Beavis and Butt-head in Virtual Stupidity

"Huh-huh … this game is, like, cool & stuff … huh-huh, hhhhhuh-huh"

Beavis & Butt-head, nachos, Primus and the word “dill-hole” all together in the same game. Yes, they’ve finally done it right…a license that doesn’t suck! In a game that could easily pass for another episode of the TV show, Beavis & Butt-head skip science class to go hang out with their new hero Todd and end up getting caught in the middle of a gang war. Determined to impress Todd and become members of his gang, the boys blunder through the neighborhood leaving a trail of destruction and pissed off yuppies in their wake.

Virtual Stupidity is a laid-back point-and-click affair where it is impossible to die (although expect a few manglings and crotch injuries along the way). Maximum enjoyment will be had if you don’t try to plow through the game as quickly as possible, but instead take the time to click over everything in each screen and listen to Beavis & Butt-head’s hilarious commentary. Every so often you will be rewarded with cutscenes drawn and voiced by da man Mike Judge himself, who also does most of the in-game voices. Beavis & Butt-head move as a pair so you control them both with a single mouse-click and the computer decides which of them will actually perform the action. You can however choose which of the boys talks in a conversation (although Beavis’ pathetically attempts will inevitably lead you nowhere.) The game seems to assume that the intelligence of the player is on par with Beavis and Butt-head, so it dumbs the gameplay down even further by making the mouse-cursor and selected inventory item change shape or color if it is scrolled over something significant. This makes solving puzzles rather too easy at times, but also eliminates the frustration and monotony of random clicking.

Many of the standard TV show characters put in an appearance here, including Daria, Mr. Van Dreissen, McVicker, Buzzcut and Hank Hill prototype Mr. Anderson (“Back in mah day we knew the meanin’ o’ the word respect, I tell you hwut.”) It was nice have so many regulars included, although Stewart and his unicorns were sorely missed. And rather than a simple fly-by of “Beavis & Butt-head’s greatest hits”, you actually get to interact with the characters in some depth as they are each vital to the completion of the story in their own way.

No Beavis & Butt-head product would be complete without a lot of wiener jokes and gross-out humor, and Virtual Stupidity doesn’t disappoint on either count. Be prepared to play with roadkill and condoms, explore the body cavity of a giant stuffed bear, and relieve yourself in what has got to be one of the most foul public washrooms in the history of video games. Beavis & Butt-head also give their typical horny teenage boy reaction to every female in the game (including the brawny jail security guard and 60-year old insane-asylum nurse) but the “quest to score” angle was never brought out strongly enough to be the focal point of the game.

Fanatics of the TV show will be satisfied with how well it translates to the video game medium. The graphics are believable and are even detailed enough to include different facial expressions on the characters. The animation of the boys doing their classic air-guitar poses is bang-on! The music is identical to that of the show and the voices are, well, Mike Judge, so there are no complaints there. The fact that the developers shelled out for the real voice talent is in my opinion what really makes this game great. I cringe at the thought of someone else attempting Butt-head’s laugh or one of Beavis’ freak-out episodes. It would be like Ren & Stimpy after John Kricfalusi left. A valiant effort but just not the same.

Another tasty tidbit in Virtual Stupidity is the inclusion of three MTV music videos that can be watched (where else) on the TV in Butt-head’s house while sitting on the couch. And last but not least in terms of tastiness are the four mini-games. In the first mini-game you get to hock loogies down onto unsuspecting pedestrians and after every ten successful drenchings will get one huge green phlegm spattered mega-loogie for extra fun. In the second game you get to overrun a tennis court and launch balls at all the snooty rich kids (who, despite their wussiness, actually do throw back). In the third game you use Beavis’ FIRE expertise to fry bugs under a magnifying glass as they try to make off with your Doritos. The fourth game is arguably the coolest and lets you make up and record your own air-guitar songs complete with burp and fart percussion.

What more could anyone ask for?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/25/02, Updated 05/06/03