Koala Lumpur, a silly and twisted tongue-in-cheek
ride until the very last screen, is well worth your time.
Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge is both a return
and a departure for Broderbund. This game marks the company's long-awaited
return to the graphic adventure genre, all but abandoned since the best-selling
Myst. But unlike previous Broderbund titles, which were mostly wholesome,
Koala Lumpur is aimed squarely at an adult audience. Although the game doesn't
contain swearing or nudity, some of the themes are mature and most of the
game's humor is intellectually high-brow, with a bit of Ren and Stimpy-style
physical comedy thrown in for good measure.
In a unique development process, Colossal
Pictures (of MTV's Liquid Television fame) created all of the artwork and
original character design, while Broderbund's internal studio created both
the sound design and engineering. Originally conceived by Colossal as a cartoon
series, Koala Lumpur is a third person graphic adventure with far-out graphics
and a script that should have you laughing long after the game is over. The
story focuses on the adventures of marsupial Zen Master Koala Lumpur and
his canine scientist sidekick, Dr. Dingo Tu-Far. As the driver of a
Trans-Temporal Recreational Vehicle (TTRV), Koala must travel to other dimensions
to save the world from a chain reaction of events that will lead to a comedy
apocalypse. To achieve his goal, Koala must find a number of scrolls that
contain magical incantations. When all of these scrolls are uncovered and
read, Koala will achieve total enlightenment. As you may have surmised, nothing
about this adventure is normal.
An example of Koala's break from the ordinary
is its unusual interface. Your cursor in the game takes the form of an animated
fly, which you scoot across each of the scrollable rooms. Oddly enough, the
fly is actually a character in the game that interacts with Koala, Dr. Dingo,
and other folks you meet on your inter-dimensional
journey.
One of the game's most unique features
is the "chatter" that transpires between Koala and Dr. Dingo, which is not
only random, but also independent of your actions. The game's producer describes
this dialogue as "similar to the types of discussions between the characters
played by John Travolta and Samuel Jackson in the movie Pulp Fiction. Koala
and Dr. Dingo have long, philosophical discussions about ordinary
things."
The puzzles in this adventure are also
fairly unusual. In one instance you must literally climb inside Dr. Dingo's
head and physically manipulate his thoughts while he's being examined by
his ex-lover, Tuff-Love, a femme fatale rabbit and psychoanalyst. In another
section you must piece together a sewer system, taking into consideration
x, y, and z axes.
Broderbund is definitely forging new territory
with Koala, and this zany game, dubbed "The Wizard of Oz on Acid" by its
internal development team, promises to be a compelling game
experience.
In an attempt to break into the comic adventure
game circuit, where titles like Virgin's Toonstruck and Sierra's Leisure
Suit Larry series receive top billing, Broderbund has stepped up to the mic
with Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge. This collaboration with Colossal
Pictures delivers its mature themes, high-brow remarks, and twisted puzzles
with the finesse of a seasoned Las Vegas lounge comedian. And their routine
deserves a loud round of applause.
With opening credits and a theme song,
Koala Lumpur begins like a Saturday morning cartoon show - not too surprising,
since the characters were originally created by Colossal Pictures as a cartoon
series. Koala Lumpur is the wacky story of Zen Master Koala Lumpur, a mystic,
enlightenment-seeking marsupial, and his faithful canine companion, Dr. Dingo
Tu-Far, who are on a mission to locate pieces of a scroll in order to save
the cartoon world from the Comedy Apocalypse. The pair travels to strange
places - including Dingo's brain - searching for scroll pieces and solving
a variety of puzzles along the way. And although a few of the puzzles take
more than a little patience - like maneuvering through the corridor while
avoiding a force field and exploring a maze of tunnels - most are easily
solved and fit well into the story. As a bonus, a few of the puzzles could
even be considered educational - like learning the names of obscure phobias
and even a foreign language - although the ability to speak Dog may not help
you in your next job interview. (Then again, it may not hurt
either.)
While the plot and characters are highly
entertaining, the interface makes Koala Lumpur a unique and fun experience.
Instead of the typical point-and-click cursor setup where the player uses
the mouse to search the screen for active areas and objects, in this game
the mouse turns into an animated fly which is also a character in the game.
As Koala's familiar, Fly buzzes around the colorful and highly detailed screens
searching for clues to puzzles and picking up objects, including Dingo's
brain matter. In addition to leading Koala and Dr. Dingo around, Fly can
leave and explore the other areas without his pals.
Koala Lumpur, a silly and twisted
tongue-in-cheek ride until the very last screen, is well worth your time.
It proves that Broderbund can go beyond educational and wholesome entertainment
titles and, more importantly, that they have a sense of humor. They pull
the trick off so well that it's hard to believe that Koala Lumpur is the
company's first attempt at a comedy title. The previously conservative Myst
makers show that they can loosen their ties, throw back a few drinks, and
deliver a silly comic adventure just like the pros. Let's hope that they
hear the cheers and answer the crowd's applause with an
encore.
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