The second entry in Telltale Games’ Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People saga, Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free, just came out this month. It once again continues entertaining, humorous and engaging the point-and-click adventure game that began in Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner. However, Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free is a wonderful game that may even be better than the first episode and can be enjoyed without any prior Homestar Runner or Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People knowledge.
Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free begins with the King of Town enacting a law that taxes every email sent, which enrages Strong Bad. After refusing to pay, the King of Town places Strong Bad under house arrest. His map is confiscated, and he is sentenced to stay put until he pays the tax. So the first task at hand is to find a way out and administer a pounding to the King of Town.
He then hears noise, and sees Homestar, Marizpan, The Cheat, Coach Z and Strong Mad outside in the front yard, engaging in a peaceful protest of Strong Bad’s imprisonment. They even created an effigy of the King, which doesn’t resemble him much, and started collecting creamy ding snack cakes to pay the tax and free Strong Bad.
So the first task is to make the effigy look more like the King of Town, using items from around the house. (Like Strong Sad’s towel.) That way, people will burn the effigy, which will destroy the invisible fence keeping Strong Bad trapped in the house. Once you collect all four parts, toss it down to the “peaceful” mob, and The Cheat will assemble everything. It looks so good, it even fools Homestar (of course, that’s a pretty easy task). The fence is destroyed and Strong Bad is freed!
His freedom regained, Strong Bad and company head to Strong Badia – where the King of Town can’t reach them. Strong Bad decides to declare war on the King of Town. The only thing is, everyone else seceded, leaving Strong Bad alone. Even The Cheat joins in, making a small country within Strong Badia with the Tire called The Cheat and Tirerea.
Strong Bad must then go forth and conquer every other new, independent nation on his quest to take down the King of Town in his castle.
Personally, I enjoyed Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free much more than Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner. While the first episode had a great premise and story, the second episode just seems to flow better as a game. I couldn’t wait to discover all of the other new ‘countries’ and help Strong Bad find ways to conquer and incorporate them into Strong Badia.
It also had some nice extra touches. All of the Strong Bad photo-booth outfits you collected in Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner carry over into Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free. Also, in the beginning, there are extra emails which Strong Bad can respond to and answer while trapped in captivity.
Episode 2: Strong Badia the free is a welcome installment in the Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. If this trend continues, then each episode in the series may end up being even better than the last, culminating in some kind of ultimate stylish, humorous and awesome point and click adventure game.
Images courtesy of Telltale Games.
Published: Sep 15, 2008 07:28 am