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Today is an important day, because the mayor is going to bestow the city’s key to the Supa Buddies for all of their heroic deeds. Alas, the villains flea gang burst in and stole the key before the Supa Buddies could receive it. The city is in terrible danger. The evil fleas have used the key to open the city’s prison doors. The worst of the worst are loose and intent on causing chaos. The city is in total disarray, but fear not the Supa gang is here to save the day!
Dog Man: Mission Impawsible is a traditional puzzle-platformer with humorous dialogues developed by the team at Floor 84 Studio. It is based on the comic book series Dog Man by Dav Pilkey. If you have children you might also know Dav Pilkey for his other popular series, Captain Underpants. The game has 50 levels divided into 5 areas, and 45 epic artworks to collect. You can view these artworks from the main menu.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384382577
Each area is a different iconic location taken directly from the comic book, like the police station, downtown, city hall, and a giant marshmallow factory. There is a fight boss you must win for each location before proceeding to the next one.
You start the game playing as Dog Man. Eventually you acquire two other characters, Lil’ Petey and 80-HD. You have to switch characters many times depending on the environment to progress through all of the 50 levels. These three main characters each have their own individual abilities. Lil’ Petey is very small so he can enter tight fitting space. Additionally, he can walk on crumbling blocks due to his small stature, and hack gadgets. Dog Man can dig once he dons his dirt proof pants, you’ll have to use him many times since most levels have some underground parts. The last character you collect is 80-HD. He’s very big which means that he can jump higher and further. He cannot however walk on crumbling blocks without them disintegrating due to his big size. He can also push heavy objects once you earn the power gloves.
In each level there are a certain amount of bones to collect to receive a shield. The other shields are collected while playing the level. There are also gadgets you earn while playing, like retractable claws, a grappling hook, dirt proof pants, power gloves, and more. These gadgets gives specific abilities to different characters, like the retractable claws that lets Lil’ Petey climbs on wall or the power gloves that lets 80-HD push heavy objects. The gadgets adds replayability, since once collected you can revisit completed levels to discover new areas you couldn’t previously access.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3412346887
The artwork is fun and colorful. I like that the developers have decided to stay true to the comic books style, and faithfully recreated Pilkey’s original world. Playing the Dog Man’s game feels like you just stepped into the comic book’s universe. It has a unique and fun style that is well suited to the puzzle-platformer genre. The story is told through comic book strips which is very fitting, however I think there could have been more to it. The story is interesting, but since it’s based on a series, I think it could have been a little more fleshed out. I really love the fact that the developers have kept the Dog Man’s spirit by retelling their story in a comic book style.
Dog Man: Mission Impawsible is an old school puzzle-platformer. In fact the level construction is very reminiscent of the Mario’s games. The levels are long, and there are checkpoints and health-checks. Each level has one flag or more used as checkpoints.
The game is not a difficult one even though some levels can be more challenging. It’s family friendly, and easy enough for kids to complete. There are also “health check-in points” where you meet Petey, and reinstate your health fully. Similarly to Mario’s game, the enemies go from right to left endlessly until you stun them by stomping on them. Once stunned they’ll freeze momentarily, and then resume their course after a couple of seconds. When touched by an enemy you lose some health. The second time you’re touched you die, and have to restart the level at the last successful checkpoint. You start with three lives, and once you run out then you will have to restart the level entirely.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384384221
There is no time limit to complete a level so you can take as long as you need. You can use either a keyboard & mouse combo or a controller. You can also rebind the controls to your liking. I’ve found the controller much more comfortable, but that will depend on each player’s preference. The controls are pretty good, however there were a couple occasions where the timing seems a little off. You can click to jump higher if needs be, but I didn’t see that much of a difference between the regular jump and the extended jump. It felt like I was jumping the exact same distance when I tried it, but when you acquire 80-HD it becomes redundant anyway since he can jump much longer distance due to his stature.
I had a lot of fun playing this game. The gameplay is so reminiscent of the Mario games that it felt nostalgic. The levels are well-constructed and enjoyable, and the different gadgets you acquire helps to add replayability. It was fun to experience Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man’s world in a new way, and I love that the game’s aesthetics stay true to the comic book’s original artwork. I wouldn’t put it in the category of ‘must play’, but it’s definitely worth giving it a try if you are a fan of old school puzzle-platformer or of Dog Man’s comic book. Dog Man: Mission Impawsible is a great family friendly choice.
[h3]Positives[/h3]
[list]
[*] Fun artwork that stays true to Dav Pilkey’s book
[*] Great level construction
[*] Bonus artwork to collect
[*] Gadgets add replayability
[/list]
[h3]Negatives[/h3]
[list]
[*] Perfect for beginners, but might be too easy for experienced players
[*] Timing is occasionally off
[*] Story could be more prominent
[/list]
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