The Next BIG Thing

An ambitious title brought to fruition with a tired genre. That notion pretty much sums up The Next Big Thing. Developer Pendulo Studios attempt to rejuvenate the classic point-and-click genre. They add their flair conjured from the success of their 1997 adventure Hollywood monsters.

The Next Big Thing comes across as a coordinated, niche effort to integrate a particularly odd story into a cinematic wonder. Visuals and characters are crucial in bringing the tale to life. The point of interest is whether games that focus on story development and environments can compete at the sacrifice of intriguing game mechanics. Would a player be on board with this?

The commercial sales of this game would suggest that no, it doesn't. How does this 2011 game fair in the fast-moving titles of the 21st century? We delve into the world of The Next Big Thing.

The Golden Age of Hollywood Seems Familiar

The game builds a world centralized around a film studio run by monsters. The thematic backdrop is provided by the golden age of Hollywood. While no particular period is set, the cel-shaded, color-laden visuals ooze style of the 1930s and 1940s. The game's plotline follows two investigative journalists trying to uncover a scoop to promote their stumbling careers.

Achieving this requires solving Puzzle based on items collected around each scene, drawing focus to the personalities of blonde bombshell Liz Allaire and sarcastic straggler Dan Murray. As in all point-and-click adventures, you move your two characters around the vibrant environments interacting with bizarre items and vivid characters.

The game presents its progression in puzzles involving dialogue or piecing together collected inventory, which often forces the player into persistent trial and error choices. The unusual story provides just enough curiosities to keep you playing if the beautifully rendered characters and amusing voice acting weren't enough. The Next Big Thing doesn't give enough defining moments to really staple a player down, however.

Point, Click, and Bang Your Head

The game is very reminiscent of point-and-click classics like Full Throttle. Visually stunning with accommodating tales thrown into the mix, there are too many 'ARGH!' moments to consider The Next Big Thing a solid title. The concepts are well thought out through the script and character engagement. When it comes to actually solve the puzzles through lengthy periods of trial and error, you ask the game how you were ever supposed to figure it out.

Much of the game is just wildly clicking until you get an answer and proves very frustrating to a plot-centric game where the players' only goal is to find out what happens next. Those frustrations are relieved a little with the humorous reactions to your choices and interactions in the levels. Eventually, it becomes more of a drag than a pleasure to finish.

It's not hard to see how The Next Big Thing missed the mark commercially. The ideas behind it are fantastic and are carefully set to really immerse a player in its world.

Pros

• Fantastically drawn-out characters with a great personality
• The beautiful and immersive world created with solid style
• The unusual story concept does keep you consistently intrigued

Cons

• Very much lacking in creative gameplay
• Puzzles are very frustrating
• Old-style point-and-click mechanics that don't translate well to the modern age