[h1][i]“Hey, PizzaBoy! Did you miss us?”[/i]
~Dog Mendonça[/h1]
Say whatever you want, it's a crime that [b]Filipe Melo[/b]'s [b]The Incredible Adventures of Dog Mendonça and PizzaBoy[/b] only had three issues. Sure, technically, it was just a “monster of the week” thing with tons of references to horror movies, video games and other geeky stuff, but still, it had that certain something that makes any “monster of the week” thing successful. It had [i]characters[/i]. Likable characters are, like, half of success. Who cares that, say, [b]X-Files[/b] was often stupid and ended up falling apart somewhere on the way? Who even remembers the original [b]Buffy[/b] movie at this point (not trying to say it was [i]bad[/i], but you know what I mean)? And come on! We literally have a pro wrestler who named herself after a character from [b]Charmed[/b]. Characters. That's what such stuff is all about. And [b]Dog Mendonça[/b]? It sure had those. Not the most original ones? Maybe. But then again, a couple of [b]FBI[/b] agents wasn't the most unique thing out there either. The chemistry was there, that's what mattered. And with [b]Mr. Melo[/b] dropping geeky references all over the place (he's a very interesting person who loves video games and even got questioned by the police for hacking as a teen)? Let's just say it was a very satisfying reading. We had our usual comedy duo made of the big guy, a werewolf [b]Dog Mendonça[/b] who acted as some sort of PI for the monster world, and pizza delivery guy [b]Eurico Catatau[/b] (our typical loser from old adventure games). We also got talking gargoyle head (don't ask what happened with the rest of our pal [b]Edgar[/b], I'll return to that later) and, the best of all, we've got that powerful ancient demon in a body of a little girl – [b]Pazuul[/b]. I loved the guys. And I sure wanted more. And guess what? Here it is. More. In a video game form.
And sure, you may say that having a point-and-click video game is not the same thing with having another comic book issue, but you know what? With “monster of the week” approach, it doesn't really matter. It's as simple as [b]Scooby Gang[/b]. The original one, not the one from [b]Buffy[/b]. Actually, it's both, but [i]whatever[/i]. Again, you know what I mean. Point-and-click genre has everything we need to enjoy the characters. And like I said, characters are the only thing that matters here. All we needed is a good game. And you know what? [b]OKAM Studio[/b] looked like an interesting choice for the job. If you did not hear the name before, that's OK, the guys are known mostly for their casual games for mobiles. [i]But[/i] at the same exact time they have their own freeware open-source engine called [b]Gadot[/b] with a special extension made just for adventure games. Moreover, [b]Godot Engine[/b] was already used to port one of [b]Daedalic[/b]'s most popular adventures, [b]Deponia[/b], to [b]PlayStation 4[/b] and [b]iOS[/b]. Even [b]SEGA[/b] used it for one of their [b]Sonic[/b] games. Sounds cool, right?
Well, it sure is in a way. [b]The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizzaboy[/b] looks a lot like animated version of a comic book. It starts in [b]Dog[/b]'s office and everything you may want is in there. The atmosphere, the music (soundtrack is a really nice nod to noir movies), [b]Pazuul[/b] with his cigarette, [b]Dog[/b] being [b]Dog[/b]... It looks perfect. Well, not [i]perfect[/i] perfect, since for engine creators, [b]OKAM Studio[/b] did surprisingly poor job and the game looks like crap on high resolutions (it just stretches to fit the screen without providing us with any settings to make things look at least a little bit better), but the atmosphere-wise, it's exactly what you may want. The voice acting is not too bad either (translation comes with some errors, though) and the best of all? The story feels totally natural. It takes place somewhere between the first and the second issues of the original comic ([spoiler][b]Eurico[/b] still works with [b]Dog[/b] and [b]Pazuul[/b], while dating [b]Ana[/b][/spoiler]) and, of course, what we've got is an investigation. The lady in distress, the mysterious curse, shady strangers, dead bodies that quickly start popping up... Everything we love about film noir and [b]Raymond Chandler[/b]'s novels. Personally? Love such stuff. [b]Discworld Noir[/b], for example? Is [i]criminally[/i] underrated. And to make things even better, the guys at [b]OKAM Studio[/b] totally understood the original comic. Thanks to which we've got [i]exactly[/i] the same kind of references [b]Filipe Melo[/b] made in his work. [b]Monkey Island[/b] included. So... The game's great? Well... Not really, no.
The problem is, our [b]OKAM[/b] guys were out the money long before their game was finished. And yes, they went to [b]Kickstarter[/b]. Which, as we all know, rarely ends up well for the product. In this exact case we've got story that ends abruptly with not enough explanation, while puzzles... K, I'll just say it – this here is a dumb game. Alright? Remember [b]Beavis and Butt-Head Do U.[/b]? That game about [b]Mike Judge[/b]'s characters that revolved around two mouse buttons? That's exactly what we've got here. You click the right button to highlight things, you click the left button to pick those up and there's a basic inventory where you can combine things. That's it. What's the problem you may ask? I mean, pretty much all “modern” adventures are like that. True. And it's kinda hard to explain, but usually there are some complications. Like, you know. “Press button to highlight stuff” thingy made such games way too easy (everybody hates pixel hunting, but I do believe that a healthy amount of it is needed to make such games interesting), while here? Here we don't even have enough items. It's literally that – you pick up one thing and you use it on the only other one available. Even that [b]Beavis and Butt-Head[/b] game I've mentioned was harder. And it was [i]supposed[/i] to be dumb. By design. This game, on the other hand? It just feels wrong. Short too (you can beat the whole thing in, like, three hours even without a guide, and that's if you won't skip any dialogues).
And you know what's even worse? [b]OKAM Studio[/b] didn't even bother using all the characters. See, in the original comic pretty much everybody except [b]Eurico[/b] had powers. [b]Dog[/b], for example, was werewolf, while [b]Pazuul[/b] (aside from being badass in his usual form) used his demonic powers now and then. Neither of that is in the game. Heck, [b]Dog[/b] and [b]Pazuul[/b] are barely there. We just play as [b]Eurico[/b], who does our usual “[b]Larry Laffer[/b]” thing (the loser part) and that's it. No [b]Gobliiins[/b]-like multi-charter thing [i]at all[/i]. Heck, the game doesn't even bother [i]explaining[/i] characters to you. Remember that gargoyle head I've mentioned? Well, in this game it's just a head. No backstory at all. Same thing for [b]Dog[/b]. So... Yea-a-ah. It's one of those games that [i]do[/i] want you to read the comic first.
And it's a pretty big problem, you know? I mean, who is this game for? Who's the audience here? Comic book fans? Lack of the favorite characters (again, both [b]Dog[/b] and [b]Pazuul[/b] are barely there and won't contribute to both gameplay [i]and[/i] the developments much), together with the unsatisfying ending sure won't feel good for those. The genre's fans? This game is way too short and dumb for those. I mean, it's a bloody science. The fun in such games comes from dopamine reward. You struggle to find the solution for some time, then you finally get it and here we are – our usual dose of dopamine. With something this basic where there's close to no space for thinking? It's more boring than fun. So I ask again, who is this game for? I'm not trying to say that this here is a terrible experience, of course, but all in all, it feels like a failed attempt to imitate [b]Runaway[/b]. With “failed” being the most important part.
