*dusts off the old manuscript*

Oh gosh, how long have you folks been sitting here without a good game to get your hands on? Well, for the record, I just want to apologize for that. It’s summer, and despite popular belief, I am not a vampire who writes game blogs every day. I like to feel the warmth of the sun on my pixelated skin tone. Well now I’m back, and I’m rolling up my sleeve to deliver a pretty awesome game from developers, Jay Armstrong and Julian Wilton, called Super Adventure Pals.

Now close your eyes and picture this:

You are a young boy. You have a pet giraffe and a pet rock. You’re having a peaceful picnic in the forest, when out of nowhere an evil villain STEALS your PET ROCK! Now it is up to you to save your pet rock [ and vicariously your village ] from the likes of evil genius mastermind: Mr. B. You’re an action hero. A superhero – oh, and did I mention he has a giraffe?! YES. He does. Save the rock, get the girl, and save the town in this adorably addictive Action/Platform/RPG.

‘This picnic ROCKS Giraffe!” “Murrrruuu!”

If the concept is hilarious to you, well then all that’s holding you back from seeing this gem is playing it. In light of this though, I suppose we should be talking about accessibility. OK! Armstrong and Wilton did a lot of small tweaks to the game’s overall design which I feel really make this game enjoyable and I hope you do too – so here goes nothing folks! Hoo!

Pros:

• Optional control scheme at the start of the game. Left and Right handed schemes.
• All text/dialogue is written out or symbolic. No audio is necessary to complete levels.
• Color scheme and art animations are clear and sharp enough to be distinguishable.
• Simple gameplay makes the platforming enjoyable and the quests engaging.
• A humorous storyline combined with a plethora of levels to play through makes S.A.P. a joyful and unique platforming experience.
• Health kits are automatically used making traveling and healing simple.
• 75 levels, 4 bosses, and 3 towns full of content gives this game quality time.

This level feels so slow – oh. It must be the sloths!

Cons:

• The text is only available in English, so international gamers may have issues if they’re not proficient in reading English.
• The control schemes may be simplistic, but they often times require both hands.
• Motion-impaired gamers may have difficulty with the platforming in further levels.
• The game doesn’t have a mouse-only option for movement, so one-handed gamers will have extreme difficulty in accomplishing levels.

“Muhahahaha! ALL YOUR ROCKS ARE MINE!”

Overall, while the game has challenging platforming that may make some gamers frustrated, the appeal of the quirky artwork, humorous storyline and engaging levels makes Super Adventure Pals a definite ‘must see‘. Save your pet rock, ride your giraffe, save the world from evil masterminds! Armstrong and Wilton have done an impressive job with this game and I tip my hat to their genius Flash designs. You can play Super Adventure Pals NOW on Kongregate. It’s an accessible little blast of challenging fun and one of the best I’ve seen Armstrong release!

Way to go gentlemen! Now, if you’ll excuse me – I have a giraffe waiting to fight aggressive sloth monsters. He gets cranky when I don’t feed him.