One of my favourite gaming genres of past times was point and click adventure games. I loved them. Scouring the environment for items and solving puzzles, yeah got my head in a spin, but boy did I enjoy it. Most were slow paced giving you time to think, a welcome change of pace from blasting crap to smithereens. They were also rich in story, making some of the most immersive worlds easy to dive into with some really cool characters of the good and not so good variety, Broken Sword is a highlight. Well the famed formula is alive on current consoles with Adventure Time: Jake and Finn Investigations. Unlike most point and clickies though, it merges this great formula with some real time combat. It looked unique and different to me. I had to try it but is it any good?
I had mixed feelings. Although I was unfamiliar with Adventure Time, its world, its characters, I still had a great time playing Jake and Finn Investigations. Its story is a bizarre one. Finn and his pet pooch Jake are one day lounging wondering what they should do when their robot assistant BMO stumbles across a “Tickertype” which seemingly was left by their parents. It gives Jake and Finn an idea to become investigators. And so they embark on five different Investigations, in five different regions within the Land of Ooo. Starting by proving wizard Abracadaniels innocence to Princess Bubblegum of kidnapping Peppermint Butler (…I’ll let that sink in for a second). They are intriguing if a little predictable but Adventure Time is essentially a children’s television programme which we mustn’t lose sight of. Developers Little Orbit have created a story of stories that fans of the series will love with all the famous dialogue intact.
Adventure Time: Jake and Finn Investigations is a gameplay hybrid. Incorporating the classic point and click premise into its now, for the first time for the series, 3D world. Experienced gamers may find it too easy. Clues and objects are highlighted by sparkles and it’s hard to get lost. Kids will love it though. The cleverly designed puzzles will test their perception and in Jake and Finn Investigations, the big picture splits into small ones with lots of small mysteries to solve. Its control system is simple to understand. The optional tutorial given by the hilarious Cuber creates an optional step by step in an amusing fashion. It’s skippable however, moving around is done using the left thumbstick and choosing to look at, speak to or pick up is done using the right thumbstick with the A or X button to activate. Finn and Jake are switchable. Jake the dog can use his unique stretching abilities to help get Finn to places otherwise unreachable. These abilities are also helpful in Jake and Finn Investigations’ combat.
Taking on an enemy switches to a small arena environment with a combat system akin to Kingdom Hearts. It’s free flowing and in real time which makes for some truly exciting fights. It starts to be a tedious affair after a while. Mashing A or X to straight together combos to earn tag team moves ends up being a broken record after a while, especially once you’ve seen all of the moves on offer. The tag team moves are cool though. Finn can jump on Jake as he transforms into a spinning top smacking anything in his immediate vicinity and drop bombs using an onscreen reticle amongst others. These attacks plus a simple dodge ability makes for a combat system ideal for the young ‘uns.
As mentioned before, for the first time ever, Adventure Time has gone into the third dimension. All of the characters and locations have made a successful transition but it hasn’t done Adventure Time a great deal of justice. Its ambitious attempt at 3D is let down by dull and murky textures. Even by current generation standards. Making a 2D cartoon 3D takes guts. It’s risky. It works in younger eyes. Seeing their beloved Jake, Finn, Magic Man (even though he is an arse), Abracadaniel and Lumpy Space Princess in fully realised 3D and perfectly animated is a visual feast on the eyes. Experienced older gamers will see the gaps in the pavement as it looks dull as dishwater compared to most Xbox One and PS4 games on the market today.