As the game's name implies, Comic Jumper follows Captain Smiley, a comic book hero who has fallen on hard times, and his attached side-kick Star. Unfortunately for Smiley, The Adventures of Captain Smiley comic book falls out of favor of the comics crowd and is cancelled. In order to revive his comic series, Smiley must jump into other comics as a guest star until he makes enough money to get his own issues back on track. Luckily, Twisted Pixel takes an interest in Captain Smiley's plight and constructs a comic jumping machine for him to use.
Comic Jumper features four different comic worlds to fight through. Smiley will blast his way through his own comics, a Conan the Barbarian rip off, a comic from the Silver Age of comics, and even a Japanese Manga. Each world has its own visual style, which I found to be the most enjoyable aspect of the game. All four art styles are wonderfully done and really convey that you are in a completely different world. Each comic also has its own enemies and personalities. Smiley and Star also change their appearances depending on which comic they enter to better fit in with the locals.
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| Smiley....iiiiin...........spppaaaaaaaaaaaccccceeeee! |
The game's story plays out in moving comic-panel cut scenes. This game is funny. From the fading-out comments made by Smiley when you die ("Ooooohh, you suuuck!", and "Good thing you don't have any friends!"), to the abrasive personality of your sidekick Star (he is obsessed with being best friends with Smiley's nemesis Brad), to the gags, jokes, and plain old bizarreness found in each level (at one point there is a billboard with a kid's school picture and the words 'Laser backgrounds are child abuse'), Comic Jumper will keep you laughing.
Comic Jumper's gameplay comes in a few different forms. Each comic has differing sections in which you either fight enemies like a side-scrolling brawler, or blast the baddies with Smiley's dual guns. There are numerous variations on these two main styles, however, including times where the game changes perspectives on you and makes you aim your shots on the upper portion of the screen using crosshairs while avoiding enemies and their projectiles on the bottom portion of the screen.
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| Here Smiley is mistaken for the Walmart mascot and is attacked for ruining the native's way of life. |
It's a good thing that this game is funny, because Comic Jumper can be extremely frustrating. Checkpoints seem to be randomly distributed throughout levels without considering the difficultly level of certain sections. I often found that I would complete a tough section of a level, reach a boss, be killed by the boss, and then be returned back to the start of the tough section of the level instead of at the beginning of the boss fight. I feel as though Comic Jumper has a steep learning curve as well. The constant switching between control schemes and perspectives make for some confusing gameplay. It takes a while to get used to dodging bombs and enemies on one part of the screen while aiming and shooting enemies on another. Even once you learn the game's controls it can be a difficult trek through the game. Luckily there is no penalty to death other than having to start back at a checkpoint.
Through completing levels and challenges, Captain Smiley gains money which can be spent on bonus content such as concept art and upgrades for the hero. The bonuses are pretty interesting and actually give a slight multiplier to the money earned in each level, so they aren't just worthless trophies. The game lasts a total of around 8 hours, though you can replay levels over and over to gain money if you so wish.
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| There are no words... |
Comic Jumper features some incredibly funny material, though it can be frustratingly difficult at times. I have seen the game on sale on the Xbox Live Marketplace a couple times, and as always, I would recommend that you wait for a sale, but I would also recommend downloading the trial game before a purchase to see if the game would be enjoyable to play, or just plain painful.
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