Pico's School

"Fun -> Decent -> Been there, done that"

If you have ever been to www.newgrounds.com, you might have heard of Pico, a popular young (fictional) student who is not afraid to take matters into his own hands. Well, Pico is the star of a few games there including this one - Pico's School. This game has earned a reputation as being disgusting, vulgar, and just downright offensive (and rightfully so). Pico's School is definitely not for the weak of heart.

Pico's School takes place during a school shooting massacre (which is bound to offend many right off the bat). In the opening scene of the game, a devil-worshipping goth kid pulls out a gun and shoots his teacher to death. The kid (named Casandra) goes on a rampage killing everyone in sight. Somehow Pico makes it through all of the slaughtering and goes after Casandra to put an end to the disaster himself.

On his ''journey'', Pico encounters many obstacles (most of them set by Casandra). Many of the obstacles can be considered as bosses. Each boss is very....different. The first boss is a kid with telekenetic powers - he throws dead kids at you with his mind. That's not nearly as bad as the final boss, in which the player has to shoot at a monster's 'gonads'. I'll give the creators points on originality, I guess...

Most of the in-game action takes the form of third person shooting. The play uses a sort of 'sniper' action, with the crosshairs being used for aim. Unfortunately, the shooting isn't very responsive. If you click the mouse too many times in a row, the shooting will become delayed and shoot in the same spot instead of where you move the mouse. While it is somewhat hard to explain through writing, it is very easy to tell what I mean if you actually play the game.

Although Pico's School will no doubt gain a bad rep from the censor folk out there, it really is a fun game the first time playing it. If you aren't offended by lots of animated blood and violence and the concept of being part of a school shooting, then you might also find the game fun and even funny at times. I had a blast playing the game for the first time, but any time after that the fun seemed to diminish. Also, since the game only lasts about 10 minutes there is practically no replay value. That's what really brings the score down...

Pico's School has some pretty decent visuals. The characters and school environment have a unique look that I haven't seen in any other game (well, besides the other Pico games). Everything is colorful and the animation is not bad for a Flash game. For example, when you kill one of Casandra's helpers, his head will fall off and blood will go squirting across most of the screen. That particular scene is more humorous than disgusting, as almost everything has a ''kiddie'' look - nothing is really realistic.

As far as the sound goes, the game holds up fairly well. The music is great, but each song seems in low quality. Also, the songs get repetitive after a while. Still, the rush you get when you hear the fast-paced music after picking up a gun is great. Sound effects seem quite normal - no unusual shooting noises or anything else of that sort.

Overall, Pico's School is a great waste of ten minutes. The only reason the game received a low score from me is because there is no reason to play the game more than once. Whether you download it or play it right off of Newgrounds, there is no replay value after finishing the game once. It's all very linear. Like I said earlier in this review, if you aren't easily offended then play Pico's School at least once. If you like the game, then you will no doubt like newgrounds.com - it's full of stuff like this.

Best Feature: It's free.
Worst Feature: Too short.

Final Analysis:
Graphics 5/10 - unique design, easy to distinguish
Sound 5/10 - good but repetitive music, seems of low quality
Gameplay 3/10 - no replay value, very short
Control 3/10 - not very responsive
Replay Value 2/10 - fun first two times through, not anymore afterwards
Challenge 3/10 - gets very easy once you know what to do
Overall 3/10

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 09/20/01, Updated 11/28/01