Fans of Homestar Runner will be familiar with Dangeresque, Strong Bad’s homemade film series done in the style of 70’s exploitation films. Viewers have gotten to see the original film and its sequel (titled Dangeresque II: This Time, It’s Not Dangeresque 1) in cartoon form on the Web site. For the last few years, there have been hints that a third film would be made someday, but some fans were beginning to wonder if it would ever see the light of day. Well, wonder no more — not only has Strong Bad finally delivered Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective, he’s done so in playable form in this month’s penultimate episode of Strong Bad’s Cool Game 4 Attractive People.

 
The title screen, which has Dangeresque and his sometimes-partner Renaldo
skydiving toward the camera, gives you a good idea of what’s to come.

When the game begins, Strong Bad’s in a rush to get to the world premiere of his latest buddy-cop blockbuster, Dangeresque 3. Ok, so the premiere is being held in Strong Bad’s basement, but he’s still very excited to show it. After a very brief intro set in the “real” world of the series, the movie begins and the player takes control of Dangeresque himself in the film. That’s right, except for a few moments at the beginning and end of the episode, the entire adventure is the movie. Each of the familiar characters takes a role in the movie — Marzipan is perpetually-helpless Cutesy Buttons, Pom-Pom is the brilliant but deranged Dr. Experimento, and Strong Mad is the villainous Killingyouguy. Just as episode 3 was a parody of the music industry, this month’s episode sends up various aspects of the film industry, but it’s mostly a spoof of 70’s cop movies. Like the previous Dangeresque movies, part 3 looks like it had a budget that barely rivaled the cost of the videotape it’s recorded on, so many of the jokes stem from the obvious homemade quality of the movie — contrasted with how seriously Strong Bad takes it all.

 
Dangeresque would never go anywhere without his aviator shades or his trusty nunchuck gun.

This is still Strong Bad’s Cool Game 4 Attractive People, so if you’ve played the previous episodes, there won’t be any surprises in store for you gameplay-wise. You still direct Strong Bad around each environment by clicking on various places and objects in the game world, which causes him to comment and/or make jokes about it. Most of the neat touches this episode come from the way the game replicates the low-budget style of the Dangeresque movies as seen in the cartoons. Whenever you talk to another character the game switches to a shaky handheld camera style, frequent obvious camera cuts make the game look like it was edited together by someone who doesn’t really know what they’re doing, and little brother Strong Sad takes on his usual role as everyone’s stunt double, with painful-looking results.

 
Dangeresque 3 features truly terrifying special effects, like this photo-realistic Bear-Holding-A-Shark.

Visually, episode 4 doesn’t really hold any surprises. Aside from the aforementioned neat camera tricks, the game uses the same colorful look of the previous episodes and source cartoon. It is interesting to see each new environment, as they’ve been decorated to serve as the various sets needed for the movie — like StrongBadia, which has become the steamy jungle country of StrongBorneo. The music here all fits with the 70’s cop-movie theme, so expect plenty of funky bass lines, and of course the classic Dangeresque theme song.

Month after month, Telltale Games has delivered a quality four-hour chunk of adventure gaming, and episode 4 doesn’t break this trend. The jokes are hilarious, the puzzles are tricky enough to keep you thinking, and there are plenty of side activities to keep you busy after you’ve finished the storyline. What else can I say? Dangeresque 3 proves to be worth the wait, and Strong Bad’s Cool Game 4 Attractive People continues to go strong (no pun intended) as it heads into the final episode.

Gameplay: 8.5
Point-and-click your way through Strong Bad’s latest cinematic masterpiece. The game is easy to pick up and play, so if you’re late to the SBCG4AP party you’ll be able to figure out what’s going on pretty easily. Clicking on everything in sight yields an impressive amount of jokes, so the game’s entertaining regardless of whether you’re actually making any progress or not.

Graphics: 7.6
Dangeresque 3 uses the same visual style as the previous episodes, albeit with a much higher concentration of 70’s fashion. Aside from a few cool visual touches, like the handheld camera moves, SBCG4AP continues to look exactly like a long-lost Homestar Runner cartoon, for all the good and bad that entails.

Sound: 8.1
The most common song you’ll be hearing is the Dangeresque theme, which does a great job of setting a cheesy 70’s vibe (despite bearing more than a passing resemblance to the People’s Court theme). Actually, the music in this episode isn’t quite as memorable as in episodes past (especially after last month’s music-centric episode), but it’s still pretty good.

Difficulty: Easy
The puzzles here are tricky and clever, without being overly difficult (especially considering the game’s generous hint system). You’ll probably still try using every item in every possible situation, but to hear all the different jokes, rather than to try to solve a puzzle.

Concept: 8.9
Strong Bad’s been talking about making Dangeresque 3 for years, so the fact that he’s finally delivered is great in and of itself. The fact that it’s a playable movie instead of just a cartoon is icing on the cake.

Overall: 8.8
Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 gives players all the Strong Bad point-and-click goodness they could hope for. It’s a hilarious, fun, afternoon-sized helping of adventure gaming, and keeps SBCG4AP’s streak going as the series heads into the finale.