Game:

Stupid Invaders (2000)

Duration: 41:05

98,108 views

0

"Stupid Invaders" as it is known Internationally (though its original title is "Les Zinzins de l'espace" or "Space Goofs"), is a simplistic 3D point-and-click adventure game released for both Dreamcast and PC based on the popular "Space Goofs" cartoon series produced by French/German Gaumont Multimedia and Xilam Animation (a subsidiary). The game uses many key locations from the show and the original voice crew for added impact, but is more mature than the original cartoon and introduces Bolok, a professional assassin character exclusive to the game. The game was released with all five aliens from the show including Stereo, who was removed from the cartoon series shortly after the game's release (before season two).

The game's story deals with our five stupid alien pals (Etno, Bud, Gorgious, Stereo, and Candy) who are returning from a picnic in space when they (unexplainably) malfunction and crash-land on Earth. While waiting for repairs on their ship to be completed (which takes years), they take refuge in a quiet suburb of a town that no one's ever heard of. During this time, a deranged two-foot-tall scientist, Dr. Sakarin, spies on the aliens from his lab at Area 52. Wishing to study their craft and conduct wicked experiments with his assistant, Igor, he hires a bounty hunter named Bolok to stalk and capture them. Antics ensue as you control the five aliens and try to evade him and get back home. If you want to know more about the characters and show, you have to look it up.

Although SI/SG has been running for over ten years (1997-2008), I barely remember watching it on T.V. growing up, but I liked it and always wondered what became of the show after the first few years. I'm glad to know that it enjoyed a healthy following, particularly in France, as it's a well-made cartoon in its own right. The game, on the other hand, will please fans of the cartoon but bewilder adventure game fanatics with its limited scope, lack of feasible puzzles (some are logical, but others only make sense after the player has already died), and short length. It does nothing to set itself apart from previous ADV games and what is present is barely engaging. There is little to interact with, little in the way of items or easter eggs, and very little lasting appeal.

Some of the game's problems are mitigated by short load times and the ability to save anywhere, but the game almost feels like a pretty technical demo than a full-fledged adventure game. I can only recommend it to those familiar with SI/SG and diehard fans of the genre as the game does not possess much in the ways of creativity or require much in the ways of lateral thinking. If you're really stumped, the manual even has a general walkthrough of the whole game! Case in point, just enjoy the sights and sounds and look up more on the cartoon if you're uninitiated.

If I had to say anything else about the game, I'd say it's great-looking (nice animations, character expressions, plenty of FMV, etc.), nice-sounding (great voice-overs and music straight from the show), it has its moments/gags and it comes on two discs. The game is generally in the $20-$40 range, so I wouldn't exactly call it "cheap", but there are few classic 3rd Person ADV games of its kind on Dreamcast (not counting games like Carrier, Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, etc.), so SI/SG has little competition. This is a simple video playing through Bud's segment with subtitles turned on. Enjoy.

Other Statistics