Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time

Overview

Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time was originally released in 1995 by 7th Level for PC. There were two parts to the package. One was a point-and-click style adventure game. The game originally shipped with the lure that if the player could 'solve the secret to Intergalactic Success' before a certain date, they would be eligible for real prizes. The goal of this game was essentially clicking around various parts of the screen, playing mini-games such as 'Spot The Loony' and finding all hidden 'clickables.' The game was also narrated by Eric Idle.

The other half of the package was a collection of wallpapers, icons and sounds for modifying Windows 3x to a Python theme. This was fully customizable, and players could choose specific sounds for specific actions in Windows. This was called The Desktop Pythonizer. Several critics complained that the Pythonizer was not able to be used with subsequent versions of Windows (notably Windows 95.)

Notably, the manual of the game itself did not particularly offer any assistance to understanding or playing the game. This is because it too was a Pythonesque product, and this, for Python fans was particularly amusing.

Gameplay

The actual 'game' itself was a series of screens and mazes. These mazes allowed the player to reach various lobes of the brain, which in turn allowed them to ultimately discover the secret to Intergalactic Success. The 'clickables' on each screen usually evolved into either mini games, or showed portions of the television show.

There were six main screens of 'clickables' - the Loonatorium, the Corridor, The Exploding TV Room, the Portrait Gallery, the Stage, and ultimately, the Brain. Replay value in each of the sections arose from the fact that clicking the same object multiple times often resulted in different animations, or sketches. However, these locations are not 'hot-spotted' on the screen, resulting in a lot of pixel-hunting.

Whilst fans enjoyed the collection of clips, critics pointed out that the maze aspect of the game was far too random, and 7th Level ultimately provided maps for each of these on their website.