High school hell is great fodder for games

Winda Benedetti Citizen Gamer • E-mail

It’s no wonder World War II is a popular backdrop for video games, what with all the bullets flying, the Nazis marching and the international air thick with drama and intrigue. War is hell, but it sure as hell makes for some compelling storytelling and gameplay.

Believe it or not, a few savvy developers have discovered an even more hellish and heart-pounding backdrop in which to set their games: high school. That’s right, these developers have discovered what filmmakers already know: High school is fertile ground for conflict-and-intrigue-laden yarn spinning. Bullets whizzing past your head? Pshaw. Just try surviving cruel cliques, brutal bullies, power-hungry principals and a really embarrassing case of acne.

As Duckie says in the flick “Pretty in Pink:” “Good Morning! Welcome to another day of higher education!”

Speaking of “Pretty in Pink” — someone went and made a computer game out of this seminal ‘80s high school movie. No really, they did.

As I am wont to do on occasion, I’ve been revisiting my gloriously tortured teen years by playing video games set in gloriously tortured high schools. (An aside to those of you still living out your gloriously tortured high school years: Hang in there.  It gets better, I swear.)

“Pretty in Pink,” “LIT” and “Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!” — these games have transformed the hormonal spectacle that is pubescent academia into the meat and potatoes of some interesting gaming (for the most part). And I, for one, am happy to know that something good can come out of all that be-zitted suffering.

Richies vs. Freaks
But first, let me just say that I pity those of you who didn’t go to high school in the 1980s. The hair. The clothes. A significant portion of the music. It was all so deliciously awful! Seriously, you missed out.

Thankfully one man was able to capture and preserve the experience for all eternity. That one man was filmmaker John Hughes.

Legacy Interactive With its clunky dialog and unimaginative gameplay, the new "Pretty in Pink" computer game just can't live up to the totally awesome movie it's based on.

Hughes’ movies — “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink” — specialized in exploring the highs and lows of coming of age during the decade of acid-washed jeans and permed hair. He turned tales of teen angst into movies that were heartfelt and humorous all at the same time. And for those of us who were actually living the life, oh how these films spoke to us.

Alas, the vast majority of movie-to-game adaptations are a disappointment to fans … and the new “Pretty in Pink” adaptation is no different.

“PiP” is one in a trio of high school-based casual games based on high school movies launched by Legacy Interactive (the other two games are based on “Clueless” and “Mean Girls”). And, unfortunately, it’s the biggest disappointment of the high school games I’ve played, like, ever.

As you may recall, “Pretty in Pink” tells the story of Andie (Molly Ringwald), a poor-side-of-the-tracks girl who falls in love with a rich-side-of-the-tracks guy named Blane (Andrew McCarthy). The movie dabbles in themes of love, friendship, the destructive nature of socio-economic hierarchies and the fine art of seamstressing.

You may also remember that Andie ends up with Blane as the film closes … rather than with her adoring and dapper-dressing guy pal Duckie (Jon Cryer). For many of us, this seemed like a totally laaaaaame way to end things since Duckie was so so SO much more clever, interesting and awesome than Boring Blane.

And here lies the only reason to play “Pretty in Pink” — at long last, you can change the way the story ends. Blasphemous? Quite possibly. But I prefer to think of it as righting one of history’s great wrongs.

“Pretty in Pink” is your basic hidden-object/puzzle game, a casual game that revisits the movie’s yarn while tasking players with finding lists of items hidden within still images. Sprinkled between the seek-and-find scenes are various mini-games — puzzles, logic games and memory tests.

But as casual games go, this one is mediocre at best. The seek-and-find scenes feel cluttered rather than carefully crafted and the mini-games are not particularly unique. Meanwhile, the music and dialog is a shadow of its former glorious self.

In the movie, Duckie said things like: “Drinking and driving don't mix, that's why I ride a bike,” and “I'm off like a dirty shirt.” In the game, he says things like: “Don’t you hate that? When those ‘richies’ treat us ‘freaks’ that way?”

Gag me.

That said (spoiler alert), if you find more hidden ducks during the game than you find hidden toy sports cars, then Andie ends up with Duckie instead of Blane at the end … and sweet sweet justice is served at last.

MORE FROM CITIZEN GAMER

Citizen Gamer Section Front

This holiday season, let the games begin! Through the eyes of a killer Video games are cheaper than couples therapy Wake up to video game sleeper hits Gaming our way to musical genius Will gamers go for Sony's PSPgo? Which game machine is right for you? In dark gaming times, Nintendo DS shines Is the president a video game hater? Console wars: Microsoft drops Xbox 360 price Citizen Gamer Section Front   Add Citizen Gamer headlines to your news reader: