Face-Plant Adventures (XBLIG): "The World Through The Eyes Of A Piranha Plant ... Not Really Though"

When I first laid eyes on Face-Plant Adventures a couple of thoughts came to mind. The first thing to pop into my mind was the main character looks like a mix between a Piranha Plant (Super Mario Bros.), and the man-eating venus flytrap from "Little Shop of Horrors". Secondly, as I watched the trailer I began to think of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" video game series because of the rail systems, and the checkpoints. Even with similarities such as these though it seems that the developer, oddworm games has decided to make the game like those of the "impossible game" genre. It was an odd choice to say the least, and one that could easily be this games undoing. I've complained numerous times about "impossible games" in the past, because they leave no room for error making it a frustrating experience that no one in their right mind would revisit. After choosing not to complete my playthrough due to difficulties in the HARD setting I decided to go ahead with my review.

Face-Plant Adventures is basically a side-scrolling Metroidvania platformer with puzzle, and time oriented gameplay. As you play the game you'll bare witness to a colorful fantasy world oddly reminiscent of that the Super Mario Bros. inhabit. You'll also see level designs that seem to be inspired by games like the ones I mentioned previously. While these similarities are fairly obvious (and in your face) you will find that the art style, and graphics greatly differ from anything comparable. In fact there are some really amazing lighting, and water effects that make this title shine in comparison to others. Differences like the time oriented gameplay that was implemented further adds to the games originality. 

Before I get too far ahead of myself allow me to give you some background details on the game ... Face-Plant Adventures features an unlikely protagonist/plant named Florence who is on a journey of enlightenment. What that enlightenment entails I'm not exactly sure. As you can probably tell from the title of the game though Florence is no ordinary character. In fact he is a plant with a very large, and comical grin on his face. As the game's main character (Florence) it is your task to make it the end of an area in the least amount of time possible. This task is complicated by various traps, and moving obstacles that are scattered throughout the game's various stages. In the latter stages of the game Florence will also have to solve switch based puzzles making his journey progressively more difficult as he goes along.

There are three available difficulties to choose from when embarking on Florence's adventure including NORMAL, HARD, and SERIOUS. The differences are definitely noticeable between the available selections. If you choose to go with NORMAL you'll encounter less moving enemies, and obstacles. If you choose HARD as I did things get significantly more challenging. In the HARD difficulty setting such obstacles as spikes are many, and enemies such as moving slime appear more frequently. SERIOUS on the other hand is just as it sounds. This particular difficulty setting is reserved for only the best of the best as your obstacles will be placed in such ways as to make getting from start to finish a harrowing task.

As you make your way through each trap infested stage that the game has to offer you will learn new tricks/abilities that will aid you in your playthrough. Among the many resourceful talents at Florence's disposal are the abilities to glide, swim, slide down walls, dissolve walls, and wall jump. If utilized correctly each ability can get you from start to finish in record time. The lands offer many helpful hints about the gameplay, and even items that you can pick up along the way to help improve your playthrough. For example stopping by the question marks in the earlier stages will produce a dialogue box that will help you better understand what Florence is capable of, and will in turn help you learn more about his interactions with the surroundings. As I mentioned earlier in the review this game is time oriented, and as such it contains time oriented features. After finishing a stage within Face-Plant Adventures you will be awarded a medal (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) according to your finish time. Collecting clocks that are scattered among the stages will decrease the timer as you go allowing Florence to finish even earlier than if he had not collected any clocks at all. You can definitely use the clocks to your advantage if you choose to do so.

The levels/stages in Face-Plant Adventures are very much what you'd expect from a modern-day, or retro platformer. You have objects to avoid (spikes, slime ...), moving objects, dangerous chemicals, and moving platforms. Added to this list of standard platforming features is a simple rail system, and checkpoint system. Gliding along rails in each stage will allow Florence to gain speed, and access areas that are unreachable otherwise. Passing through the checkpoints on the other hand will allow you (Florence) to start over at that point after an untimely death. Of course your latest marked checkpoint will be the one you return to, so try your best to keep things current by passing through every checkpoint you happen upon. If you're a true collecting connoisseur then you'll be glad to know that most levels within the game contain a certain number of hidden gold maple leafs which can be collected to fully complete a stage, or possibly unlock something else.

Aside from the core game, Face-Plant Adventures also has some other features that are not often seen in a game of this type. When you first start up the game you will be prompted to adjust the screen size which in itself is a neat addition to the game. I was able to make it fit my widescreen HD tv quite well using this feature. When you reach the game's main menu you'll be greeted with such options as the "Adventure", and "Leaderboards". If you go to the "Help & Options" sub-menu though you'll find playable music tracks as well as a website link where you can download them for free. If you like video game music then these tracks will most definitely appeal to you. If these features weren't bonus enough though I also stumbled upon a section for cheat codes! I'm not sure what these include though as I've yet to see any news of them on the regular cheat code sites. The game is definitely not lacking in the extra features department.

Overall I found Face-Plant Adventures to be a beautifully rendered game with some annoying features. The lack of room for error in HARD difficulty really tried my patience. There were some checkpoints, and places within that difficulty setting where I found myself dying unnecessarily over, and over again. As a result I chose not to complete my playthrough. Looking back I should have probably completed the game on NORMAL first though. As far as the game design goes I can definitely understand what the developer was trying to accomplish with the timed gameplay, and precise level playthrough designs. I for one cannot stand a game that implements cheap deaths in mid-range difficulty settings though. I had initially thought the game would be similar to the "Sonic the Hedgehog" or "Super Mario Bros." series, but sadly I was wrong. With that being said if you don't mind a serious challenge then this game might be something that will appeal to you. In closing I'll leave the recommendation open-ended. I think the game looks, and plays amazing for the most part. It's a game that will likely appeal to more hardcore gamers, but that will lose the interest of other less determined players.