Guilty pleasure…That is a difficult topic, especially when it comes to a subject as small as comedy video games. So, now I’m going to have to get creative, not in regards to my choices, but how I can convince you that they fit into this topic. Guilty pleasure comedy video games…Sigh…Alright, let’s get this debacle going.
5. Mutant League Football – Like Tecmo Super Bowl on steroids…If the steroids were untested, contained a radioactive chemical, and were infected with 6 strands of a yet unidentified STD. This game is violent, disgusting, and pretty funny. A classic from my childhood, I doubt I’d play it today because I found the game mechanics to be sloppy and uneven computer difficulties to severely reduce re-playability.
4. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine – This is one of my favorite games, but I put it at #4 because I don’t think it quite qualifies as either a guilty pleasure or a comedy in the direct sense of either of those terms. Having said that, I have prepared arguments. It is a guilty pleasure in the sense that it is one of many Candy Crisis-style games that once fought for “we were first and the best”…And like most anyone who has or had played Candy Crisis…I have applied far too many hours to this game…So many that I am confident I could beat you with my eyes closed…asleep…with my feet…drunk…and high…And what game isn’t funny that includes a host of Sonic villains trying to blow up little beans as you are commissioned to defeat them by a little star-shaped bean called Has-Bean? …I love Has-Bean…and that’s a guilty pleasure all to itself.
3. Peggle – This isn’t the funniest game out there, and I only consider it a guilty pleasure because I have played it far beyond the time necessary to complete everything the game has to offer. It really became a guilty pleasure when I asked somebody, “Hey, have you played Peggle?” And they respond with, “Yeah, six years ago…when it came out…”. Yet I still play it when I have a free 15 minutes and no game in the console. And who couldn’t giggle at the cartoonish characters and the oft-creative backgrounds? Well, I giggle…I giggle a lot!
2. The Simpsons Arcade Game – I am guilty of two things with this classic arcade title: putting too many quarters in the slot over the years and never getting as far as I am willing to admit considering the number of quarters I used. Once a staple at any arcade, it is kind of a cult classic of video games that, if you go back and play it, was far more fueled by nostalgia than quality of play.
1. I Made A Game With Zombies In It – How far does my guilty pleasure for this game go? I almost bought an XBOX 360 just to play this game. I volunteered to dog-sit for a friend just to play this game. Despite not owning the game, I had most of the theme song memorized by the time I was done. The confessions are getting increasingly pathetic, I’m going to stop now. This is a simple game, a top-view shooter in which you simply try to survive using various item drops from the overwhelming enemies. I have never played a game with a more legitimate reason for showing the epilepsy warning before playing. The flashing background combined with the chaotic gameplay is just addicting. And after following the link, tell me this game isn’t funny!
The first two Roll The List! topics have not been my forte…Here’s hoping this week’s roll is a little more of a familiarity to me. We’re getting there, because I know video games a little better than table top games. Crossing my fingers for a little sports or movie love this week!
Overlap – Not surprisingly, we didn’t have any overlap on this week’s list. The list was smaller and the subject matter was slightly more ambiguous as we adapted the term “guilty pleasure” to meet our needs.