Brawsome, 2010
WHAT WE LOVE
1. The music: «Jolly Rover» features a really great score, full of Hollywoodesque moments, that helps creating a somewhat epic mood at some moments, fun at some others, dramatic from time to time…
2. The references: the game is full of winks to popular culture; being classic graphic adventure «The secret of Monkey Island» the most obvious one (maybe too obvious?), there are references to «The lord of the flies» novel, «Loom», etc.
WHAT WE LIKE
3. The hint system: Juan Leon, the wise parrot, is always there at the player’s disposal. In exchange of a simple cracker, it will guide the player as much as they need: from giving a cryptic metaphorical clue to explaining some kind of a walkthrough.
4. The innovative approach to the interface and playability: items’ descriptions that turn into different colors depending on wether the player has examined them or not, achievements and goals, funny «status» sentences, coins and flag pieces that unlock new features… For classic players, all that may not mean too much, but we can’t deny it’s worth giving it a try.
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If one considers Brawsome «Jolly Rover» as a humble approach to the point’n click genre, then it’s a quite amusing one. The doggy cartoon-style and plot may look too childish, and the hommage paid to the LucasArts saga may be too obvious (making a point and click game about pirates involves a huge risk!); but in the end, sometimes it’s all about having fun for a few hours, and good Gaius James Rover and company really put a smile on one’s face.
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