Brooktown High (PSP) Review
Posted by Andrew Mellick on 07.10.2007
Konami has decided to give you the chance to relive your fondest memories (the most awkward stage of your life) in digital glory. Is it worth the trip down memory lane, or does this title as fun as summer school? Read on for more witty school references.
Brooktown High
High school; some people can’t let it go, others lament it, and still others see it as but a hazy memory amidst clouds of smoke and bubbling bong water. In any event, high school most likely changed your life in some form or fashion. First romances, heartbreaks, restraining orders (just me?) the list goes on and on.
Well in Brooktown High, Konami is looking to make a quick buck off of your nostalgia in this dating sim for the PSP. Now games like this have been around in many incarnations on line, from the humorous high school depictions to the disturbingly realistic sexual romps. With a somewhat flirtatious past, can the house that Snake built take this erotic genre and create an experience that will keep us up all night or leave us high and dry? (I’m so naughty)
Graphics:
”Step aside? There’s as much chance of that happening as me playing by somebody else’s rules.
Graphically the game looks like the bastard child of Leisure Suit Larry. Big headed characters run nose first from coed to coed in an extremely cartoon manner. So don’t look for a ton of realism here. The graphics are colorful and animated enough to make for a fun look, but you can’t help but feel this cartoony atmosphere takes away from what is supposed to be a simulation.
The animations are pretty bland. Characters utilize the same goofy walk/run in virtually every situation. Call me crazy, but if I were to run headlong at a sprint towards a girl to ask her out I doubt she’d be too turned on…unless she likes buckets of sweat and heavy panting. Other movements are pretty unnecessary, characters will make facial expressions that match what they are saying, but they are very jerky and do not flow into one another like they should.
Overall, I was turned off by the look of this game. It’s a simulation; there should be some element of realism. The reason the Leisure Suit Larry’s of the world can get away with this is because those games are largely comedic and overtly sexual. In short, people don’t play those games for glossy graphics.
Gameplay:
One word; sparse. In a genre that thrives on the ability to customize and create, Brooktown High leaves a lot to be desired. You start on Monday morning, rolling out of bed at 8am. You can go to your closet and get dressed in the meager ensemble the game starts you with. If you’d like to buy some better gear, head to the computer to beef up your wardrobe. Only problem is, there isn’t that much to buy. A few different varieties of shirts pants and shoes, a couple accessories and that’s it. What should be a highly engrossing aspect of the game is little more than a chore with the bland offering of clothing available to customize your character.
Once you’ve got your wardrobe you can hop on the computer and figure out what you want to do with your time. You can either get an after school job (which gets you money) or you can join and after school activity (which brings up your grades). However, you can only pick one, because God knows no high school student would ever work a job and be involved in a school activity at the same time. The shear logistics of it are mind boggling!
Once you’ve exhausted the options in your room (which takes all of 5 minutes) you can head off to school to meet with the coeds. Get ready for stereotypes galore. You can converse with, jocks, nerds, pop princesses, rebels, and the goth community. When you meet somebody you are given a variety of responses you can make to move the conversation along. Its pretty simple just compliment the nerds on being smart, the hotties on being hot and so forth. Of course you only have a few minutes before class and you can only squeeze in about 3 conversations. Then, that’s it, the rest of the week is simmed out and you find out how your grades are.
So to sum up, there is your room, and Monday morning at school. That’s it. Sure you can ask somebody out, but those affairs are the same basic question and answer routines you go through at school, you can “go steady” with somebody but it really doesn’t make any difference. You’ve got a cell phone but you can only call a person once a week and the vast majority of the time the calls are repeated anyway. Basically it’s just a dismal, half ass display of what should be the most fun of all; the actual game.
Sound:
To be fair the game does provide a decent sound track. It’s a little heavy on the indie scene but at least it isn’t the same four rap songs over and over. It’s too bad the game didn’t include some type of Ipod feature so you could listen to the tunes when you venture out. As it stands, when you leave the sanctity of your room (something the game seems hell bent on keeping you from doing) you are met with simple alternative sounding elevator music.
There is a voice over guy who will point out things like “favor” or “info” in an over the top game show announcer type voice. This provides some humor, especially when playing a minigame. If you aren’t doing so hot he will chastise you saying things like “terrible” and “you suck” conversely if you are doing well he’ll say “you rock” and “kick ass” all the time maintaining that wacky voice.
As far as in game dialog goes, get ready to read…a lot. I understand in a game like this there is a lot of dialog, and to be honest, I really have no idea how hard it would be to put all that to voice acting and fit it on a UMD. But for some reason the game decided to go with the “speak the first line and read the rest” method. Which is weird because when somebody says to you audibly “I rule the school” and then goes into a lengthy diatribe about why spoken statement is true, all the while standing with arms crossed and a blank expression, it takes some of the realism away.
Lasting Appeal:
There isn’t really any. I mean, once you’ve created your character and conquered whichever coed you fancy (this usually takes under 20 minutes of game time) you’ve pretty much got the gist of the game. In a game where dating is the primal focus there really isn’t much to offer.
What could have made it better? For starters, how about several more customizable options. Why not be able to make a character that resembles yourself or somebody else? Also, with clothes, how about a name brand or two to make the game more realistic? Maybe a reward system, so after completing certain tasks you are given items like posters and rugs and junk to decorate your room?
How about a goal? Trying to land a coed is fine but how about trying to rule the school? If you want to go for stud status you have to get with certain girls. If you want to be all artsy you have to create art and work towards getting recognized. If you want to be a rebel you have to pull certain pranks. It really wouldn’t take too much imagining to create a fun and innovative title based on the experience of high school.
Fun Factor:
Trying to hook up with somebody using the right comments and adequate amount of pressure can be fun, but its fun in the same way playing solitaire on your computer is fun. It lasts for a few minutes and then it becomes tiresome.
The game feels really pointless. Hook up with somebody until your bored then move on. There really is nothing else to do. Not to mention all the simulated points in the game make it seem more like you are watching high school rather than living it.
The mini games all feel like rip offs of other games only without the fun. For example there is one that is basically blackjack, there is another that is basically DDR only with the controller buttons, and yet another where you just move around a picture of yourself and try to grab hearts without running into teachers.
Can you smell the stereotypes?
The 411:
The 411 is this game is a hastily put together title looking to grab a buck. I don’t know why it was done this way. I don’t know why Konami felt it couldn’t put a bit more time in to make a fun and engrossing game. But for whatever reason they created this.
What aggravates me most with this game is how easy it could have been to make a good game. The suggestions I made above aren’t ground breaking or revolutionary. This is game making 101. First rule; make the game have a point!
As it stands, this is a hodgepodge of crappy minigames, simulated experiences, lackluster game play, and hokey overdone graphics. In short, this game barely passes as a free online title, let alone something gamers are actually expected to pay for. So what are we left with? A game that feels less like a game and more like, well a class in high school.
Graphics
5.0
The graphics are fine, but far to jerky and overdone to be enjoyed.
Gameplay
3.0
With repetivity the name of the game, this one gets old real fast.
Sound
6.0
A decent soundtrack but the voice acting is virtually nil.
Lasting Appeal
2.0
There is nothing that will make you want to play this game the first time, much less over again.
Fun Factor
3.0
The game is mildly fun at points, but not worth actually paying cash for.
