Comments on: Baby, where did the lulz go?

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:41:44 +0000

YET ANOTHER WELL WRITTEN ARTICLE!
I must say your choice of games are always classic and well thought out. Looking forward to the next one
XD

By: Alison E

Alison E — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:30:18 +0000

LOVED Psychonauts. Whenever I think of the level with the secret agents all “I am on the road crew. I work on the road,” or my personal favorites, the ones with the rolling pins pretending they are fifties housewives, I smile. I also loved the theatre level, and the many hilarious things that can go wrong if you have the wrong set on for the “show.” Comedy gold.

I never could get into Day of the Tentacle, but I adored the prequel Maniac Mansion. In fact, if I am thoroughly honest with myself, the REASON I couldn’t get into Day of the Tentacle was that I was viciously disappointed Razor wasn’t still around, in a band with the Green Tentacle. There’s just something hysterical about a green tentacle eating too much food because he feels depressed.

Another game I found hilarious was Kings Quest… V? Whichever one had you playing alternately between Rosalyn and her mother. You got to become a jackalope: never not funny. You also had to eat some salt to go into the faux shop, thus showing you were “taking it with a grain of salt.” BRILLIANT.

I also found the text game for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy hilarious, but that was mostly because I found the source material wildly hilarious as well.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:59:57 +0000

I wouldn’t call Tales of Symphonia a hilarious game, bit it did get me laughing more than twice. Nintendo Wii’s Paper Mario is also pretty funny too THITH ITH THO HIGH TECHNICAALLL!!!!
But I guess I’m more of a Nintendo girl, and Nintendo games just tend to be funnier. Katamari Damacy was very fun and funny as well.

By: Reginald

Reginald — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:44:40 +0000

Yeah, the Paper Mario series has lots of funny moments and often breaks the fourth wall.

By: Cole Wardell

Cole Wardell — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:20:30 +0000

You write an article on video game humor, and fail to mention Portal? For shame.

By: RiotMonster

RiotMonster — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:07:29 +0000

I agree Paper Mario is a great series!! And so is the Mario & Luigi RPGs.. those are funny as hell. They have 1337 Hammer Bros.. so bad ass. Banjo-Kazooie was delightful as well. Those games own.

But yeah great article Sparkk

By: Navie

Navie — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:04:05 +0000

Great article. I sat here for a good couple minutes trying to think of a game I’ve played recently that had any humor in it… and I could not come up with much! Professor Layton and the Curious Village caused alot of smiling on my part, but not really any lolz. Overlord for the 360 has a few good lines, but overall the subject matter isn’t rofl material. You’re right, we need less carbon copy outdoor FPSs about testosterone filled cadets and more light hearted humor!

By: William

William — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:03:54 +0000

It’s worth noting that Erik Wolpaw, the man who wrote Portal, also co-wrote psychonauts.

I’m so glad you touched on the old Lucas Arts adventure games. Those were a staple of my childhood.

Also, am I the only one who thought that the second Paper Mario was by far the funniest?

By: Alii

Alii — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:30:01 +0000

Oh - right up there with those is an old game called ‘Threads of Fate’. You can actually play through it twice, once as the real ‘hero’ and once as Princess Mint, the anti-hero. She. Is. Hilarious.

She’s booted from the heir position by her sister (with the blessing of the entire kingdom) and chased out of the kingdom by pumpkins, which she hates, and goes on a quest to get her kingdom back. Spoiled rotten and rude, she has to learn to not insult people to get them to do what she wants. At one point you have to outrun a giant boulder. You’re there with the hero, who doesn’t make it down and gets hit by the thing (very Indiana Jones). You can go back up and loot his body and continue on with the dungeon. XD It’s fantastic - from the guy who’s there to teach you moves whose shirt covers just his nipples and is purple, to the woman named Fancy Mel who lives in pink pastel mini-game hell… yeah. Gotta play it. It’s awesome.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:38:52 +0000

@ Cole: You know, I thought about including Portal but that just seemed way too easy of a choice. I feel everyone’s talking about Portal so I decided to bring up a couple games that might have been forgotten lately. It was hilarious, though. I just wanted to pick up all the turrets and hug them. o_o

@ Navie: Nice to see you here! I have heard great things about Overlord. I’m thinking of picking it up when I have some spare cash. It seems like it might have some funny parts in it.

@ Alii: I’ve heard of Threads of Fate but I’ve never gotten my hands on a copy. It sounds like a unique time, and I’m going to keep an eye out for it. If my memory serves me correctly, it’s for the PS1…I’m probably going to have to shell out the cash. XD

By: Ashii

Ashii — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:33:25 +0000

I read the first paragraph and I had one thought
GTA

By: Brainiac27

Brainiac27 — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:19:32 +0000

I agree that Psychonauts was a very funny (and very quotable) game but don’t overlook that Team Fortress 2 is designed to be a lighter game from the cell shaded textures to the taunts to the well designed characters with backstory.

By: sandswipe

sandswipe — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:39:09 +0000

Saints Row 2 looks like it’s going to be really funny. There’s a car surfing, bass jumping, and STREAKING.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/34873.html

It’s basically GTA with all sense of realism and self control being thrown in front of a train.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:33:33 +0000

I don’t know about the new MGS, but MGS 2 and 3 were hilarious, especially 2. I spent hours with friends just thinking up new ways to make the guards go nutty. Maybe humor was not the main point of the game, but one could make it quite comical if they looked for it.

By: wererogue

wererogue — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:30:26 +0000

Not too sure about this one - it seems to me that there are plenty of intentionally funny games about. The second game you mention is Metal Gear Solid, which is renowned for its tendency to take a break from its self-importance to poke a little fun. Katamari Damacy just had a new title on XBox 360. Sam and Max Hit The Road was a fantastic game, but the twosome aren’t missing from our PCs now - Telltale Games are currently developing their 3rd season of excellent, hilarious episodic Sam and Max games, with season 1 about to hit WiiWare.

Telltale are also on the brink of releasing a new Homestar Runner series of games, “Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People”. Add to that Greenhouse’s Penny Arcade Adventures, and you’re pretty spoilt for LucasArts-style graphic adventure games!

Portal and Overlord have already been mentioned - they’re both right up there in my favourite games, and it’s the sense of humour that put them there. I’m holding the Overlord expansion back for next time I hit a dry spell.

I totally agree with what I see as your core point: “more comedy games, please!” I just don’t think we’re really short of them yet!

Oh and I LOVE Psychonauts! :V

By: Charles

Charles — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:47:49 +0000

Skimming through, I believe this story was already done, entitled (roughly) “Why Nintendo is best.” It compared how all the other consoles focus on the dark, gloomy storylines. And I need not compare how Nintendo differs. I don’t remember where I read the other article, and I’m sure this is far more in-depth. So props for it.

By: toaster

toaster — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:36:30 +0000

TF2

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:22:38 +0000

Well agreed there but Metal Gear Solid 4has its humor! Some of the cutscenes are downright hilarious! Akiba’s stomach problems, Snake meeting Naomi Hunter, i lol’d during those

By: Auzara

Auzara — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:46:10 +0000

I loved this article! But you forgot Ratchet and Clank! If you’re into platformers, humor, and the most creative arsenal of weapons I’ve ever seen, you simply must play through this series.

By: Levi

Levi — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:02:37 +0000

mmk…if you want humor in your games…get of 360 and play some PS3…I know it sounds conformist….but its true….have you played Ratchet and Clank? How about Devil May Cry 4? both humorous, oh and of course, one of my faves is Uncharted…..great stuff in that one lol.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:25:07 +0000

@Auzara, Levi: I have actually played Ratchet and Clank. :] They were very funny, and I just didn’t even think about them when I wrote this, to be honest.

@ Levi: I don’t always use my 360. In fact, I only just got it two months ago. I have played DMC4, as well as the rest of the series, and they’re one of my favorite storylines. Dante has some priceless lines. I haven’t gotten to play Uncharted yet, though. I would love to!

By: Pocky

Pocky — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:16:29 +0000

Have you even played Metal Gear Solid 4, let alone any of the Metal Gear Solid games? Hideo is famous for his extremely quirky easter eggs and humour scattered throughout his games.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:52:20 +0000

@ Pocky: Yes, I have played the entire series except 4. As I have been saying, I did not mention them simply because I wanted to focus on the bigger picture. It is common knowledge that Portal is funny, or that in MGS Raiden is running around doing cartwheels naked.

By: Frog

Frog — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:51:56 +0000

What about Earthbound for the SNES? Despite it being an RPG it had some of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen in a game. From the enemies (Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom? New Age Retro Hippie? Unassuming Local Guy?) to the characters (Brickroad the Dungeon Man is a favorite of mine) to the situations (having your path blocked by the police who state that they’re going for the record for most blocked roads) it’s one of my favorite games out there.

By: Ch3wza

Ch3wza — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:20:19 +0000

What about Earthworm Jim? Nobody? C’mon that was a wacky series IMHO. I tried to play Metroid and then played Earthworm Jim afterwards and I pretty much preferred blasting slimes with eyeballs more than frustrating myself on how to open this door leading to the rest of the epic venture.

Serious Sam series, me and my childhood buddy LAN’d those games just run-and-gunning headless freaks that would charge after you no matter where you went.

By: Takiena

Takiena — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:48:50 +0000

There’s also another SNES one that (I think) was remade for one of the newer consoles, or is in the process of being remaked: Conker’s Bad Fur Day. C’mon, what could be more funny than beating a boss who’s a giant lump of singing poo by flinging rolls of toilet paper at it? Or whacking things with a frying pan?

By: Takiena

Takiena — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:49:19 +0000

Remaked. >.

By: Kaly

Kaly — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:33:34 +0000

I disagree with what you said regarding MGS4 - it has plenty of humour in it.
It’s just subtle humour (apart from meeting Johnny again).

By: Cameron

Cameron — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:41:12 +0000

get team fortress 2
its hilarious, and the gameplay is really diverse and entertaining

also
battlefield 2, although not intentionally funny, has enough WTF moments to make it somewhat hilarious (thanks to it being a crappily made game)
however, it is still very fun as well

i noticed that in general Valve tends to include more humor in their games than other companies; I even found myself laughing in the half life 2 and up series

By: Cameron

Cameron — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:42:21 +0000

oh, and almost forgot
team fortress 2 also has a really friendly, humorous community

By: Benny

Benny — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:05:46 +0000

It’s war, let’s all laugh and joke! No, doesn’t work. To take Gears, Call of Duty, Bioshock and others as an example of how games are lacking any humour is pretty silly considering the target audience and the setting. If my plane had just crashed next to a secret underwater world full of mutants, I highly doubt I’d be in the lightest of moods.

If you want funny, or light hearted games, there are dozens out there. Ratchet and Clank, Jak, Uncharted, Little Big Planet etc. Hell, even Metal Gear Solid is chock full of easter eggs (and also a lot without ever deviating) which are hilarious. Codec conversations have proven to be some of the best written pieces in gaming.

The reason casual gamers flock to Diner Dash is because it’s simple. No other reason. The Wii is a big hit because anyone can pick it up and instinctively know what to do. It takes time to become accustomed to any foreign device and most controllers are foreign. Hitting more then one button at once is tough. Give me a drill and I’d look at it like some sort of alien weapon. Give me an hour with it and I’d drill a thousand holes with ease. Non-gamers just have never put the time in to learn how to experience the fun of the tougher games.

By: Weaver

Weaver — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:54:21 +0000

Benny, did you even read the article?