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The Next Big Thing
The Next Big Thing
Developer:Pendulo Studios
Publisher:Focus Home Interactive
Platform:PC & MAC
Genre:Adventure
Release Date:April 2011
Article Posted:July 2011
Grade:3.5/5
System Requirements


It is the evening of the annual horror film awards. Acclaimed monsters are competing for the highly coveted "golden Death Chickens." This year, the ceremony is being held at Mr. FitzRandolph's mansion. FitzRandolph is the owner of MKO Pictures and an influential movie producer. Two journalists named Dan Murray and Liz Allaire have been assigned to cover the event. Dan is a remarkably pompous sports writer who got stuck with the assignment because he got on his boss's bad side. Liz is an inexperienced, but talented young journalist. More than a little eccentric, Liz has a disconcerting habit of periodically sputtering all manner of nonsense.

A few minutes before the ceremony begins, Liz and Dan pull into the parking lot outside the building. Dan tells Liz that he is not actually going to attend the ceremony. Horror movie awards are simply beneath this renowned sports writer. Understandably, Liz is more than a little annoyed with Dan's arrogant attitude. After a bout of yelling and name-calling, Liz leaves Dan in the parking lot and walks into the building. Several hours later, she returns with a recorder full of interviews. Dan on the other hand, has elected to spend his time getting drunk in the parking lot. As the journalists get into another yelling match, Dan notices an actor named Big Albert sneaking into FitzRandolph's office through a window. Liz is convinced that Big Albert is after some juicy secret. This could be her first major story. She decides to investigate and chases after the actor. Thus begins an odd little adventure full of monsters, teleportation pads, missing brains, and a healthy dose of absurdity.

The Next Big Thing (TNBT) is a third-person point-and-click adventure game from Pendulo Studios. The development company is best known for its work on the Runaway trilogy. With TNBT, Pendulo steps away from the Runaway saga and delivers a different story. Graphically, the new adventure game is on par with the previous titles from Pendulo Studios. The Next Big Thing boasts beautifully-crafted environments and excellent animation. Unfortunately, there are several issues that hold back the game. The end result is still a pleasant adventure. However, TNBT does not quite rise to the level of wittiness, whimsy, or charm attained by the Runaway series.

The Next Big Thing is divided into six chapters. Players alternate between controlling Liz and Dan throughout the adventure. The game uses a simple mouse-driven interface. A single left click moves your character to the desired location. You can double click to instantly move to the indicated spot. If you hover the mouse over a hotspot, the icon changes from the default crosshair. For instance, the 'eye' icon is used to examine objects and the 'hand' icon is used to pick up inventory items. On certain spots, it is possible to right click on an object to change the action you want to perform. For example, you might be able to switch between the 'eye' and 'speech bubble' icon to alternate between examining and talking to another character. If you move the mouse to the top of the screen, a pop-up menu allows you to access your inventory and the hint system built into the game.

The adventure begins in the parking lot outside FitzRandolph's mansion. Taking control of Liz, your first task is figure out why Big Albert broke into FitzRandolph's office. Once you manage to get inside the office, events quickly escalate and the journalists find themselves involved in a conspiracy. It'll be up to you to sort out the mess and uncover the mystery surrounding MKO Pictures.

Along the way, you will get to meet a few characters and begin to appreciate TNBT's unique setting. This is a world where monsters are real and live among human beings. In fact, many of the monsters are famous actors and work on horror movies. Technology appears to be advanced since robots are readily available to perform tasks like cooking and gardening. Adding in the game's exaggerated cartoon-like graphics and odd puzzles, it is clear that Pendulo has attempted to create a quirky and surreal world for adventurers to explore.

The effect is magnified by the game's unusual cast of characters. You will get to contemplate death with a highly depressed and oddly nihilistic robot that is reminiscent of Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. You will meet a poet whose only inspiration is to feel pain in novel ways. With a strong nod to the 1986 movie The Fly, you will hang out with Professor Fly, who is actually a giant talking fly that just happens to be working on teleportation pads.

The puzzles are likewise very fitting for the tone of the game. The vast majority of the challenges are inventory-based. There are also some logic puzzles that require pattern recognition and a couple of dialog puzzles. On many occasions, the puzzles have quirky , but straightforward solutions. Several inventory items are used in unorthodox ways. You may also find yourself doing strange things like purposely trying to get fired or dying a monster blue to improve his self esteem. For the most part, the game does a nice job of integrating the puzzles to the flow of the story. As Dan and Liz encounter new situations, the game is also good at explaining your objectives. There should not be many occasions where you have no idea what you are trying to accomplish.

If you have trouble with the puzzles, TNBT has two hint systems that can be helpful. One or both of these hint systems become available based on the difficulty setting selected at the beginning of the adventure. The magnifying glass button on the top portion of the screen is used to reveal all the hotspots in the area you are currently exploring. There is also a hint button that can be pressed to receive a clue about your current objective. The clues are often indirect, providing a general hint and an image of a location you should reexamine or an item you might think about using. The idea is to nudge you in the right direction rather than spelling out the solution. Unfortunately, if you get really stuck, the hint may be too obscure to be helpful. It may have been a better idea to implement a tiered hint system that starts with a small clue and gradually reveals the solution as you click on the hint button multiple times.

TNBT's bizarre setting, interesting characters, and odd challenges are certainly effective at piquing player interest. The abundant references to old movies are also likely to be appreciated by movie buffs. The absurd nature of the story coupled with the beautifully-rendered environments generates enough of a drive to push you to the end of the game. However, a few elements keep both the story and the setting from fully clicking.

For one thing, while the supporting cast is entertaining, the player characters are not all that likable. The 'partners that can't manage to get along' spiel feels a little cliched, with an outcome you can predict from the very first scene in the parking lot. Taken as individuals, the characters do not fare much better. Dan is supposed to be the rugged macho guy that only cares about sports and attractive women. Without a doubt, some of his behavior is intentionally exaggerated and meant to be amusing. This works to a certain extent, but Dan doesn't quite have that James Bond or Indiana Jones-like style and charm that would make him endearing despite his flaws. You do not discover much about his background in the game either. His character never truly develops, making him seem a bit shallow and one-dimensional.

Liz is arguably a somewhat more interesting and likeable character. It helps that she is driven to get to the bottom of the case. More importantly, there is an entire section of the game that involves exploring her background. In addition to containing some of the best puzzles in the game, this section gives Liz considerably more depth. In low doses, the absolute nonsense she habitually mutters can also be amusing. However, at least for me, the attempts at humor during her sections of the game fell somewhat flat. Her overall zany behavior and nonsensical dialog options weren't all that hysterical. After all, there are only so many times you can laugh at another character saying 'dis...concerting' in response to Liz's random commentary.

Another problem is with the presentation of the story. On a few occasions, the game does a poor job of transitioning from one portion of the adventure to the next, making it a little difficult to follow the story. While it is not a serious problem, this can be a little jarring and break the mood. More importantly, the mystery you are trying to solve is not all that interesting. The story lacks depth and the game fails to create a sense of urgency about what Liz and Dan are trying to accomplish. The problems are accentuated by the game's short length. I was able to finish TNBT in seven hours during my first playthrough. In my opinion, that is insufficient playtime for a commercial adventure game. TNBT would have certainly benefited from additional locations and puzzles.

In the end, The Next Big Thing is a short, but entertaining game. The excellent cartoon-like graphics, superb animation, interesting characters, and quirky puzzles add up to a fun adventure. Unfortunately, several problems keep the game from being a complete success. Some of the jokes fall flat and the main characters could be better developed. The hint system could use some reworking. The game would have also benefited from more content. However, none of the issues fundamentally disrupt the overall experience. If you are looking for a quirky adventure and a relaxed gaming experience, consider giving TNBT a try. If you liked Pendulo's past work, you will most likely enjoy playing through The Next Big Thing as well. It may not be an excellent game, but it still offers plenty of fun moments.

   


PC System Requirements:
OS: Windows® 7/XP/Vista
Processor: 2 GHz processor
Memory: 1GB RAM (2 GB for Vista)
Video Card: ATI Radeon X800/Intel GMA 3000/NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or higher
Hard disk space: 8 GB