With all the scandals in Washington, the crisis in Iraq and the financial turmoil in Asia, life has been getting way too serious lately. It’s time to lighten up.
Let’s start with Bill Gates, the country’s head computer nerd. Poor ol’ Bill has been getting noogied a lot lately by competitors, the feds and industry pundits.
Now, he’s about to suffer the software equivalent of an atomic wedgie – at the hands of game maker Parroty Interactive. Parroty’s new CD-ROM game, Microshaft Winblows 98, takes a lot of satirical pokes at Gates, Microsoft and Windows, the company’s chief cash cow. Er, in Parroty’s case, make that sacrificial lamb.
Macintosh lovers, Netscape aficionados, fans of Sun Microsystems – and anyone else with a Microsoft bone to pick – will have a grand time with this game. It’s full of biting, ironic humor that lampoons Microsoft relentlessly.
Actually, anyone with any sense of perspective about computers will enjoy this game. It cleverly satirizes Microsoft’s most famous trademarks.
For example, instead of Microsoft’s motto – “Where do you want to go today?” – Microshaft’s motto is “What does he Gates) want to own today?” In place of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Microshaft offers “Internet Exploiter.” The game even has its own version of the Windows 95 Start button. Microshaft’s button says, “Start, or we’ll hurt you.”
The game takes off on the current virtual pet craze. On your screen, it puts a “Billagotchi.” If you don’t feed your virtual Bill, it will throw a tantrum or turn into a slovenly mess.
Within the CD are multiple levels of play. Several games pose challenges that require you to be mentally nimble. Fail, and the game verbally skewers you with a variety of choice insults.
By the way, parents, the game is rated for teens 13 and older. Though the humor is often edgy, I never found it to be raunchy. Still, these aren’t the kind of jokes elementary-age kids will appreciate.
Microshaft Winblows 98 sells for a suggested $19.95 at most computer retail outlets.
Now for something completely different. If you’re in the mood for more laughs, check out a new game from Panasonic Interactive Media titled Monty Python’s Meaning of Life.
For the uninitiated, Monty Python is a hilarious British comedy troupe that produced television shows in the early 1970s and movies in the 1980s. The game was produced by Python member Terry Gilliam who, among other things, was responsible for the bizarre animations featured in every Monty Python television episode.
The new game puts you in the middle of a Monty Python animation.
When characters talk, their jaws move straight up and down. When they appear on the screen, they drop in from the sky or pop up from behind furniture. At any particular moment, a talking carp may fly through the window.
If you’re not familiar with Monty Python’s brand of humor, here’s a sample from the box’s warning label: “This game insults absolutely everyone in absolutely every way. It is guaranteed to offend. If you are not offended by this game, write to the Ministry of Offensive Games and they may actually refund your money.”
The game is Myst-like. It leads you through a series of scenes in which you determine where to go next by clicking on things that show up on your screen. The purpose of the game is to help you figure out the meaning of life by going through episodes titled, Birth, Growth & Learning, Fighting Each Other, Middle Age, Live Organ Transplants, Autumn Years and Death.
The game is rated for players 17 and older. It sells for a suggested $44.95 at computer retail outlets.
