Stupid Invaders
Ubi Soft/Xilam
Point and click 3rd person cartoon Adventure
Adult themes -


The Story (taken from the manual)

"Returning from a picnic in space, five extra-terrestrials crashland on earth. While waiting for repairs to be completed on their saucer (promised time "just a few minutes" - actual time "years later") they take refuge in an isolated, uninhabited house in the suburbs of a town that no one's ever heard of. So far so good - But things soon take a turn for the worse when a scientist called Sakarin finds out where they are and decides to capture and dissect them in his underground base. Sakarin sends a fearsome bounty hunter - the vile Bolok - hot on the heels of the extra-terrestrials" and so begins your adventure.....trying avoid Bolok and get back home without becoming experimental test tube fodder for Sakarin.

The Characters -

Etno Polino is the brains of the group and working on his encyclopedia of humans.
Candy Caramella is a "female wanna-be"
Gorgious Klaatu is one big walking stomach and also seems to be Candy's main squeeze.
Stereo Morovici gives a new meaning to the term "two heads are better than one"
Bud Buddivitch who looks like he has the intelligence of a rock but manages to come through in the end.

There are three locations - the rented house, the toothpaste factory (trust me, after this part you may never want to use toothpaste again) and Base 52 where Sakarin's base is located. You play all five characters at various times throughout the game.

The game comes on 4 cd's and I did the full install which takes a looooooong time but well worth it because there is no disk swapping. The graphics are drop dead gorgeous - period. The cutscenes were fun to watch - one is rather lengthy, but the graphics are so good I didn't mind it at all. It was like watching a cartoon movie.

The inventory was simple to use and there wasn't much of it. None carried on to the next character's quest. The puzzles were logical (for the most part) and flowed with the story. The humor has been dubbed "toilet humor" As with all things in life we all have different senses of humor. Some will think it's funny - others the stupidest thing they ever heard.

You can die lots in this game so save often and I mean often - Opening a door can do you in and you won't know you're done in until it's too late.

Now on to the controversal part - there has already been a serious discussion regarding the sexual innuendos in this game - there are a few and they deal with Candy (who is a female trapped in a male body and wants a sex change operation). There were a couple of times I cringed while watching what was going on. Did I think it was funny? No. Did I think it was cute? No. Was I offended or outraged by it? No - because IMO what was going on fit Candy's character. Will it offend and outrage some? Yes. Would I let my 15 year old son play it? No.

In a nutshell I enjoyed the game - it was a fun diversion and I particularly enjoyed the storyline and the fact you played each alien individually -

Would I recommend this game for everyone? No.


[This message has been edited by syd (edited 05-20-2001).]

Well done Syd,

I agree that this game isn't for everyone and has some caveats to go along with some of the plot and character elements.

I thought the graphics were supurb and enjoyed most of the cut scenes immensely. I too was a tad uncomfortable during one scene in particular - but it was not real offensive to me - as I took it in light of Candy's personality and also as a satiric cut at Playboy and Hugh Hefner.

I on the other hand would recomend it to folks who taking into consideration, the somewhat at times juvenile humor and the definite adult overtones, a) don't find those caveats to be a problem and b)want good solid gameplay, great graphics and an overall fun time.

Laura

[This message has been edited by gatorlaw (edited 05-20-2001).]

Hi,
I enjoyed it, warts and all. I love cartoons, so that helped.
It was funny, juvenile, irreverent, and at times in your face. Not bad ingredients to make a good cartoon.
I agree it won't be for everyone - Laura's rule of thumb is spot on.

flotsam

I thought Stupid Invaders was a fantastic game. Ive played it twice and will probably play it a few more times before I croak! This game was tons of fun! It has stayed in my top five for 4 years now.
Great review Syd! Short but sweet.