Games that really commit to a joke.

I recently finished the first Riddick game; the main collectibles in the game are cigarette packs, all of which have some kind of smoking-related gag on them. For example:

There were actually 62 of these in the game, which I would say is a crazy amount of smoke jokes to put in a single game; I can only imagine how long someone must have spent on these...

What other games have you encountered with so much effort put into a single joke?

That's amazing

The initial humor of Frog Fractions is a similar commitment to a joke.

Saints Row The Third's commitment to the chess joke is lovely, as it is to Auto-Tuning Zimos throughout.

Hm. There are obviously plenty more examples, but I'm happy to start with those few.

Bionic Commando, dreadlocks?

Does Earthworm Jim count? The cow you launch right at the beginning pretty much decides the outcome of the game. (spoiler)

The sequel has some cow nonsense at the end too.

While I'm pretty impressed wit the cigarette jokes. I think the ultimate example of a game that really commits to its jokes is God Hand. From the jukebox that tells the backstory to the Mike Tyson quotes to the over-the-top powers to the credits music. I've never laughed as much at a game.

The save pumps in Barkley Shut up and Jam Gaiden. All of them are these messages taken from message boards about how much better Japanese games are compared to western games.

Doesn't Earthworm Jim have a cow that shows up on the first level then the last.

Johnny Sasaki appearing in EVERY single Metal Gear Solid game until he became a mai character is pretty funny.

Mother 2 and 3 / Earthbound has a lot of Jokes. Can't think of many off the top of my head but I'm sure there are some that continue to come up. Homesick as a status ailment probably counts. The Happy Happiest probably count too, especially when you find the ones that say weird stuff like "green Green" instead of "blue blue." Pretty much everyone in that game has a line that could be seen as funny. The really commit to Beatles references too if especially if you consider why the series was named Mother.

I feel like this is a large part of Doublefine's charm for me. They come up with a crazy idea which sounds like a joke, and then build a full game to back it up. Stacking built an entire game where you play as a russian stacking doll trying to end child labor, for example. Psychonauts had an entire level where you're godzilla-scaled, rampaging through a city inhabited by fish. Brutal Legend built an entire game around what Jack Black imagines the world is like.

@Zuldim said:

Brutal Legend built an entire game around what Jack Black imagines the world is like.

If he really thinks he lives in a bad RTS game.. that would explain a lot.

On topic: The old Lucas Arts games had a certain commitment to jokes. The grog in Monkey Island comes to mind. In every game, it´s always the most disgusting stuff ever- and it always helps you solve puzzles. You never get to drink it though, at least that´s how I remember it.

All of the characters in Oblivion say "be seeing you" instead of goodbye.

Does Earthworm Jim count? The cow you launch right at the beginning pretty much decides the outcome of the game. (spoiler)

The sequel has some cow nonsense at the end too.

Playing Ni No Kuni and maaaaan they really commit to all their animal themed puns.

@Jrinswand: Nope, I definitely put it in the right place.

Telltale's Sam and Max season 1 had Sam and Max having to buy something from Bosco and every episode the price just gets more and more ridiculous to the point of him asking for 100 Trillion dollars...and of course they pay him for it.

Shadows of the Damned really commits to those dick jokes, his talking weapon, also known as his "Johnson."

@Superfriend said:

@Zuldim said:

Brutal Legend built an entire game around what Jack Black imagines the world is like.

If he really thinks he lives in a bad RTS game.. that would explain a lot.

On topic: The old Lucas Arts games had a certain commitment to jokes. The grog in Monkey Island comes to mind. In every game, it´s always the most disgusting stuff ever- and it always helps you solve puzzles. You never get to drink it though, at least that´s how I remember it.

I still don't get this argument. I'm terrible at RTS games. I can't play them. Brutal Legend I played like a Zelda game, even the RTS battles, and I had no problem. I kept the "rallying" flag for the troops on Jack Black, and just ran from place to place fucking shit up. When my troops spawned, they rushed to me and helped me fight. Practically the only "RTS" thing I had to do was make sure I kept producing units. That's probably not how it was meant to be played, but when I played it that way, it was just a slightly complicated 3rd-person action-adventure. I never flew into the air for a top-down view, I never strategized all that much, and aside from a few specific instances, didn't make specific units for specific enemies, just rotated through the list.

@Nottle said:

The save pumps in Barkley Shut up and Jam Gaiden. All of them are these messages taken from message boards about how much better Japanese games are compared to western games.

This does not do justice for the GAFtard level of quality that goes on in those save points. That's the first that sprung to mind because they were so gotdamn hilarious, and they just kept getting better and better.

In Virtue's Last Reward, Sigma has a bad case of cat-related puns-itis. He can't help making a pun whenever cats are mentioned, which, surprisingly, is quite often. The results are purrrrfect.

There's Always Peng. 
In all 3(or 4, maybe, didn't play the Move/Wii/whatever one) games 
 
 
Those games being Dead Space games

Time Splitters, its one thing to make a parody of pretty much anything with a gun, to make good levels from it and make ducks dual wielding shotguns a genuine fear is something else.

The first game that came to mind was Jetpack Brontosaurus. The joke goes as far as having the controls be as clumsy and difficult as trying to control a dinosaur on a jetpack.

@SirOptimusPrime said:

@Nottle said:

The save pumps in Barkley Shut up and Jam Gaiden. All of them are these messages taken from message boards about how much better Japanese games are compared to western games.

This does not do justice for the GAFtard level of quality that goes on in those save points. That's the first that sprung to mind because they were so gotdamn hilarious, and they just kept getting better and better.

It's been years since I've played Barkley, I should look them up sometime.

While we're at it, isn't all of Amp 3 just a joke?

i think its really funny how they replace every instance of the letter C in Mortal Kombat with a K

@Nottle said:

The save pumps in Barkley Shut up and Jam Gaiden. All of them are these messages taken from message boards about how much better Japanese games are compared to western games.

The entirety of that game is the very definition of "committing to the joke". I'm pretty sure "Joke Commitment" was that game's working title, haha.

Madworld where the host is always getting brutally murdered by his assistant.

@Demoskinos said:

Playing Ni No Kuni and maaaaan they really commit to all their animal themed puns.

Surely you jest, Your Moojesty!

Leisure Suit Larry 4

I would say the GTA series of games are up there with their consistency and continuity when it comes to their parody products, as well as creating accompanying websites for some of them.

@Demoskinos said:

Playing Ni No Kuni and maaaaan they really commit to all their animal themed puns.

Surely you jest, Your Moojesty!

Personality Spheres went from a one-off end-of-game joke in Portal 1, to a big part of the driving narrative in Portal 2.

Borderlands with Handsome Jack and Mr Torgue just being amazingly perfect in their roles start to finish.

I remember in the first Saints Row game they kept making fun of the main character for being a silent protagonist throughout the entire game, then cracking up when he finally had his one line in the game.

Welcome to Monday Night Combat, the rules have changed!

I would say the GTA series of games are up there with their consistency and continuity when it comes to their parody products, as well as creating accompanying websites for some of them.

I thought The Bard's Tale (the one for the PS2) ran pretty long with the meta-world narrator who points out cliched gameplay as you're performing it, and shit like that.