An improvement on the first game in every way.
"The last one was fun, don't get me wrong, but it was too short." is the first thing that'll you hear spoken in the game, and for those of you clued in, you'll realise that this is basically poking fun at the last game. Fans asked for a longer game, and Telltale has given us just that. Not only is the game almost double the previous episode, it also introduces some great new characters and locations.
You'll start off the game as Phoney Bone in a bar. As you wander around, you'll discover that by a big coincidence, Smiley Bone is the bartender. All the Bone cousins get reunited; Fone Bone heads off to the Great Cow Race fair, while Phoney and Smiley Bone stay back at the bar as they have to work off a tab (Phoney has no eggs to pay with). At the fair Fone Bone must try and impress Thorn, while back at the bar Phoney Bone is plotting a scheme with Smiley to try and swindle the people of the town out of their eggs. Throughout the whole game there will be little cut scenes at random times, involving the Rat Creatures and a Grim Reaper-like character. It works really well, and it's really cool to see the plot slowly unravel as the story goes along and more details are explained.
A great feature of the game is the ability to switch between all three Bone cousins and play the different parts of the game with them. As Fone Bone you'll be wandering around the fair and talking to the store owners while at the same time trying to impress Thorn, as Phoney Bone you'll be trying to persuade the townspeople that they should definitely bet on a mystery cow, while Smiley Bone is busy making a cow costume. It's neat to be able to play as who you want, when you want, and it feels really smooth as all three of their stories link together.
A downside to the Sam and Max series was that many locations were repeated because of the episodic format of the series. Luckily, the second Bone game takes place in an entirely new place and so none of the environments are repeated, which really makes The Great Cow Race a refreshing experience and you won't feel like you've seen it all before.
Speaking of downsides, a small problem with Out From Boneville was that you couldn't click on things and get a small comment from your character, like in adventure games 'back in the day'. In The Great Cow Race you can click on other things than objects you can pick up, and your Bone character will make a comment about it - the best having to be Fone Bone exclaiming "I think that's the second biggest Pot O' Soup I've ever seen".
There is really nothing wrong with this Bone game, apart from the fact it is a tad easy for adventure game veterans due to the limited inventory and the pretty straightforward puzzles. This doesn't mean you won't be able to have fun playing the game. Whether the simplicity of the puzzles is a good or bad thing it's really your preference.
The last episode set high standards in the graphics and sound, and this episode retains that quality you expect and love. There are some new characters and with them come some great new voices. Luckily Ted the Bug is still in the game, because he's such a quality character (the icons in the menu are based on him)!
You can't go wrong with this game. It's good, it's well priced and it's simply fun to play. It improves on Out From Boneville in every single way and makes the Bone series a definite buy for all adventure gamers. The story is slowly building up and becoming more interesting, so let's just hope the third game keeps up the good work!
You'll start off the game as Phoney Bone in a bar. As you wander around, you'll discover that by a big coincidence, Smiley Bone is the bartender. All the Bone cousins get reunited; Fone Bone heads off to the Great Cow Race fair, while Phoney and Smiley Bone stay back at the bar as they have to work off a tab (Phoney has no eggs to pay with). At the fair Fone Bone must try and impress Thorn, while back at the bar Phoney Bone is plotting a scheme with Smiley to try and swindle the people of the town out of their eggs. Throughout the whole game there will be little cut scenes at random times, involving the Rat Creatures and a Grim Reaper-like character. It works really well, and it's really cool to see the plot slowly unravel as the story goes along and more details are explained.
A great feature of the game is the ability to switch between all three Bone cousins and play the different parts of the game with them. As Fone Bone you'll be wandering around the fair and talking to the store owners while at the same time trying to impress Thorn, as Phoney Bone you'll be trying to persuade the townspeople that they should definitely bet on a mystery cow, while Smiley Bone is busy making a cow costume. It's neat to be able to play as who you want, when you want, and it feels really smooth as all three of their stories link together.
A downside to the Sam and Max series was that many locations were repeated because of the episodic format of the series. Luckily, the second Bone game takes place in an entirely new place and so none of the environments are repeated, which really makes The Great Cow Race a refreshing experience and you won't feel like you've seen it all before.
Speaking of downsides, a small problem with Out From Boneville was that you couldn't click on things and get a small comment from your character, like in adventure games 'back in the day'. In The Great Cow Race you can click on other things than objects you can pick up, and your Bone character will make a comment about it - the best having to be Fone Bone exclaiming "I think that's the second biggest Pot O' Soup I've ever seen".
There is really nothing wrong with this Bone game, apart from the fact it is a tad easy for adventure game veterans due to the limited inventory and the pretty straightforward puzzles. This doesn't mean you won't be able to have fun playing the game. Whether the simplicity of the puzzles is a good or bad thing it's really your preference.
The last episode set high standards in the graphics and sound, and this episode retains that quality you expect and love. There are some new characters and with them come some great new voices. Luckily Ted the Bug is still in the game, because he's such a quality character (the icons in the menu are based on him)!
You can't go wrong with this game. It's good, it's well priced and it's simply fun to play. It improves on Out From Boneville in every single way and makes the Bone series a definite buy for all adventure gamers. The story is slowly building up and becoming more interesting, so let's just hope the third game keeps up the good work!