I'm a big believer in comedy games. There haven't been many, but it's an interesting concept. We've already established that a game can make you cry (mission accomplished, Trip) -- but can a game make you laugh? It's the question Wideload Games poses in Hail to the Chimp, a party game that claims to be rife with political comedy. But is it really a rib tickler, or should it be yanked off the stage with a Vaudevillian hooked cane?

Before we get into the humor, it's of vital importance that we address the gameplay. After all -- even if the game has you rolling in the aisles, why would you come back to it unless the replay value is there? Hail plays out in a series of combat-driven mini-games that has you scrambling to collect clams (these are the "votes" that will get you "elected") before your opponents do. Every mini-game is essentially the same, but they'll often have a different goal. For example, some will be about how many clams you collect in a certain time limit while others will be about a set number of clams. Regardless, the core of the game involves grabbing clams and smacking your opponents until their clams fall out. Simple enough.

Unfortunately it doesn't get any deeper than this. It would almost be forgivable if the gameplay was tight, but sadly that's where Hail to the Chimp fails the most. Characters move as if they're knee deep in quicksand. Combat is little more than a simple button press. The camera is at an angle that ensures the screen will be too busy all the time making the action nearly impossible to follow. There's really nothing redeeming about the play mechanics in this title. They served as little more than a frustrating unplayable mess between cut scenes and opportunities for laughter.

Visually the game hits a minor home run. It may not be an achievement technically, but the art design as it pertains to both the characters and levels smacks of fun and originality. It feels like a hip children's story book come to life. I'd love to see this look used again (preferably in a playable game), but even here a slight tweaking was needed. The color scheme, though great in the cut scenes, was so vibrant and full that it caused eye strain in the actual gameplay. While I'm all for getting away from browns and greens in gaming, subtlety also has it's place.

But even if the gameplay fails, Hail still offered the promise of laugh out loud comedy, right?

It breaks my heart to say so, but Hail to the Chimp failed on this front too. Despite being a Canadian, I'm a big follower of US politics. I also enjoy a good laugh, and as such enjoy shows like Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report -- the very shows that so many press agents implied would share an audience with this game. But here's the trick -- those shows are funny because they address current political situations and real world events. Hail exists in a self-contained world with no direct parody of anyone in the American political structure. I can understand not wanting to touch on current politics. After all, it could be considered disrespectful and the game could become irrelevant really quickly. But you're telling me you couldn't have a Reagan or a Carter parody in animal form? What about Ross Perot?

Despite not drawing from real world politics, they still had an opportunity to tickle our funny bones and it just wasn't happening. The humor seemed aimed at the Saturday morning cartoon viewer which I really didn't think was the target demo for this game. Here's the truth -- nothing in this clip is funny;

It's only a snippet of the hours and hours of cutscenes they've included (actually, it's a trailer with snippets from a few cuts), and as far as effort goes Wideload is certainly to be commended. They've clearly put a lot into attempting to cram as much funny into this game as possible... but it just isn't.

Despite the occasional trailer and slick visuals that made this game look appealing, Hail to the Chimp is a heartbreaking disappointment for anyone looking for a good laugh. Even more heartbreaking though is the flawed gameplay -- a huge surprise considering the pedigree of the team at Wideload Games. Sadly, Hail to the Chimp is one political party game that isn't going to get my vote.

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