Game: Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley

Platform: Xbox 360

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Twisted Pixel

ESRB: T

Genre: Comic jumping platforming boredom

Players: 1

What's Hot: It has its funny moments…

What's Not: …which are quickly beaten into the ground. Dull gameplay.

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Review by: Jeff McAllister

Developer Twisted Pixel has made some great games in the past that featured both likeable characters and charming gameplay. Unfortunately, their sizzling hot streak has come to an end with Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley. Whereas The Maw and ‘Splosion Man were fantastic experiences, Comic Jumper is the exact opposite; this a terrible game with no engaging qualities to it whatsoever, humour that falls flat all too often combined with mind numbing gameplay. Comic Jumper is one of the greatest disappointments the year.

Players take the role of Captain Smiley, a laughable superhero who has recently had his comic book cancelled due to poor readership. Along with his chest inhabiting and surly sidekick, Star, the two are then forced to make guest appearances in other comics to make enough money to get their own comic book back again. Each comic that the duo make an appearance in all have their own visual style taken from real life generations of comics, ranging from the Kirby-esque manners of the 60’s, the quirky Japanese style of manga and even the Conan the Barbarian comics from the 70’s. Each comic story also features villains that are not all that villainous, like the golf-crazed Puttmaster and the meathead Johnny Bravo type simply called “Brad”.

As each mission has its own visual diversity, the gameplay remains the same throughout each of the comics visited. Each level takes a 2.5D side-scrolling approach to the action, which switches it up every once in a while and tosses in a third person sequence that involves dodging objects while shooting enemies. The side-scrolling portions of the game are repetitive, dull and not fun in the least and even though the game tries to add a perspective change to keep it interesting, it fails miserably at doing so.

The Conan themed comic is called Nanoc (Conan spelled backwards) and features a swarm of tribesmen that throw chickens at you and a morbidly overweight impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger that is nothing but fat and ass jokes. The unrelenting monotony continues in the 60’s style levels, where the running gag is the introduction of the comic code approval system and everything Smiley does or Star says gets fined for a code infraction. When that happens, a large red seal is stamped on the screen and while humorous the first few times, after 30 or so times, it’s not so much and that in itself sums up how Comic Jumper plays out.

It has its moments of wittiness for sure, like the comments that are quipped when you die, but those are quickly overcome with the feeling of the game trying too hard to be funny. The culmination of your adventures finally lands Smiley and Star in their own book once again with a modern day look with flashy costumes and big guns, but then anti-climactically ends with a fight against a boss from a previous Twisted Pixel game, which just reeks of “hey, that was funny the first time so let’s do it again.”

The game does tend to get a little difficult at times using the dual stick firing controls and when you need to perform awkward rope or pipe climbing to proceed. Thankfully, during each mission, you will collect money for defeating enemies as well as performing certain tasks for an additional bonus. The money you collect can then be used to upgrade Smiley’s weapons, damage, health, and calls for help. The calls for help are easily one of the funniest things in the game. When Smiley gets overwhelmed by enemies, he can break the fourth wall and call on the Twisted Pixel team for a hand- or five and they’ll clear the screen of all enemies. There are also Challenge Missions that can be accessed through your hideout, the place where you and your enemies hang out in between missions. The Challenge Missions offer different objectives to earn extra money, but more of the same gameplay isn’t all that appealing.

Playing Comic Jumper is the equivalent of a non-football fan watching the Super Bowl just for the amusing commercials. When they pop up, they are entertaining and worth watching, but getting there is a painfully dull and boring experience. While the game does have its moments that make you laugh out loud, they are far and few between. When it all comes together, it feels as though the developers had a great idea, but forgot that there needed to be a fun game at the center of it all. The execution and the boring gameplay coupled with the heavy handedness of the humour combine to make the game a true exercise in tediousness.

Jeff McAllister is a Sr. Editor at GameShark and also runs our YouTube Channel . He's also Canadian.

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