Superhero League of Hoboken

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: 1994
• Genre: Adventure
• Style: First-Person Adventure
• Similar Games: The Koshan Conspiracy (IBM PC Compatible), Gladiator (IBM PC Compatible), Space Dude (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

In this humorous adventure game (with role-playing overtones), you are The Crimson Tape, the leader of a friendly gang of mutants known as the Superhero League of Hoboken. The Hoboken faction is one of several that belong to a larger Superhero League and your patrol territory is the northeastern United States (specifically New York and New Jersey). The adventure takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland set nearly 200 years in the future and the Superhero Leagues are trying to restore order, preserve historical knowledge, and wipe out the bad guys.

The game features an incredible and hilarious array of more than 30 mutant beasts to fight (such as the Glowing Bean Eaters, Junk Bond Amoebas, King Kong Salmon, etc.) and league members (like Tropical Oil Man, Mademoiselle Pepperoni, etc.) to choose from. The ultimate goal is to defeat the evil Doctor Entropy after completing six levels of adventure, each with five funny, specific missions involving combat, character interaction, exploration and puzzle solving. You'll earn money by buying and selling items in markets and get mission briefings from the League computer, Matilda. In the role-playing aspect, you'll track your characters' health, condition, brawn, brains and toughness. Superhero League of Hoboken is mouse driven and uses the old method of building commands from a list of verbs and objects.

Review: Overall

The humor in Superhero League of Hoboken is continuous and comes at you in many forms including sight gags, puns, absurd weaponry and a cast of bizarre characters with special abilities you've never seen before in any computer role-playing adventure game. With such lovable superheroes to call on in dire situations like Princess Glovebox with her uncanny ability to fold roadmaps, and RoboMop, who can clean just about any mess you stumble across, your missions will seem more like forays into the fun house at the carnival than world saving events. But make no mistake, there is a large number of critical missions with their attendant puzzles to solve lurking around every corner, missions that include such environmental disasters as the impending destruction of Newark (seems as if a cache of jalapeno peppers is threatening to infiltrate the local water table), the horrible dilemma of saving a Jersey City marketplace from the ravages of a Limburger Bomb (sounds like a job for The Iron Tummy), the tense situation in East Orange whose residents are being terrorized by a flock of rabid sheep, or imminent chaos in Paterson caused by a malfunctioning computer (those are just the first level quests). Each of the six levels contains five such missions, four which can be played in non-linear fashion and the fifth always being a chance to thwart one of evil Dr. Entropy's diabolical plans using material or knowledge acquired in the first four missions.

In an interesting and successful design feature, your cast of characters increases with a new superhero slot opening up in your party after completion of each level. Your character, The Crimson Tape (whose primary superpower is the ability to Create Organizational Charts like no one's business) is present in all missions and in the first level you'll be limited to a party of four with complete freedom to choose any of the other superheroes that happen to be hanging around the Hoboken League's lunch room. And, if one isn't getting the job done, you can substitute until you get the right person for the job at hand. Superhero League of Hoboken features staples from both the role-playing and adventure game genres but with a distinctly unique spin. Outrageous armor (the Slinky of Death?), ability enhancers, weird (but effective) weapons (you just never know when that pea shooter will come in handy), exploration bonuses, class advancements and much, much more await you in this wacky world. An extremely easy to use point and click interface, simple combat requirements and puzzles that range from easy to difficult add to the enjoyment. The humor, from subtle to slapstick, is seemingly endless in this game and creates an incredibly rich and lively experience (from groans at some of the outlandish jokes to outloud guffaws) as you rid the world of such ghastly fiends as the Samurai Welders, Cruise Mistletoes or mutated chickens. From an overall perspective, the so-so graphics and fairly feeble sounds are minor gripes when compared to the level of fun this game offers.

Review: Enjoyment

One of those "just one more mission before I quit" deals. Game play is fun and addictive with a great mix of on-screen hilarity and hijinx to keep you interested. Warning: a well developed and appreciative sense of humor is a prerequisite for getting the most out of this one.

Review: Graphics

Static action screens, little animation and lots of text. Artwork is bright and colorful and generally very good at expressing a post-apocalyptic background theme.

Review: Sound

Uninspired sound effects (a shame since there were so many opportunities for them) and unexciting music but these are not what this game is all about and don't detract from the enjoyment.

Review: Replay Value

Considering it's partly an adventure game, replaying it again just for the laughs is a definite possibility.

Review: Documentation

To the point and helpful regarding game setup and management. Best feature is that it leaves the bulk of the game's characters, paraphernalia, missions and surprises for the user to discover during gameplay.

Production Credits

---

Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Game Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.

---