A couple of adventures to leave you pointing and clicking your way through the weekend. This first one is a beautifully made game that offers a unique take on the genre. It is simple and short, and should be a delight to casual gamers of all ages.
Yes, Mucha Lucha should be familiar to anyone who has played a Flash point-and-click adventure before, and yet there are qualities of the game that elevate it above others in its class.
It begins with an introductory cut scene that combines animation and text that together serve to put you into the story. You play as "The Flea" and "Masked Dog" on an adventure to rescue your friends Rikochet and El Rey who apparently have been kidnapped by El Evil Dentista of Doom.
To make it through the game, you will need to make use of three important items: the map, the switch button, and the inventory. The map is important for moving between the several areas of the game. The switch button is for switching between the two characters, since you must make use of both to find all items and solve all the puzzles in the game.
The inventory will store the items you find along the way. To use an item, open up the inventory—you must be the Flea to open it—and then click and drag the item over an object in the area to use it on. For example, drag a key you find over a door to unlock it.
Analysis: This game gets it done right where other games in the genre fail. One of the major complaints with point-and-click games is the exhaustive hunting necessary to find that one-pixel-sized hit area that must be clicked to find an item. In Mucha Lucha, when the mouse cursor is over an item that can be clicked, a very nice starburst graphic appears around the item indicating a click action is possible. Similarly, when dragging an item from the inventory, a starburst will also appear if the item can be used on something in the area when over top of it. This is a very welcome feature that other point-and-click game designers should stand up and take notice to.
Also, the addition of the switch button to swap characters adds a bit more depth to the game play than simply pointing and clicking. Granted, the puzzles in this particular game are not all that difficult to solve even with the switching of characters, and yet the feature represents another welcome change to regular p-n-c formula.
Created by Frima Studio in Quebec, Canada, this latest game is a breath of fresh air in the rather cramped and stuffy room of Flash point-and-click adventures. See for yourself, and leave a comment with your impressions or analysis of the design. Click.
Update: Unfortunately, it appears that Frima Studio has removed the game from their servers, probably due to the traffic it was receiving. I have made an attempt to contact them about it.
Quite a refreshing new spin on point and click games. excellent find, jay!
I liked how the game required you to switch between the two characters in order to accomplish certain tasks, and also that it made sense to do so for each instance. A very enjoyable game. :)
Great find Jay! Very entertaining game and very cleverly done.
yes! i agree with that too! :D this game made me wanna play those old lucas arts games.. like full throttle, the dig, sam & max, day of the tentacle.. =]
I thought it was a very entertaining game. Similiar to the Escape from Detention or Escape from School game previously reviewed here which had a switch aspect.
darn im stuck, where can i find the locker
Location of the locker:
The locker is inside the school building, on the left-hand side of the first screen. You'll need an item to help determine which locker is the right one, however.
i can't get the lock to open, i've tried the combination everywhich way in firefox and explorer, any suggestions?
I agree that entering the combination was a bit wonky. I had to play with dragging the dial around a bit before I was able to get all 3 numbers entered.
But once I finally set the 3rd number on the dial, the lock opened as expected. I used Firefox 1.5 on a Mac.
Are you sure you're entering the correct numbers in sequence? Also, you might try keeping the mouse button pressed while selecting a number. If you release the mouse prematurely, the game's logic may invalidate the sequence.
[Edit: To clarify, release the mouse button only when at each number of the combination.]
Jay,
no luck with the
lock, i've tried all your suggestions, it's just not working for me
i love your site
though, thanks for all the sleepless nights!
about the lock
it's pretty simple
you just need to let go your finger each time when you drag to each number
and there you'll have it
thanks jeremy, that did the trick
Glad you got it, twangdiva. And cheers! =D
It may be interesting to readers to know that the TV cartoon Mucha Lucha is actually made using Flash. They simply render each frame out to TV resolution for broadcast - a number of TV cartoons are now made using Flash to cut costs.
Cartoon Network's "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" is the only one that's actually any good, mind you. :o)
how do you undo the switch?
Hrm...looks like it was too popular. I get the message that the site account has been suspended. Used up all bandwidth perhaps?
Yes, unfortunately it does appear to have been popular. And hopefully the traffic issue is just temporary for them.
In the meantime, I am mirroring the game on my server only until the issue is resolved.
How do you get into the school...?
I have
water from old lady and the ball. In the back alley I have masked dog begind the fence.
Sorry, I've gotten into the school already. It's pretty easy when you use logic (which i very little of ^_^). Small spoiler:
I was thinking
"Stupid game." *looks at the baseball in inventory* "I'd like to throw that ball at my computer!"
*falls to floor in shock*
I amaze myself sometimes...
You did say "a couple of adventures" did you not?
I had played this game before, earlier this week. I like how you need to switch logically between the characters.
Like, of course the dog cannot enter the school
I did have a bit of trouble finding one item in the school.
Yes, KT, I did say a couple. =)
The problem is, I can't seem to access the 2nd one right now. But others may have better luck. Look for an update soon.
Thanks for the mirror, Jay. Twas a fun lil time waster ^^ Gotta love the ones that don't call for pixel hunting, especially since it's time to change the prescription on these bifocals.
Frima Studio is back online. Links restored.
"The page cannot be found".
Unfortunately, it appears that Frima Studio has removed the game from their servers. This time I will need permission to restore the mirrored link, as they may not wish for the game to be available elsewhere.
I will update the entry again when I receive word from them.
Update