4cr Review – SBCG4AP Episode 2

A month has passed and Telltale is back with another episode of their new Strong Bad series. The first episode really hit the spot with a faithful adaptation of the web cartoon, incredibly clever puzzles, and an interface built just for the Wii. It seems that I’m not the only one who loved it, as the first episode pretty much instantly rose to the top spot on the Virtual Console/WiiWare sales charts.

The second episode kicks off with Strong Bad learning about the King’s new e-mail tax. As a tax on e-mail is, quite possibly, the most nightmarish scenario that our protagonist could imagine, he decides to stage a coup. After all, if Strong Bad is in charge, no one can make him pay taxes. As you’d probably expect at this point, his plan goes incredibly, stunningly wrong. Every single person in town decides to start their own mini-nations, and Strong Bad must find a way to unite them all.

When working on the first two seasons of Sam & Max, Telltale’s small collection of writers worked together and collaborated on the script. The developers are going about things a little differently this time. Each episode of Strong Bad is written entirely by one writer (with a healthy dose of input from the Chapman Brothers). This approach, which is based on how things work in television production, should address issues of staleness that came up in their past seasons. The overall storyline and world will remain consistent, but each episode will reflect that writer’s style and will be a little different from episodes penned by a different author. This time around, Chuck Jordan (one of the biggest voices in Sam & Max season 2) handles the writing duties, and he does a bang-up job of it. The plot isn’t really what I’d expect from Strong Bad – a little grander, a little more epic. Still, it just worked. The jokes were spot-on, I couldn’t stop laughing. If you are even remotely a fan of the original cartoons, you’ll really dig the writing in this episode.

Homestar Ruiner, the first episode, had a ton of neat extras and unlockables to keep the game exciting. This episode keeps this trend up with a new set of costume pieces and new achievements. Teen Girl Squad makes a return with “Cave Girl Squad,” where Strong Bad draws their adventures on the wall of a cave. The Atari-esque Snake Boxer 5 from the first episode has been replaced with the edutainment (never thought that I would get to hear that phrase again) brawler “Math Kickers: Featuring the Algebros.” In this Double Dragon homage, you solve math problems by punching enemies in the face. To solve the equation, you just have to make the remaining enemies on both sides of the screen match the variables displayed at the top. Yes, it is just as awesome as it sounds.

I don’t really have anything new to say about the gameplay. Strong Badia is another three or so hours of Adventure-y goodness from Telltale. By this point, you probably know whether you like their style or not (if you don’t know, take a look at our review of the first episode). This episode is more linear than the first, you end up sticking pretty closely to the storyline. As a result, the puzzles seemed even easier this time around. I recommend turning off the hint system unless you are absolutely stuck, as the hints more-or-less give everything away.

Strong Badia the Free is probably one of the most hilarious games that I’ve ever played. If you’re into Adventure games or are a Strong Bad fan, you’ve probably already downloaded it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, grab your Wiimote and go download the first episode from the Shop Channel. There are far worse ways to spend your ten bucks.