fun mix of overconfidence and nervousness. His sidekick (or as Twisted Pixel calls him “Chestkick”) Star is angry, foulmouthed and stuck to Smiley’s chest. They make for a...different sort of dynamic duo. Smiley is also aided by his assistant Gerda, a smart woman who really wants nothing to do with Smiley, Star or any of their ilk, but needs the money. Smiley also has a rather...eclectic rogues gallery: the Puttmaster, Dr. Winklemeyer, Mistress Ropes and of course Brad. Brad has his own theme song which you will find yourself singing to yourself at quiet moments bro. Brad is also awesome, bro.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5051092890_ab99fdb398.jpg
Smiley & Star try to save Nanoc the Obliviator
The next big hook are the comic worlds Smiley has to work through to get paid. Each world has it’s own visual style and features a new design for Smiley and Star. You begin in the fantasy world of Nanoc the Obliviator, a realm occupied by exotic women in fur thongs and the mighty Tigersaurus. If you’ve ever seen a low fantasy comic, movie or novel, then you know the sort of thing you’re in for. But Twisted Pixel still manages to throw in some things which boggle the mind with their insanity. Next up is the Silver Age madness of the Improbable Paper Pals. The dynamic duo of Paper Lad (a crumpled piece of paper entering puberty who travels tucked into Smiley’s trunks) and the Origami Kid (pretty much every offensive Asian stereotype every rolled into one character) are being threatened by Mistress Ropes, a militant feminist who attacks with Geisha dolls and barfing ventriloquist dummies. Third is the manga inspired Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids. As with real manga, these levels are played right to left and are in black and white. Smiley also shoots a bubble & heart beam, rides a unicorn who leaves rainbows in his tracks and deals with the titular Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids. And you simply have to see Smiley & Star in this one.
Gameplay-wise Comic Jumper is a bit tough to classify. It is, for the most part, a side scrolling shooter/brawler. You move and jump with the left stick & trigger, and aim and shoot with the right. However there are frequently so many enemies coming at you from so many directions that it begins to feel more like a SHMUP. You’re dodging projectiles and enemies with one stick, while trying to fire back with the other. And boy, does this get difficult at times. You have a reserve of health, so there are no one hit kills, but it still gets pretty manic in places. Attacks are coming from five or six different directions at a couple different speeds. Not easy, but the difficulty never gets frustrating. Each level also has a number of sections where you can earn big bonus money for completing them without getting hit. These add a bit more optional challenge to each level.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/5050473123_e7df146b3f.jpg
The Kirby/Steranko-esque Silver Age
While most of the game is a side scrolling shooter, each level includes a few sections which play differently. There are some simple melee sections, a few areas which play as a rail shooter, a couple of short cinematic QTEs and even a dance section. There are also a number of boss battles, most of which are just a blast to play.
As you play through the game you earn cash you can use to buy upgrades or unlockable extras. Each of the extras - things like comic covers, videos, models, audio clips - also adds to a bonus modifier which increases the cash you earn, so there’s an incentive to buy them. For Colony of Gamers there’s an added incentive, as one of our own - Jackel - earned a spot in the game by winning our Child’s Play raffle last year. See if you can find him.
The visuals in the game are simply inspired. Each of the comic “worlds” has their own distinct visual style which really pops off the screen. The fantasy world of Nanoc is loaded with washed out colors and sepia tones. The silver age of the Paper Pals is all cel-shaded and filled with primary colors. The manga Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids stages are in black & white with angular panel layouts and faux kanji exclamations all over the place. While the modern day Captain Smiley simply revels in the sort of gross excesses - big guns, bigger shoulder pads and loads of shiny materials - prevalent in the 90s. Smiley’s look in each section serves as the perfect shining example of the excesses of each genre, while at the same time maintaining Smiley’s identity. In between levels you can wander
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5051093046_94e48dd915.jpg
Smiley & Star with the Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids.
The few issues I had with the game were minor. There are a series of challenge levels included where you can earn more cash by surviving as long as possible. The levels are taken from stages of the game, but the developers seemed to take some of the more generic sections to make into Challenges instead of the more inspired and unique boss battles. With all of the voluminous action happening on screen, it can be a bit tough to know if you’re hitting your target at times, so adding a little vibration when you make contact would have helped. The game is also a bit on the short side for a $15 XBLA game. I beat the main game in 6 hours, and there is no multiplayer. There is some replayability with the challenge levels and unlockables, but some may find the package a little short on content.
Even if you’re not a fan of comic books, this game still comes highly recommended. It’s one of the funniest games around, while also being an entertaining and challenging experience.
Score: (4.5 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4_5.png
Michael says, "Comic Jumper is just pure, insane fun. The challenge level gets high enough to keep you hooked, but never crosses the line into frustrating.”
Title - Comic Jumper
Platform - XBox Live Arcade
Developer - Twisted Pixel Studios (http://www.twistedpixelgames.com/)
Publisher - Microsoft Game Studios (http://www.microsoft.com/games/)
ESRB Rating - T (Teen)
MSRP - 1200 MSP ($15)
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet
What's Hot: A fun and pretty challenging shooter/brawler. Great style and variety in graphics. Great dialogue and setting. Pling-Pling.
What's Not: Not enough variety in the (optional) challenge levels. Kind of short.
About 6 hours into my playthrough of Twisted Pixel Game’s Comic Jumper I had to put the controller down and assure myself that I wasn’t having some sort of stroke-induced hallucinogenic episode.
Comic Jumper is hands down one of the funniest and most entertaining games of the year. From the minute you launch the game until the coda after the final boss, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud with alarming regularity. Best of all, the gameplay manages to stay just as entertaining and fresh as the dialogue and the wonderful visuals.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5050472719_8ee4e26c20.jpg
Modern Captain Smiley & Star escape from a ‘Splosion
In Comic Jumper you play as Captain Smiley, superhero and failure. Smiley thinks he’s god’s gift to superheroics, but his book sales are beyond bad. So to make some quick cash Smiley is forced into guest spots in other comic books. With hilarious results.
The characters in Comic Jumper are the real stars of the show. Smiley himself is filled to the brim with a fun mix of overconfidence and nervousness. His sidekick (or as Twisted Pixel calls him “Chestkick”) Star is angry, foulmouthed and stuck to Smiley’s chest. They make for a...different sort of dynamic duo. Smiley is also aided by his assistant Gerda, a smart woman who really wants nothing to do with Smiley, Star or any of their ilk, but needs the money. Smiley also has a rather...eclectic rogues gallery: the Puttmaster, Dr. Winklemeyer, Mistress Ropes and of course Brad. Brad has his own theme song which you will find yourself singing to yourself at quiet moments bro. Brad is also awesome, bro.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5051092890_ab99fdb398.jpg
Smiley & Star try to save Nanoc the Obliviator
The next big hook are the comic worlds Smiley has to work through to get paid. Each world has it’s own visual style and features a new design for Smiley and Star. You begin in the fantasy world of Nanoc the Obliviator, a realm occupied by exotic women in fur thongs and the mighty Tigersaurus. If you’ve ever seen a low fantasy comic, movie or novel, then you know the sort of thing you’re in for. But Twisted Pixel still manages to throw in some things which boggle the mind with their insanity. Next up is the Silver Age madness of the Improbable Paper Pals. The dynamic duo of Paper Lad (a crumpled piece of paper entering puberty who travels tucked into Smiley’s trunks) and the Origami Kid (pretty much every offensive Asian stereotype every rolled into one character) are being threatened by Mistress Ropes, a militant feminist who attacks with Geisha dolls and barfing ventriloquist dummies. Third is the manga inspired Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids. As with real manga, these levels are played right to left and are in black and white. Smiley also shoots a bubble & heart beam, rides a unicorn who leaves rainbows in his tracks and deals with the titular Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids. And you simply have to see Smiley & Star in this one.
Gameplay-wise Comic Jumper is a bit tough to classify. It is, for the most part, a side scrolling shooter/brawler. You move and jump with the left stick & trigger, and aim and shoot with the right. However there are frequently so many enemies coming at you from so many directions that it begins to feel more like a SHMUP. You’re dodging projectiles and enemies with one stick, while trying to fire back with the other. And boy, does this get difficult at times. You have a reserve of health, so there are no one hit kills, but it still gets pretty manic in places. Attacks are coming from five or six different directions at a couple different speeds. Not easy, but the difficulty never gets frustrating. Each level also has a number of sections where you can earn big bonus money for completing them without getting hit. These add a bit more optional challenge to each level.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/5050473123_e7df146b3f.jpg
The Kirby/Steranko-esque Silver Age
While most of the game is a side scrolling shooter, each level includes a few sections which play differently. There are some simple melee sections, a few areas which play as a rail shooter, a couple of short cinematic QTEs and even a dance section. There are also a number of boss battles, most of which are just a blast to play.
As you play through the game you earn cash you can use to buy upgrades or unlockable extras. Each of the extras - things like comic covers, videos, models, audio clips - also adds to a bonus modifier which increases the cash you earn, so there’s an incentive to buy them. For Colony of Gamers there’s an added incentive, as one of our own - Jackel - earned a spot in the game by winning our Child’s Play raffle last year. See if you can find him.
The visuals in the game are simply inspired. Each of the comic “worlds” has their own distinct visual style which really pops off the screen. The fantasy world of Nanoc is loaded with washed out colors and sepia tones. The silver age of the Paper Pals is all cel-shaded and filled with primary colors. The manga Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids stages are in black & white with angular panel layouts and faux kanji exclamations all over the place. While the modern day Captain Smiley simply revels in the sort of gross excesses - big guns, bigger shoulder pads and loads of shiny materials - prevalent in the 90s. Smiley’s look in each section serves as the perfect shining example of the excesses of each genre, while at the same time maintaining Smiley’s identity. In between levels you can wander
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5051093046_94e48dd915.jpg
Smiley & Star with the Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids.
The few issues I had with the game were minor. There are a series of challenge levels included where you can earn more cash by surviving as long as possible. The levels are taken from stages of the game, but the developers seemed to take some of the more generic sections to make into Challenges instead of the more inspired and unique boss battles. With all of the voluminous action happening on screen, it can be a bit tough to know if you’re hitting your target at times, so adding a little vibration when you make contact would have helped. The game is also a bit on the short side for a $15 XBLA game. I beat the main game in 6 hours, and there is no multiplayer. There is some replayability with the challenge levels and unlockables, but some may find the package a little short on content.
Even if you’re not a fan of comic books, this game still comes highly recommended. It’s one of the funniest games around, while also being an entertaining and challenging experience.
Score: (4.5 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4_5.png
Michael says, "Comic Jumper is just pure, insane fun. The challenge level gets high enough to keep you hooked, but never crosses the line into frustrating.”