Muppet Cd-Rom(a 7 year late review)

[beaker]

I have no idea why I didn't think of this sooner, but I finally got around to loading up and playing Muppets Inside(Muppet CD-ROM) on my new computer. And boy was I in for a treat!
After you put the cd and it loads, it starts playing the opening footage to the Muppet show but with lyrics about getting the CD-ROM started. Then all the sudden the screen goes bland, and you hear Kermit and company getting all worried....then BOOM! All the sudden your desktop theme splits in half and is pulled apart by the Muppets! Kermit, Fozzie, Beaker, Bunsen etc try to figure out how to solve this 'computer crash'...all this is VERY remenescent of the Jim Henson Hour, which was a really cool treat. And then
Bunsen hits a switch on his controller and get this...Beaker rams into your desktop theme leaving his impression! It's the coolest effect Ive ever seen, especially since I have an elaborate desktop theme already. Whoever came up with this idea is a genuis.

So remember the episode where Kermit, and Lindburgh get zapped into the Matrix of Digit's head on the Jim Henson Hour?
That's basically the premise. You basically take this funky bus around a virtual map of your computer trying to get back all the lost data and clean up the viruses, along with picking up all the Muppets. Now this was released 7 years ago, so it of course seems a little bit dated(mostly in the overuse of all the internet/computer/superinformation highway catchphrases of the time and the use of digitized graphics in parts) But the amazing thing is JHC spent an insane amount of hours in the UK creating tons and tons of new footage for the game! Within the cockpit of the bus theres always these wacky objects floating around from the Muppet show, along with just totally irreverent 'cameo walkthroughs' that are just too funny(ie: this Muppet who walks acorss the screen swearing under his breath...hey, he's a 'cursor'!) Some standout moments include a brand new full screen skit involving Sam the Eagle with pirates in a computer mainframe, new Muppet Labs segments, Animal playing at a digital bar, and more inside bizarre humor than ya could believe.

The game itself can get a bit repetitive since there is only 7 basic games, including; a hillarious if not dated on purpose parody of DOOM with the Swedish Chef, Fozzie Muppet theatre missle command, a Muppet version of Hollywood Squares, Clifford's Gonzo wheel/Muppaphones/Lew Zealand fish thing(reminded me of 'wheel of fish' from Weird Al's UHF film) Muppet Labs, and other games. There's also a lot of other places to explore. But if you can get past some of the repetitiveness, theres some truly great undiscovered new Muppet segments that are just too much...and if ya can stick it out til the end, there is one of the most out there and hillarious Muppet things I have ever seen(imagine the Muppet Show opening meets a computer crash that literally explodes like those annoying popup ads that multiply)

It comes with a really cool book thats almost like a new version of Art of the Muppets with lots of new stuff. It mentions how many people it took to make this game, and I believe it! Some of the finest moments in recent Muppet history, the Muppets CD-ROM game is definately something to check out!(And I even got it to work perfectly on my Windows XP!) As an added bonus it comes loaded with Muppet wallpapers, themes, sounds, cursors, and
an endless supply of classic Muppet Show skits. By far the best Muppet video game Ive ever played!

 

[Phillip]

Cory,

Glad you got a copy of the game. It still holds up very well though it was released in early 1996. And Doom was pretty current back then too. Starware had pad plans for two other Muppet games (including one based on Pigs in Space) but they weren't produced. Starwave decided to focus on producing on-line content about a year later in 1997.

Good to see you posting again!

 

[crazy ernie]

I have the game, but i don't play it because it messed the computer up for real during chef's doom.

 

[beaker]

Originally posted by Phillip Chapman
Cory,

Glad you got a copy of the game. It still holds up very well though it was released in early 1996. And Doom was pretty current back then too. Starware had pad plans for two other Muppet games (including one based on Pigs in Space) but they weren't produced. Starwave decided to focus on producing on-line content about a year later in 1997.

Good to see you posting again!

Hey thanks, good to be back! I think I needed time to reflect on things and clear my head. I would also like to say I am quite encouraged by the direction Muppet Central has been going in recent weeks, as of course I had openly criticized MC's apparent stagnation. I think the new retooling going on and just the timing of the film is what this site needed.

But yes...my goodness Ive waited 7 long years to play that game and holy moly did it blow me away. There is really so much new Muppet material created specifically for this game, along with
tons of classic clips its insane. I know we disagreed a bit on Muppet Race Mania(I still think there were some things they left out or should have tweaked) but I would have to say Muppet CD-ROM best captures the Muppets out of any of their games Ive played. This woud definately have to be my favorite Muppet game, followed closely by Muppet Pinball Mayhem for the Game Boy Advance.

 

[Frunobulax]

Crazy Ernie, that happened to my computer, too. Only it was during a "Beaker's Brain" segment. That is an awesome game, though. I wish I could still play it.

 

[Gonzo]

LOL!

Cory, I just brought this game home from my parent's house, where it had been sitting on the shelf for a good four years, and loaded it on my PC at home--my wife was playing it for several hours today! Then I come here and read this....NICE. Synergy, baby.

It IS pretty sweet. Wish they had made more....

Quinnnnnnnnn

 

[beaker]

Originally posted by Gonzo
LOL!

Cory, I just brought this game home from my parent's house, where it had been sitting on the shelf for a good four years, and loaded it on my PC at home--my wife was playing it for several hours today! Then I come here and read this....NICE. Synergy, baby.

It IS pretty sweet. Wish they had made more....

Quinnnnnnnnn

Quinn! No way...you too? For some reason last night it hit me...'wait a second, I finally own a computer!' I had forgotten about the cd-rom game, and thought I'd give it a load. 3 and a half hours later, wow! Btw, what did you think when your desktop started to be deconstructed and manipulated? Is that not the coolest video game effect or what? I swear I thought I was back to the glory of the Jim Henson Hour.

I wish starware had made more too, oh well...it stands as the paramount of genuis Muppet games.

But yeah...somehow that Muppet film that debuted was just what was needed to kick start a new synergy or what have you(Just tonight I watched GMC on dvd for the first time in awhile, as well
as watched other Muppet dvd stuff)

 

[GWGumby]

How easy is it to track down this CDROM? I've actually never heard of this, having only recently gotten back into the world of Muppets.

If it cannot be found through normal methods, anyone else got an extra copy sitting on their parent's computer desk gathering dust?

 

[Drtooth]

A) I do not have a personal computer, an' I have to use the ones at school.

b) A Pigs in Space game? Would it have been based on Classic TMS Pigs in Spacce, or the less fun PIS the next generation on MT?

c) I wish I could find this game. Seems pretty darn cool. Last Muppet video game I played was the old PIGS IN SPACE game for Atari that I downloaded while no one at school..heh heh was watching. It was pretty fun, but dirrivitive.

 

[Gonzo]

This was WAY before Muppets Tonight, so it would have been based on Classic Pigs In Space.

And this comes up fairly regularly on eBay and other sites....wouldn't hurt to look for it!

Quinnnnnn