If you grew up with computers, you probably also grew up with Jim Henson's Muppets. Sesame Street began its lengthy run in the late 60's, bringing a new, more ironic education to the generation that would eventually be brought to you by the letter X. In the 70's, The Muppet Show became the most watched television show on the planet, and shattered any preconceptions people might have had about puppets having to be "just for kids." In the 80's, Henson created the Fraggle Rock show, but turned his attention primarily to the movies, producing cult classics like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth in addition to three excellent spin-offs from the classic Muppet Show.
After a brief and ill-fated attempt to recapture the mainstream television audience (The Jim Henson Hour), Henson died on May 16, 1990, devastating fans worldwide. Fortunately, the tradition has never died, and the Henson company has continued to produce excellent movies, television, and commercial videos. Well, now there's a new branch of the company, Jim Henson Interactive, and their first product, The Muppet CD-ROM, is flat out fantastic!
The product's subtitle û Muppets Inside û should offer a clue as to what's going on here. Sure, these are the same old familiar characters (plus a new one: the very cool, very maroon Clifford), but they are taking advantage of their new medium to level some very specialized humor at the Windows '95 market. This is no mere collection of old clips: there's over an hour of new material here, including some really sharp video!
Even the story line behind the game is subversive. Apparently, when your AutoPlay tried to start up the program, something went horribly wrong, breaking everything up into itty-bitty pieces and strewing Muppets all over your system! In order to make things right again, you're going to have to guide Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear around in a Databus. Follow the Bitmap to find clogged pathways, then play the minigames to clear your hard drive of the corrupting lunacy, and pick up your friends along the way. They're hidden in such interesting locations as the Memory Bank (near the Cache Machine); the CPU, represented as an Ivy League College (get it? CP...U?); and the Carpal Tunnel, home of the famous syndrome.
There are seven minigames, and most of them are Muppetized versions of popular videogames or television gameshows. The quest begins with "Trivial... But True," which is Hollywood Squares with furrier celebrities than usual. Then, make your way to "A Wokka on the Wild Side," a chance to help Fozzie Bear survive a hostile, egg-bearing audience. He does a little softshoe/waddle across the stage, and you must try and keep him unstained. The format is unmistakably a very close copy of the classic 80's arcade game, Missile Command, all the way down to the sound effects.
"Scope That Song" is, of course, Name That Tune, with some really perverse variations thrown in. The wheel that determines how many notes you get is really Gonzo roped to a turntable, spun by the incomparable Miss Piggy. You get to hear your notes either performed by Lew Zealand's burbling fish or Marvin Zuggs and his Muppables (ow ow OWWWWW). When you win the game, you get to hear the Leprechaun Brothers (The Swedish Chef, Beaker and Animal in white turtlenecks and green berets) sing your last selection.
"Kitchens of Doom" is primarily a sight gag, but it's a great one! It's a first-person Swedish Chef action-adventure. Patrol dark, scary kitchens armed with various utensils (a whisk, an egg beater, etc.), facing off against giant talking vegetables and cheeses. After a few whacks, they can be eaten for health points. No great challenge here, but who cares? It's the Swedish Chef, man! Bork bork bork!
There are also a couple of games where the final object is to watch Muppet Show clips. In "Two Thumbs Down," Statler and Waldorf (the old guys in the balcony) give you a mixed-up picture from a clip, and you have to rotate the pieces to put it back together. But watch out for Crazy Harry, the man with the manic laugh and the dynamite plunger. He can blow your work to heck and back. In "Beaker's Brain," you help Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker recreate the funniest moments from Muppet Labs, where the future is being made today!
Finally, Gonzo the Great presides over a truly bizarre target game. He's loaded into a cannon, playing a famous classical piece on the harmonica. In order to complete his Death-Defying Act of Culture, you must gauge the cannon angle and calculate the amount of gunpowder neccessary. Of course, there are numerous obstacles: chandeliers, fire-breathers, an elephant shaped fountain. And the target doesn't always stay put, either. This is often the most challenging of the seven games, but you are allowed to just keep going until you get it right. Besides, Gonzo enjoys getting hurt so much, even missing is fun!
This is pretty innovative stuff! The closest thing I've ever seen to The Muppet CD-ROM was 7th Level's Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time, which was a fine product, but far less focused. Besides, there was no new video! Everything was clips and strange cartoon interfaces. This is a much better product, and is one of the best multimedia products to date, period. For the first few minutes, you'll be wondering how they did it, but from then on, you'll be too busy rolling with laughter.
