Insecticide
Preview
Detectives have their work cut out for them
by Marcus Mulkins
previewed on PC
What's it all about, Alfie?
The game follows insecticide (well, it wouldn’t be homicide, would it?) detectives Chrys Liszt and her partner Roachy Caruthers as they investigate a murder at the Nectarola soft drink company. The murder leads the pair of bugs to an even greater mystery, and solving it involves a mixture of brain and brawn.
Crackpot Prez Michael Levine points out that, "We wanted a game that had intense action moments, and then others when we slow it down a little and you investigate - just like watching any cop film." He pointed out that they were deliberately trying to emulate such great buddy-cop movie classics as “Double Indemnity” and “The French Connection” as well as many others.
And that pretty much sums up all you need to know about the game: LucasArts background and style; detective/cop film noir; insects instead of humans. There could be, and has been elsewhere, more discussion about the attempt to balance the Action and Adventure elements. Levine insists that they strove for a 50/50 split, but I'm not certain that's what the consumer will get. The first release of the game will be for the Nintendo DS (scheduled for January 8th, 2008) - and that should seriously suggest just how action-oriented it is likely to be. From the trailers available showing the gameplay on the Nintendo DS, I was reminded more of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider than of Indy in Fate of Atlantis. Lots of shoot-'em-ups with insecticidal (well it ain't "homicidal") maniacs. Which makes me wonder...
Time to worry
There have been many, many games that have blended two or more genres. In fact, the most common blend is between Action and Adventure. Just consider the aforementioned Tomb Raider. For the most part, Lara spends her time running from one location to another, dodging monsters and traps. However, every once in awhile she has to figure out a puzzle in order to proceed. Now consider the also aforementioned Fate of Atlantis. In that one, Indy spends most of his time solving puzzles, but I seem to recall in one scene Indy getting into a fist fight. In another he has to judiciously apply his whip to defeat an opponent.
Both games: Action AND Adventure. However, I would play an Adventure game, but probably not an Action one. Why? Because my reflexes suck. I recall that in both Godfather and Dreamfall, both of them fine games, I had to set the games aside for the simple fact that I could not master a given action sequence. And I have no doubt that there are many Action-oriented players that are put off by games that require them to solve some perplexing puzzles. The difference between them and I is that they can usually bypass their Adventure obstacles by finding a detailed walkthrough on the Internet while no aid is available to bring my reflexes up to the level necessary to overcome a difficult action sequence. If Insectide is going to be 50/50 Action and Adventure, that’s about 45% too much Action for my taste. And I have no doubt that many players may conclude that there’s about 45% too much Adventure.
How to improve your cash flow when you’re a new company
Crackpot had been planning to release the game in the last quarter of 2007. Unfortunately, they missed that window of opportunity – and the Xmas sales that go with a fourth-quarter release. So they decided to go with the Nintendo DS release on January 8th. Note the timing: About one week after New Year’s is when most kids have played through whatever game they got at Xmas. That means it would be about time to start looking for something new.
Later in the first quarter, they plan to release the PC version. That’s good timing too, because the word-of-mouth on how great the NDS version was will have gotten around. However, unlike the NDS version, Crackpot plans to focus on online download sales for the PC players. That means way less overhead costs, and a vastly superior profit margin from direct sales, as opposed to selling at a discount to distributors. And if both the NDS and PC versions sell well, expect to see Xbox and Playstation versions shortly thereafter.
So, to sum up: If you liked any of that long line of LucasArts games from its heyday; if you’re a fan of detective/cop games; if you like a game’s premise to be somewhat familiar, but distinctly unique; if you like a LOT of Action and a LOT of puzzle-solving, then you’ll most likely want to take an up close and personal look at Insecticide. If, on the other hand, you are a gamer well outside those parameters... caveat emptor.
