Time has not been kind to Comic Smiley. 23 issues into his long-running series, fans are losing interest following his latest encounter with hotshot villain Brad. In an attempt to save face, Smiley, along with his star-shaped sidekick that sits firmly on his chest, teams up with the folks at Twisted Pixel, taking side appearances in other comics to rejuvenate his popularity. And so begins the latest adventure from the team that brought us the incredibly entertaining platformer Splosion Man and the underrated The Maw. Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley thrives on its run-and-gun action, as you’ll face everything from panel-throwing natives to robotic bimbos to magical unicorns that require a song to enter into Heaven. Ridiculously silly? You bet. But that’s what makes Smiley stand out so much. A lot of Smiley’s fun comes from its creative stage design. One minute you’re raging through downtown, engaging in a gun battle with Brad’s fully loaded helicopter while falling through the sky; the next, you’re in a manga-inspired stage, where girls and freaks with haircuts similar to Final Fantasy’s Cloud mock you. (We’re also trying to figure out what kind of lunatic would rebuild an Aztec village on a miniature golf course – of course, it’s the Puttinator.)
The boss battles are ingenious, including a thrill-ride of an encounter with a child’s giant head. The gameplay is punishing, which is about what you’d expect from a run-and-gun game. Enemies come at you from all directions, requiring you to quickly avert incoming fire or risk being “inked” out of the page. Segments shift between side scrolling and 3-D sequences similar to Nintendo’s Sin and Punishment games. While incoming objects are hard to avoid at times, it’s great to see diversity here. The controls are very good for the most part, but the melee combat isn’t as spot-on as it should’ve been Trying to knock an enemy back can be risky at some points, resulting in you taking an unnecessary hit. Fortunately, you have unlimited lives, so you don’t have to worry about dying and then starting all over again (unless you hit a sticky save point, which doesn’t happen often). Probably our favorite part of the gameplay, though, is the special attack. Instead of relying on a super-bomb to clear the screen, the hands of Twisted Pixel developers slam all over the place, eliminating any opponents that get in their way.
These guys appear throughout the game, both in video segments and in vignettes spotted throughout Smiley’s home base hub. This hub is vital to Smiley. Not only is he able to buy upgrades, pick available missions and view his accomplishments (via collectible items and Achievements), but he can also chat with folks (including his tireless assistant Gerda and archvillain Brad) and check out arcade cabinets for Twisted Pixel’s other games. (Word of note: if you have Splosion Man, you can unlock additional levels for that game as well.) It’s a fun little place to hang out when you’re taking a break from the shooting. Comic Jumper looks outstanding. Like we said, the level design goes a long way, and Smiley himself is a sheer delight, especially when he gets in a barbarian get-up and immediately thinks about impressing the ladies. His smarmy star sidekick is equally fun, insulting his hero any chance he gets while constantly kissing up to get on Brad’s team.
Like Hydrophobia, this is a huge step forward for Xbox Live Arcade game design, and we can’t wait to see what Twisted Pixel cooks up next. It also cooks up a great sound package as well. Along with a humorous, original soundtrack (including a great theme song for Brad – it’s almost right up there with Splosion Man’s “Donuts” song), the dialogue cracks us up, even if not all of the jokes work. We just wish Smiley would grow a bigger pair. He’s a stronger superhero than his cohorts give him credit for. Although the high difficulty scale (even with the unlimited lives) may leave some people thinking twice about taking on this adventure, the inventive presentation and fun gameplay definitely make up for it. Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley is a wickedly creative action game that you shouldn’t miss.
