Comic Jumper Review

Twisted Pixel is back, and Comic Jumper is nearly available on Xbox LIVE! We’ve played it, and we want to share our thoughts with you! Does Twisted Pixel have yet another great title in store for you? Let’s find out!

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Both The Maw and ‘Splosion Man have something special about them – they were developed by the team at Twisted Pixel. By now, we’ve come to expect great things from them, and Comic Jumper has surely delivered. In Comic Jumper, you play the role of Captain Smiley, a hero who suffers financially to the point where he loses his own comic book.  As Captain Smiley, you must visit strange new worlds portrayed in other heroes’ comics and perform tasks to earn cash. With enough cash, you should be able to re-launch your own story – The Adventures of Captain Smiley!

Comic Jumper features eleven missions and eight challenges for you to complete while visiting three unique worlds aside from your own comic. The game mixes it up with a variety of styles both in its visuals and its gameplay. You’ll traverse through Jurassic worlds, outer space, a Japanese manga universe, and more. The game primarily runs as a side-scrolling experience in a 3D world, but you’ll also play in 3D at pre-determined locations throughout your adventure.  You’ll spend the majority of your time using your unlimited pistol ammo to destroy hundreds of Brad-bots, meteors, and various other enemies.  Aside from that, Captain Smiley loves to beat up his enemies with ease, sending them crashing into desks, walls, etc. Add in just a few quick-timed-events (QTEs) and you’ve got the basics of Comic Jumper figured out.

Most of the level designs are quite large and they contain some enjoyable platform elements. There was a single level that took longer than expected, and I did feel it was dragging on. Fortunately, that was the only portion of the game where I felt that way. The remaining sections were quite fun, and had a decent amount of variety to keep things fresh for the most part.  Levels feature a few types of enemies, and you’d have a boss battle at the end of each level as well. Boss battles unfortunately suffer from being repetitive. Their health is indicated by a numerical meter that reduces upon receiving damage, and this process repeats itself for every boss battle in the game. It’s still a fun game, but I can’t help wishing for more.

It’s worth noting that Comic Jumper is a rather difficult game. The melee portions are easy, but when you’re using the guns, be prepared to take out thousands of enemies in total, sometimes coming from all directions. Once you get the controls working comfortably, you can look at the challenges. They are basically short segments taken from the levels, and you have to get from point A to point B as quick as possible for the best score. To score even higher, try not to kill enemies, but be warned, one hit and you’re done for! Comic Jumper is a difficult game no matter how you look at it, but the challenges push it even higher with instant deaths

In terms of extras, Comic Jumper has quite a bit of content for its price tag. At Captain Smiley’s headquarters, you can meet and speak with the villains from your story, learn about them, and simply enjoy a few laughs on their behalf.  You’ll come across very clear decor that pays tribute to other great games such as The Maw, ‘Splosion Man, A Kingdom For Keflings,  and a few more through dialogue in-game or in its animations itself. There’s no collectable aspect in the gameplay itself, but you can use the cash earned to purchase over 250 items from Dr. Winklemeyer  who is located in your headquarters. Besides the great concept art, models, and comic, you can unlock a free Comic Jumper premium theme for your Xbox, gamerpics, and also free DLC for Twisted Pixel’s ‘Splosion Man! That alone covers half the cost of Comic Jumper so you have no reason to debate the purchase.

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Another unexpected addition to the game for me was its character upgrade system. Using more of your hard-earned cash, you can purchase stat upgrades from Dr. Winklemeyer, but the prices get pretty expensive so you’ll need to work for it. You can increase your health, weapon damage, a few other of Captain Smileys’ stats. You can also purchase a ‘special attack’ here which have up to three uses per level.  I won’t tell you exactly what it is, but let’s just say it feels like the team at Twisted Pixel is playing right alongside you.

Comic Jumper is a gem in the visuals department. Each level looks like any comic book you see on a newsstand, but picture it being more vivid with high definition color and clarity. Classic BAZOOKA-style lettering is used to illustrate sounds of enemies being terminated, or the screams of your trusting friend, Gerda as you leave her to certain death. Each comic series has its own unique design whether it be a savage looking jungle, a black and white manga, or a space-like setting from the old Looney Toons Duck Dodgers cartoon. No matter which part you look at, Comic Jumper is a beautiful looking title.

Finally, we come to the soundtrack of this amazingly fun title, and I have to hand it to the folks behind the script as they’ve done an absolutely fantastic  job. The dialogue is witty and sarcastic, and the banter that goes on between the characters is sure to make you smile. Star is a very crude character at times, and he makes sure to constantly remind Captain Smiley what he thinks of him.  The soundtrack isn’t too shabby either, and each area has a somewhat themed tune to accompany it. While I admit I don’t have any of the music stuck in my head, it sounded great during my time spent playing. But, it’s really all about the dialogue in the game, and that’s where it shines the most. Voice actors have truly done a phenomenal job in bringing life to Comic Jumper.

Wrapping up, we’ve got a solid eight hour campaign, plus the challenges to keep you going a little longer. Free DLC for ‘Splosion Man, avatar awards, fun achievements, a free premium theme, and a bunch of goodies to unlock – is there no end to all the cool stuff? Stunning visuals, fantastic dialogue, and inspirations from other great games make Comic Jumper an instant hit! Comic Jumper is 1200 :MSPoints: and will be available on Wednesday, October 6 so be sure you’ve got your points stocked!