2nd Op By

Gene Park 5.0 RATING

In any entertainment medium, it is rare to have works that have high artistic importance along with mass appeal. The Beatles are a prime example of such rarity, widely accepted as the most influential and popular of all rock and pop groups. Mister Mosquito is a work more directly involved with insects that does not compromise its image in the American market, despite the politically incorrect title. Brad was certainly on point when he wrote that this game wouldn't make your hard-earned cash burn easy. However, Brads assessment of Mister Mosquito is a lot more forgiving than real mosquitoes would be. He addresses the issue of what little value it has for the normal price of a game, but time and money weighs far more than what little substance this game has. Art shouldnt have to compromise itself, but for a game to succeed as an entertainment product for consumers, it needs more than just a cute idea.

Its easy to call this game original and good for the industry because of its concept and its adventurous eccentricity. But the game is only as adventurous as it allows you to be. Brad points out the different objects in the environment you can interact with to distract the family. It sure sounds attractive to act out your mischievous selves by turning off the lights in the bathroom while the nubile teen-age daughter takes a bath. But thats not going to happen in this game because youre not allowed to. Youre only allowed to "interact" with something when it is highlighted by the targeting system, and the interactions are restricted to merely rushing headfirst into the objects. It isnt fair to criticize a game that doesnt match the expectations I might have had for it. However, given the nature of flying insects, I dont think it's too much to expect a certain degree of freedom that might come with a flying insect videogame. Even "attacking" the humans is restricted to a few spots on their body, which goes through the motions like some animatronics display. Each "stage" just feels like one boss fight after another. All you can do is somehow find a weak spot on the wooden-like human by manipulating the environment and capitalize on opportunities to strike. The games nice sense of scale gives an illusion of freedom, and exploring each stage for hidden items give it some kind of replay value. With only 12 stages though, there is only so much you can find, and the rewards are merely for kitsch.

And thats what this game is: A kitschy game that will not only make you laugh at its concept, but at other slightly subtler things like the female announcers droll self-awareness of the concept. Also interesting to note are the antics of the Yamadas, your stereotypical Asian-American family, complete with overprotective parents and the strong-headed, Westernized teen-age daughter. In fact, it takes the Asian stereotype to massive proportions when the mother cooks with martial arts skills and explains to you why she fights in typical Anime fashion. During the 1970s, blaxploitation films had found a large audience in urban theaters frequented by African-Americans. In the same spirit that an African-American may find films like Dolemite and Undercover Brother charming, I found the game's similar exhibition of "yellowsploitation" endearing, despite the fact it may give succor to those who wish to keep the current American bourgeoisie mindset. Mister Mosquito's creators are not among them because in its concept, it attempts to defy conventions in the fickle yet decisive American market.

However, this game fails in execution because of its simplistic goals, floaty controls (I would expect a mosquito to fly like the zippy insect it is, not like a DC-10 aircraft) and limited interactivity. Mister Mosquito might be considered more valuable if it even suggests a difference in how we play games, and this game wouldve been perfect to experiment with concepts of perspective, like Brad hinted in his review. Unfortunately, all it presents is a cute idea. Anything more than a rental would give you the privilege of telling your friends that you have a game called Mister Mosquito. You might get into discussions with them about consumer-driven sexism in video games and the self-perpetuation of Asian stereotypes by Japanese developers, but that isnt what you paid $50 for.

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