Jump into Comic Jumper

Twisted Pixel is one of the more interesting and innovative independent game studios out there. Their previous two Xbox LIVE Arcade titles, The Maw and Splosion Man , were masterpieces of platform goodness. The Maw was intensely charming, even while it featured an alien beast that devoured everything in its path, and Splosion Man starred an exploding main character, intricate platform levels, and tons of fun. Now comes Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley , featuring a superhero with a smiley button head, and a “chestkick” named Star, who is another sentient being that happens to be the star logo on Captain Smiley’s chest.

Written by Matthew Entin and Ed Kuehnel whose resumes are chock-a-block full of quality game writing, the storyline is this: Captain Smiley’s comic book has been canceled and he’s flat broke. In order to work his way back into the good graces of the world of comicdom, he must make guest appearances in other comic books. His first mission, enter the comic of Nanoc the Obliviator and find the lead character, who has gone missing.

The opening sequence of the game serves as the tutorial. Basically, this is a side-scrolling action platform shootout. Kicks and punches are thrown, and the right analog stick is used with the right trigger to fire your guns. There’s also a jump move, a slide move, and at least two types of old-style first-person action, where your view is over-the-shoulder and you must either press the action buttons at appropriate times, or aim a reticle and fire your gun at oncoming enemies. Once the tutorial is over, you realize that this was the last issue of Captain Smiley’s own comic book, intriguingly commemorated by a lengthy live-action cut scene, and now he must move on to other missions.

It’s attention to detail that makes all the Twisted Pixel games so much fun to play. An example is at your base after the tutorial. Exploring the base gives you a bit of extra cash, and provides the opportunity for a few comedic digs (check out what Star says when you click on The Maw arcade machine – yeah, I hear that complaint about almost every Arcade game and I love that Twisted Pixel reference it). Oh, and the game stats are actually SUNG to you when you check them out.

 
From your base, you can choose individual level Challenges or the story-based Missions, both of which provide you some serious cash, allowing you to upgrade Captain Smiley and to trade cash in to unlock things like concept art, videos, and more. There’s a lot to see and do in this game but the controls can be a little stressful (the reticle aiming when performing first-person segments is particularly tricky). If you love challenging platform games liberally mixed with a wild sense of humor, tons of inside references, intriguing use of black-and-white graphics, and live-action video, give Comic Jumper a try. It’s another Twisted Pixel masterpiece.

Comments

• Anonymous
  October 10, 2010
  nice... really nice. Halo Reach is fun!