Comic Jumper (XBLA) Review
Posted by Todd Vote on 10.09.2010
The new adventure from Twisted Pixel has arrived with Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley has arrived. 411's Todd Vote checks in with his full review.
Game: Comic Jumper
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Developer: Twisted Pixel
Publisher: Twisted Pixel
Rated: T for Teen
Hot on the heels of the awesome Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel brings us Comic Jumper. Comic Jumper is the adventures misadventures of Captain Smiley. You see, Smiley has his own comic book, complete with his own rogue gallery of super villains. Villains such as the Puttmaster, and the always awesome Brad. I should mention that Brad comes complete with a Brad-itude, Brad-bots, and of course a Brad-copter. Oh, did I mention Brad has his own theme music? These are just a few of the funny instances you will run into in a game that is crammed full of self deprecating humor, and humorous references to the comic and film industry.
Anyway, readership is down for ole Captain Smiley and his sidekick/super suit Star, which of course leads to the cancellation of Captain Smiley's book in a glorious live action cut-scene. From here Captain Smiley is informed of his cancellation by his assistant Greda. All is not lost though as Twisted Pixel has stepped in to help Captain Smiley get out of the red and get his own title relaunched.
The idea is for Captain and Star to pull guest spots in other titles. That is where the game starts, with Captain Smiley taking guest spots in different comic book styles, and different eras. Smiley will go from issues of Nanoc the Obliviator, to some Japanese Manga entitled Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids. Each different comic book offers a new outfit for Smiley as well as a completely different look and feel for the levels. Each level also offers a different way to play.
Each different comic book offers 3 issues for you to play through. The issues are broken into shooter portions, and melee portions. Shooter portions are intense battles with multiple enemies, all firing projectiles at you. Things can get a little hectic, and at times very challenging. Smiley aims with the right stick, and you use the right trigger to fire your gun. To make things a bit easier for you, you can go into the options and turn on the aim assist, which will direct your bullets towards an enemy if you point in the general direction of the enemy.
Another thing worth noting about the shooting portions of the game is that there are several different varieties of shooting areas. There are some areas where you just run and gun platform style, there are others where the view changes to a sort of 3rd person action shooter. In these portions, Smiley runs automatically, and you simply move left to right dodging projectiles, while using the right stick once again to aim at your enemies. If you were to picture the horse riding portions of the old arcade game Sunset Riders, you can get an idea of what I am talking about.
Yet another variation on the shooter portions of the game falls into what can best be described as a game of asteroids. You have to move Captain Smiley around a stagnant screen, while avoiding and shooting at giant asteroids. Once you clear the area you can move on.
Alternately, the melee portions are probably the most generic part of the game. Luckily, they do not appear to often. Melee attacks are done by pressing the x button. This is the only melee button that does damage, but you do have the ability to clear out your area if you get into trouble by hitting the a button. This will push enemies away from you, but will not deal any damage to them. One good thing to come from the melee portions of the game is the ability to acquire a Twisted Pixel Help Move. This is of course your screen clearing super move. Push the button and all sorts of live action feet and hands come out and start pounding on the screen, clearing it of all enemies.
Playing through each of Smiley’s missions will garner you a chunk of change. You use the money you earn to buy unlockables. The unlockables are an assortment of ahem performance enhancers to make Smiley more efficient, mixed in with comic books, concept art, and other goodies for you to enjoy. This is also where the Challenge Missions come into play.
The Challenge Missions are little areas with set objectives for Captain to overcome in order to earn even more cash. The challenges range from hard to very hard. They include challenges from every issue that Smiley appears in throughout the game. It’s a nice little way to extend the life of the title, as perfectionists will want all the money they can get in order to buy everything.
The music in the game is an absolute win. WIN! I tell ya, win! The music perfectly matches the tone of the game, with Brad’s theme, and Smiley’s theme from the final mission really standing out. Hell, even the stat screen gets its own hilarious music. “Sit back and relax, take a look at all them stats”, I love the music, and hope I can find a soundtrack.
The only downfall with the sound was in some of the voice work. Perhaps it could be something wrong with my Turtle Beach head-set, but I got a bit of static when the characters were talking, and it was a bit of an annoyance. I’d hate to nitpick on something so small, but there is a lot of dialog, so it was noticeable for me.
The 411:
With plenty of unlockables, good fast paced gameplay, and plenty of hilarious jokes, Captain Smiley delivers in a big way. From start to finish, Captain Smiley delivers a fun and engaging experience with a great story behind it. With this game I am not afraid to admit, I’ll buy anything Twisted Pixel puts out from here on in. Captain Smiley definitely brings the goods.
PROS:
+ Funny as hell
+ Variety of gameplay mechanics keep things interesting
+ Meatenstein!
+ Man, I got 5 kids to feed
CONS:
- some static with the voice work
- Melee sections are not as fun as other sections
Graphics
9.5
Captain Smiley looks awesome, especially when you take into account that it is an XBLA game.
Gameplay
8.5
Nothing we haven’t seen before, but a nice variety keeps things from getting boring.
Sound
10.0
I love the music of Smiley! Fitting and hilarious
Lasting Appeal
8.0
The challenge missions and unlocking all the goodies could keep you coming back.
