Developer: Twisted Pixel Games
Publisher: Xbox Live Arcade
Rating Guide: How I Review Games

Review:

Look!  Up in the sky!  It’s a bird…it’s a plane….nope it’s a guy with a smiley face and a talking star on his chest.  It’s Captain Smiley!  And he’s on a quest for redemption after being a failed comic hero.  Yes folks it’s the magic of Twisted Pixel Games in comic form and it’s one heck of a funny ride.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

Comic Jumper is a well-crafted Xbox Live Arcade title that no developer other than Twisted Pixel Games could come up with.  You play as Captain Smiley who just so happens to have a talking star on his chest as a sidekick.  And we’re supposed to have fun with that?  Yes…yes indeed!

You jump from comic to comic trying to restore the essence of hero to your own particular world and comic.  You battle an number of enemies including crazy “fembots” and Brad, the handsome villain that you aspire to be.  You have dual pistols that are easy enough to control with the right analog stick.  If you’ve played Geometry Wars, you’ll be right at home with the firing mechanic.  The weapons change according to the comic that you’re in.  And trust me, you’ll need every bullet because the enemies keep coming at you.

To help you with fighting all the enemies and bosses, Comic Jumper allows you to upgrade yourself.  When you complete comic books and earn cash, you can spend it on upgrading Captain Smiley.  You can upgrade health and damage…and you’ll need it.  There are challenge missions to play that will net some additional cash as well so my suggestion is to play those!

One of the things I felt cumbersome was the fact that there are no health packs and when you die, you have to restart at the most recent checkpoint which might be a few minutes ago.  It got old but then that just forces you to be the ultimate hero right?  This game isn’t a walk in the park so get ready to put some thought into it when engaging the enemy.  You’ll die repeatedly if you just run and gun throughout.

The beauty of Comic Jumper though is not really in its gameplay.  It’s the fact that like Deadpool, this game breaks the 4th wall and it is hilarious.  The dialogue and subsequent bickering between Captain Smiley and his sidekick is classic.  They know they’re inside a comic and they don’t pretend not knowing they’re being played in a game.  It’s fun stuff to sit back and enjoy!

And if you don’t want to listen to the dialogue, then you’ll definitely want to listen to the soundtrack.  Brad’s theme song…enough said.  Comic Jumper’s soundtrack is about as funny as they come and that’s not just theme music but sound effects as well.  You can actually download the game’s soundtrack right here!  Just click on the highlighted links in the Comic Jumper section.  I know you’ll use some of those sound bytes as ringtones for you mobile phones.  Boom Goes My Ringtone!

For cool bonuses, Comic Jumper has all kinds of unlockables and even Avatar awards.  You’ll be able to pick up additional levels to Splosion Man as well!

Conclusion

Twisted Pixel Games is easily one of my favorite developers for Xbox Live Arcade.  They’ve given us The Maw, Splosion Man and now this.  They find a way to mix humor, originality and awesomeness all in one bag.  Comic Jumper is as funny to see as it is fun to play.  You wouldn’t expect this much in an Xbox Live Arcade title but with Twisted Pixel it’s becoming the norm.

I think I’ll shed a tear at the level of awesome these guys are developing especially because they’re here in my home state of Texas.  I can count the number of games on one hand that are worth the 1200 Microsoft Points price and currently Comic Jumper is occupying my right thumb.