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Dreamcast Stupid Invaders Developer: Xilam | Publisher: Ubi Soft
Rating: B-Bahn
Type: Adventure Skill Level: Novice
Players: 1 Available: Now

Years ago, during a time when PC gaming thrived upon simulations, first-person shooters, and yes, even text-based adventures (Zork anyone?) existed a stream of point-and-click adventures. Among my personal favorites were the Monkey Island and Indiana Jones series (and a few whose actual title has long since left my memory banks), each in their own right were highly entertaining, addictive and exceptionally challenging. It's unfortunate that they're not as widely available as in the past. On the console realm, the genre is considered to be even more obscure, which is quite unfortunate if you're fond of these type of games.

Over the past year, Ubi Soft had been mildly promoting an upcoming Dreamcast adventure that by its very name warranted a closer look. Naturally I too became curious when I learned of Stupid Invaders, for reasons of being an avid sci-fi fan and fond of uncanny humor. And suffice it to say...Stupid Invaders delivers that quite adequately. Based upon the the French series "Space Goofs" (aka Home to Rent created by Jean-Vves Raimbaud and Phillipe Traversat), the story is based upon a cast of five outrageously dumb aliens who've crash landed on Earth. Taking refuge in an abandoned house located in a desolate area of the suburbs, Etno, the undisputed leader of the bunch (who actually reminds me a lot of Frasier) sets out to repair the ship in a jiffy. Being just as much a bumbling creature as his fellow chums, the repairs end up taking longer than expected. Meanwhile, a deranged scientist, Dr. Sakarin has been closely monitoring the aliens since their arrival on Earth via his secret headquarters deep underground (in a shameless parody of the actual U.S. military based referred to as "Area 52" in the game). Enlisting the aid of a bounty hunter known as Balok to hunt down the wayward aliens, Sakarin plans to conduct malicious activities for his personal research (far too graphic to express here, juuuust kidding).

The core gameplay revolves upon eluding Balok, solving puzzles, and ultimately finding a way to get off Earth before they become test subjects for Dr. Sakarin's evil motives. Stupid Invaders gameplay is pretty straightforward, as you'll periodically take control of each of the five cast members (Bud, Gorgious, Etno, Stereo and Candy) in which you'll navigate through interactive sequences. If you've ever played a point-and-click adventure, the game will feel like second nature. Each level has a specific series of puzzles and objectives to be completed in order to advance further in the game. For example, the opening level takes place within the abadoned house, where the aliens have taken refuge. After sneaking inside, Balok imprisons all of the cast with the exception of Bud, who must not only successfully devise a method to free his friends, but elude Balok in the process. Taking control of Bud, you'll search from room-to-room, looking for items which will aid in your quest. Eventually, you'll discover the bathroom, in which you'll need to combine a plunger with a heavy duty strip of toliet paper in order to create a 'ladder' to reach the bathroom window. You'll discover that the game is full of elements such as the one expressed, that's full of humor and style. Admittedly, most of the puzzles will be amusing, others will take time to solve, and on occassion, you might get stumped, but it's nothing so difficult that you'll be spending weeks to unscramble.

Generally, players will navigate the pointer in order to issue commands (i.e. walk, look at objects, combine/collect items, etc.) for the designated character to execute. According to various situations, gameplay actions will feature non-playable sequences in which the character will act upon the issued commands. Because the game is primarily centered around puzzle-solving, each action will have a cause-and-effect which will result in success or failure (read: game over); periodically throughout the game, specific actions will trigger a non-playable sequence. Overall, the puzzles aren't very difficult to solve, but even in the wake of failure, Stupid Invaders presents a great deal of humor and challenge.

Stupid Invaders features a variety of bizarre, colorful locations and rickly detailed which you'll engage as you travel through 3 areas (recognized as chapters) - The Abandoned House, The Dung Factory, and Area 52. Since the game can easily be viewed as unexciting and stale, especially if you're not the hardcore type to enjoy these type of games, Stupid Invaders won't appeal to you anymore than an informercial. Fortunately, the game features a decent amount of puzzles to keep you entertained, complemented by an exceptionally amusing storyline that compels you to play further in order to 'see what's to come'. The FMV sequences are the true payoff for each designated action as you navigate throughout the game, which for the most part are quite humorous. Unfortunately, once you've been through the gag once or twice, the effect wears off (much like any run-on joke) and thus, the magic and appeal is lost. The humor throws punches at a variety of areas, including fecal humor and holiday icons...you don't have to be considered a deranged gamer to enjoy it, but it's definitely not for anyone close-minded.

While I certainly enjoyed the experience Stupid Invaders offered, it's unfortunately short-lived and its fault lies in the lack of replay value. Plus, there's not enough interaction (there's so many objects which would've made the game more exciting if they were accessible). In all honesty, you can only play this game but so many times before you're simply tired of playing it. Perhaps if the game featured some hidden levels, or the puzzles were randomly generated with some new surprises, much like the way ESP did with the dungeons in Evolution, then perhaps returning to this game again would have some warrant. Unfortunately, once you've been through all of the puzzles (even if it's just to see the failure sequences), Stupid Invaders provides very little depth and it's very linear. However, if you're looking for a new addition to your library, and craving a simple game that will offer plenty of laughs, (or you're a hardcore point-and-clicking guru), Stupid Invaders is definitely worth a look.

· · · Bahn


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Rating: B-Bahn
Graphics: 8 Sound: 7
Gameplay: 6 Replay: 4
  © 2000 The Next Level