
	Platform PC Genre Adventure Publisher Telltale Games Developer Telltale Games ESRB T (Teen) Released September 15, 2008

- Puzzles are much more entertaining than in the first episode - Much, much funnier overall, including mocumentary newsreels and Patton “homage”

- Shorter playtime duration than first episode - Last puzzle may take more than a few attempts to finally solve

Review: Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Homestar Ruiner (PC) Review: Sam & Max Season 2 (PC) Review: Dracula: Origin (PC)
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia The Free

Score: 9.0 / 10

For someone like Strong Bad, who just thoroughly enjoys answering his e-mails on his Lappy 486 in his usual smart-ass, sarcastic way, a new taxation on e-mailing from the King of Town is a downright total suppression of his unalienable rights to keystroking correspondence.

After being put under house arrest for violating the new e-mail edict and already under the influence of a Napoleonic Complex, Strong Bad takes action the only way

Advertisement

- PC Game Reviews
- Adventure Game Reviews

he knows how – by declaring war on the King and initiating an act of secession by creating a new country (if a little 20-foot by 10-foot patch of land can be considered a “country”) called Strong Badia. Unfortunately for the little dictator wannabe, once everybody else hears about Strong Badia, they all decide that it’s not such a bad idea, with each of the game’s characters deciding to secede and start their very own country with its very own set of warped

Advertisement

ideology based on the personality of each respective “leader.”

From Strong Sad’s Bleak House to Pom-Pom’s Pompomerania to Homsar’s Homsar Reservation to Marzipan and Homestar Runner’s Marzistar (otherwise known as Homzipan) to Strong Mad’s window licker-inspired nation simply known as Country, the landscape is strewn with possible allies for Strong Bad, willing as they may be or not to join his cause.

But Strong Bad decides that his is the one true sovereign state powerful enough to stand up against the King of Town’s dictatorial rule. So what’s Strong Bad do? Imposes his own tyrannical tirades against all the others, so that they will pledge allegiance to Strong Badia and unite to take down the King of Town.

After a funny cut-scene “borrowed” from the beginning of the movie “Patton” (with George C. Scott ranting about patriotism and war and whatnot front and center with a humongous American flag in the background), Strong Bad begins his Revolutionary journey in the newest episodic adventure from Telltale Games, Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia The Free.

Throughout the Viva-La-Revolution gameplay, gamers will undertake Strong Bad’s oftentimes-hilarious attempts to persuade fellow expatriates to become Strong Badia's citizenry. In Episode 2, the puzzles are much more logically based. Using the standard point & click adventuring methodology of puzzle-solving (combine item A with item B) means that there’s less Sherlocking and more enjoying the funny dialog and cut-scenes in the game (especially the mocumentary newsreel footage that accompanies each successful merging of nations).

Less complex puzzles, however, unfortunately lead to less gameplay than there was in Episode 1. However, that reduction in Strong Bad playtime is certainly replaced by an increased amount of ha-ha’s. Episode 2 is much more hilarious than the first episode, as the political nature of the story is rife for copious amounts of humorous dialog.

“Winning” a final puzzle/game that’s sort of a Homestar Runner version of Risk (called Maps and Minions) finally restores the King of Town back to his refrigerated throne, allowing ‘Strong Bad to return to his former life of untaxed e-mailing. It will take a few rounds of Maps and Minions to solve what proves to be the most difficult (because of it’s somewhat confusing rules) puzzle to solve in the entire episode.

It’s definitely shorter than the first episode, but more than makes up for it with way more witty banter and thoroughly enjoyable gameplay with more satisfying puzzles than in the first episode. With political upheaval afoot in Strong Badia the Free, Strong Bad puts his best foot forward so far, in this solid second entry of the five-part first season.

- Lee Cieniawa
lcieniawa@armchairempire.com

(October 27, 2008)