Adventure games are back! One could argue that this was true when the new Sam & Max episodes were released, but I think that some new faces were needed to confirm that the point-'n'-clicker was ready for a return. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner resuscitates the genre with personality, color, and great music, and without a hint of seriousness, ambition, or "hardcore" attitude. It's a reason to celebrate.

Here's the plot: Strong Bad, masked boxer, grumpy misanthrope, and wily trickster extraordinaire, receives an email recommending that he beat the snot out of Homestar Runner, the lisping, armless hero of, uh, the Homestar Runner website. Thinking this a good idea, Mr. Bad meets Homestar at the track for a "pummeling." Strong Bad finds Homestar training for a big race, and he decides that beating his nemesis in this race would be just as satisfying as beating him in a fight. Unfortunately, with the race starting in minutes, it's too late for Strong Bad to sign up for it. Thus a barrier to progress is erected, and the player is invited to sneak around it.

History's best adventure games, which include Loom, King's Quest VI, and Grim Fandango, have all used atmosphere and character to draw players into them, and Homestar Ruiner has no problem maintaining the tradition. Players are immediately greeted with bright, friendly environments, goofy faces, and genuinely funny dialog. I haven't been to the Homestar Runner website in a while, but while playing Ruiner, I never felt lost or confused. Even if you've never been to the site, you won't have much trouble figuring out where everyone stands. Strong Bad himself is introduced with a delightful, self-celebrating theme song that will hopefully become as popular around the web as Portal's "Still Alive."

It's all pointin'-'n'-clickin' from there, with lots of LucasArts-style walking about and investigating. Clicking on stuff will result in a funny, spoken description from Strong Bad, while clicking on other people brings up the conversation tree. Here things work a little differently than they do in games like Secret of Monkey Island or Knights of the Old Republic. Instead of choosing from a menu of complete phrases, you get some icons which represent topics of discussion. Due to this, Strong Bad's wording is almost always unexpected, and along with the subtitles which type in as the characters talk, the icons contribute to the surprise that is necessary to make the jokes work.

The game involves performing some Manny Calavera-like outwitting. One or two of the things you do in Ruiner (I can't call them "puzzles you solve" due to how well they're integrated into the game's silly world) are a little familiar. I heard myself saying "Oh, this is like that part in Fandango." I don't consider this a lazy imitation so much as a kind homage to Ruiner's roots. Besides, the characters are all so mixed-up and likeable, and the world so cartoony and colorful, that it's hard to complain about any of its activities being derivative or contrived.

Beyond the Win-the-Race plot, there are some curious diversions. Players can click on Strong Bad's Lappy 486 computer to check his email inbox, which steadily fills as the game goes on. They can use the drawing desk to help Strong Bad compose a Teen Girl Squad comic, in a creative minigame that requires the strategic introduction of plot elements that will result in the deaths of the main characters. They can use a metal detector, which riffs like an electric guitar instead of beeping, to locate hidden (and strangely non-metallic) treasures. There's also a Tardis-like photo booth in which Strong Bad can play Dress-up and take manly pictures of himself. Prank calls, Obscure Trophies, and a missing video game instruction manual round out the side quests. Indulge in them enough, and watch Strong Bad's "How Much I Rule" Rank climb. It involves a lot of running around, but it's no chore, thanks to the
ability to use the in-game map to zip from one location to another at
any time. After finishing with the story, players are allowed into an "Extended Mode" that allows them to explore and gather whatever collectibles they've yet to find.

With its cheerful bent and self-awareness, Homestar Ruiner calls to mind the chronicles of Bobbin Threadbare and Guybrush Threepwood, and good Lord, is it a relief after all the pathos and angst of recent video game "blockbusters." There's no death, no gloom, no self-important attempts to seem "mature" or "artistic," even though many of the jokes require some measure of maturity, and the art is really quite beautiful. It's almost like it came together by very fortunate accident, and I can't remember the last time a game made me smile this much. Get this game, and point-'n'-click your way into a simpler, happier time. Get this, though; that time is in the present!

~You can't handle my styyyyyle!

(Thanks to Telltale Games for the review copy! Check out more at http://www.telltalegames.com/strongbad)

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