Dangeresque3 is the fourth episode in a set of five Strong Bad games called Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People from Telltale Games. If you haven’t read my review of the first three games in this set, Homestar Ruiner and Strong Badia the Free, Baddest of the Bands, I recommend you do so immediately. To avoid repetition, I won’t go over the background of the series here. The gist of it is that Strong Bad is a bad guy you can enjoy, since he’s not really very bad, just self-absorbed, tactless and crude. Although this is a standalone game, I advise players unfamiliar with the story and characters to start by playing the other episodes.
The interesting and unusual premise of this episode that makes it stand out from the others is that Strong Bad is finally making a movie that he has been planning for several years. It is very low-budget, and his friends and family are playing all of the roles. This presents many hilarious opportunities for crossover between the movie, the comic and the previous games in this series. I really enjoyed this game, and I think it might be the best of the series.
The movie is Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective, and it stars Dangeresque (played by Strong Bad) and a cast of, well, a dozen or so. Unlike previous episodes, there’s no way to navigate through larger areas. For example, Strong Badia and Strong Bad’s computer room are “sets,” and there’s no way to leave them and run around the field or the house. Teen Girl Squad also is absent from this episode, but I really didn’t miss them.
Spoofs abound, as you should expect if you’ve seen any of the other episodes. From James Bond to Police Academy, Lethal Weapon and Indiana Jones, Strong Bad pokes fun at everyone in his typical understated fashion. He even gets in some references to non-action movies and shows, including Revenge of the Nerds, Princess Bride, Batman, and Star Trek. Even Dr. Seuss gets a mention! The general theme of the episode runs to classic private eye and bad cop films like Shaft, Casablanca and Dirty Harry. The character ranks reflect this motif, with clever level titles such as Dead Informant, Arms (and Legs) Dealer and Cop on the Edge.
Coach’s role as Dangeresque’s dimwitted sidekick is one of the funniest — a cross between Cato from The Pink Panther and Stimpy from Ren and Stimpy, with a bit of flavor from every cop sidekick that has ever been. He even wears two hats — a turban with a fez on top of it — in celebration of his diversity! Other characters-within-characters also are notable, including Homestar as Dangeresque Too and Uzi Bazooka, and The King of Town as Perducci.
The minigame in this episode is called Space Circus Catastrophe, and it’s not very interesting, unfortunately. Luckily, there are plenty of other things to entertain. The bloopers and outtakes, such as convincing Marzipan to give up some of her hair and the camera “left on” at the beginning of the catacombs nearly brought tears to my eyes. The plot is just as full of “surprises” as any shoot ’em up movie, and the convolutions make about as much sense as anything Sean Connery and Roger Moore (not to mention some more recent but less articulate Bonds) have come up against.
As usual, each bit is a series of gags. Puzzles also are included, like the fight on the roof of the jail, the entrance to the catacombs where Dangeresque’s father “DADgeresque” went crazy, and the car “chase,” complete with smoke screen, oil slick, missiles and a daring helicopter rescue. When Dangeresque chases an “ex gone bad” through some of the most exotic locations in the world to recover a stolen ruby, the fun is just beginning.
Even though this episode is similar to the others, it’s still very enjoyable, and I’d recommend this game for fans of Homestar Runner or “bad cop” flicks. If you’re only going to get one game in the series, get this one or No. 5, 8-Bit is Enough, which also is excellent. Gameplay is simple, the plot is strange and the jokes are frequently out of the park, including references to previous episodes of the game. This episode took me a little more than four hours to play, which is my usual for the series. It’s a great deal even though it’s short, because you can pay $35 for the full set of five games, at least on the PC, and get many hours out of it.
The games also are available for the Wii through WiiWare.
