Bone reviews (PC)

Based on the self published comic book series 'Bone' written and animated by Jeff Smith, Bone: Straight out from BoneVille is the first instalment of an episodic release of games following the adventures of Fone Bone and his cousins Smiley Bone and Phoncible P. "Phoney" Bone.

The games follow the series of comic books released by Smith and carry the title from each book. Currently Bone: Straight out from BoneVille and Bone: The Great Cow Race are the only two released.

The first game (Out From BoneVille) starts with the three main characters stood in a clearing up on a mountain range, seemingly they have been run out their home town, BoneVille. The in game dialogue informs us that this is the result of an ill fated attempt by Phoney to run for town Mayor.

Them Bones gonna walk around

Through these opening steps of the games the controls are explained through various on screen prompts. In order to progress the story you need to speak to the characters around you. Helpfully a screen pops up to explain that hovering your mouse over a character will display a talk icon, and by clicking on them you can initiate conversation, similarly there are icons for action, walk and look.

The strongest point of the games is the story, and it quickly becomes apparent that playing through this games is similar to listening to a novel read on CD, it's another way of getting a popular series to an audience who may have missed it first time round. That's not to say that isn't a good idea, but it may give you an indication of the level of game play you can expect.

Sticks and Stones may Puzzle your Bones

Rather than distinct levels you progress through different areas of the games, most of which have some form of associated puzzle. The puzzles put in front of you are well fit into the environment, and it rarely feels that something has been shoehorned in simply to provide an added element of difficulty. In fact, not much about the games seems to be about adding difficulty, nothing here is particularly hard to work out. Anyone who has played a point and click adventure before will probably only take two attempts at any given puzzle, someone who hasn't, may require three. Just in case you really do get stuck there is a nifty little in game help system. It supplies decreasingly cryptic clues depending on the number of times you refer to it, before straight out telling you what to do. It's a neat system that works well, though it feels a little out of place in games this simple.

Graphically these games are, well, pleasant, nothing spectacular and nothing bad. Runs smooth and nice, even on my ageing rig. The most important aspect I could comment on here is that original comic artwork is reflected well. The character translation from comic strip to computer screen is worth a special note, they really do look exactly as they should. I know that this shouldn't come as a big surprise but strangely it does, I have seen too many adaptations where the character faces people have got to know and love, are lost in the translation.

Bone Idol?

There are some wonderful characters in this series, Fone himself, the love struck cutesy hero, Ted, an over excitable bug who has a high pitch voice as well as a brother that would terrorize any gardener and the fantastic rat creatures. These two hapless baddies spend more time discussing what to do with Fone Bone should they catch him than they do attempting to actually catch him.

The story line through the two games is pleasant, humorous and dark all at the same time. There are no conclusions to be found here, no final “happy ever after”. The end of each game is left open ended and feeling like the end of a chapter, which in truth is exactly what they are. The difficulty comes when trying to determine who the story and therefore the game, is aimed at. The story line definitely has some darker undertones and doesn't seem particularly aimed at children, yet the game control system, help options and simplicity of the puzzles definitely does.

Funny Bones

As I said previously, this feels more like a guided tour through the world of the Bones rather than a user driven gaming experience. But it's fun and it's quirky and each individual game provides a good couple of hours of entertainment, that doesn't require too much brain power yet is strangely engaging with a good, humorous, story. Both games provide an enjoyable little adventure and, having played them through, I look forward to the release of the next instalment.

One final note, the scores below accurately represent my assessment on the individual elements of these games, but it means that the overall score doesn't quite represent my true feelings about this series. As a game, yes it's lacking, but as an entertainment medium, it's suitably enjoyable. It's an interactive cartoon more than it is a game, and it's one that is worth playing.