I’ve deleted this sentence several times now, and I’ll be surprised if this one makes it in. it’s near impossible to describe Jazzpunk to someone without losing something in translation. I’ve tried for several days now to pin down exactly what makes it such an oddity, but aside from a few scribbled notes and a doodle of a geisha-fly hybrid, I’ve got nothing.

Let’s start with what we know to be factually true. Jazzpunk is a story-driven adventure set in the first person perspective. You play the part of a secret agent called Polyblank, tasked with completing assignments given to you by a strange man in a repurposed train car. Your missions will have you travelling across the world to appease your handler, stealing objects of interest and throwing spiders at people as you go.

From this point on, things are going to get a little bizarre.

My first steps into the world, and I find myself greeted with a long tunnel full of clutter. A rudimentary search of my surroundings provides the first clue that this game isn’t your average adventure, as performing my mandatory “let’s click action on everything until I activate a secret” spree sparks a conversation between me and, well… a cardboard box. As the sentient box gargles and groans aloud in an incoherent ramble, its words become projected across its surface. Not only is this piece of litter alive, it’s begging me to leave it alone because it’s “just a box”. Prodding, staring intently, and eventually climbing on top of the box failed to persuade it to say anything else so I pressed on to the first level, slightly bewildered from my encounter with a cardboard entity.

I find myself continuously drawing comparisons between Jazzpunk and the old point & click adventure games like Monkey Island. There’s a certain charm factor that exudes from every piece of dialogue, every obscure scenario that plays out, and every sexual liaison with the roaming robot prostitutes in the streets. Each interaction is set up like a witty one liner, and for the most part they land on target, leaving you either grinning from ear to ear or scratching your head in a daze of bemusement.

Jazzpunk is set up in a way that encourages exploration over progression, and by not fully searching the outer reaches of each zone you’ll be missing out on the essence of the game. Take the first mission, in which you’re plopped right in front of a Soviet office that holds your goal. You could just stroll right in and get down to business, but a closer inspection of the surrounding buildings will yield a whole host of side activities to draw focus from the main plot.

Whilst searching through the game’s different levels, you’re likely to stumble across one of the many mini-games scattered around. Whether it’s beating up a car with your fists, slaying pizza zombies, or racing across a busy street as a frog, you’re likely to crack a smile as you play out these fun homages to old school classics. Perhaps the best of these, Wedding Qake is a like-for-like copy of the old Quake FPS arena shooter. You’ll swap heavy firepower and monsters for matrimony and cake shaped mini-guns in this satisfying distraction that I may have spent more time in than I should have.

Numerous hidden paths and secrets go a long way towards breaking apart the different sections of the game. and whilst the constant quick-fire of gags starts off great, the constant barrage of jokes tallying up against you at later levels can leave you somewhat exhausted by the torrent of humour. While it’s disappointing to see Jazzpunk diminish in the later sections, it’s to be expected from something that relies on comedy to be the focal point of the gameplay.

Jazzpunk is a breath of fresh air for adventure games, and by flaunting its own flamboyant take of a number of well known gaming tropes it pulls off an excellent parody of this culture that is both unique and entertaining. While the game does start to wind down in its final moments, there’s no reason why fans of the absurd shouldn’t jump right in and face the brain melting weirdness just waiting to be discovered.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using the PC version.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Much of the game focuses on the player getting deeper and deeper into enemy territory, and avoiding detection from patrolling agents is only part of the challenge. Security cameras must be disabled, computers hacked, doors re-wired, and barriers blown up all while staying out of sight (the enemy agents are apparently all deaf). Checkpoints are few and far between and should be located asap in order to avoid retreading past the same obstacles multiple times. The game offers multiple camera views, but the isometric angle will likely be how the player choose to experience the action since a lot of it takes place indoors sneaking from room to room.

There’s definitely an initial learning curve when it comes to succeeding at Private Infiltrator.  The first struggle I encountered was with the lighting. Although pure darkness interspersed with the occasional computer monitor or wall light is certainly more atmospheric, it doesn’t lend itself to survival as well as turning on the night-vision goggles (an ability available to the default character). I liken it to the experience of having to play Arkham Asylum with the Detective Mode constantly on. The keyboard and mouse controls take just a little bit of getting used to. Figuring out that the on-screen avatar must be facing an object to interact with it is key to not getting caught in the middle of breaking and entering. It also requires some practice to twist the camera angle back and forth between the perils of the current room and getting a look inside the next room before entering. After about half an hour of fumbling through some of these issues I was finally on my way and enjoying the ambience.

Although atmospheric in certain areas, a lack of lighting can be a problem.

The difficulties, however, don’t stop with player inexperience. Private Infiltrator is one of those rare occasions where I recommend the player swallow their pride and try the game on one of the easier difficulty levels first. Even opting for a sub-Normal difficulty doesn’t exactly make the game easy, but it does drop the range at which agents will be able to detect the player, providing a wider window to sneak between the agents’ search radii. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not terribly good at stealth games because of a lack of patience, but this game can be damned hard for even the craftiest Solid Snakes out there. Thankfully, additional settings exist for dropping the number of enemies and for disabling the finite number of lives.

While I did have fun playing Private Infiltrator, there’s an unevenness to the level of polish to be found. The soundtrack does a great job of establishing the tense, but playful noir feel the game aims for. The story is presented in monologue fashion through text and helps drive that pulpy feel. At the same time, that dialogue pops up in the middle of the action which means that either the player has to ignore it for awhile, or gets distracted by it and dies. The menu system presents a confusing array of options, some developer-centric, and typos can be spotted on more than one occasion in various areas of the game. I also failed to find a save game option, though players can elect to start a new game on any level of their choosing. It’s easy to see where the studio did and did not put the bulk of their focus, and it would have served the game better if it had received a more consistent level of attention across the board. It’s also good for the reader to know that the game is still being refined through updates.

Noir meets high-tech gadgetry in Private Infiltrator.

There were some poor design choices made in terms of the openness versus linearity of the game. The first and perhaps best example comes in the first level. That stage includes a number of walls that must be blown up using C4 scattered throughout the area. The walls must be brought down in a specific order, otherwise the player will eventually hit a point where they can’t get to enough explosives to continue. It can be both frustrating and off-putting for players to have to repeat entire levels of a game through no fault of their own. Allowing the player to make a mistake that they can’t recover from is a big misstep. There’s also a lot of tense and/or tedious backtracking involved when finding out that a path has been taken prematurely without the right intel (i.e. computer passwords) having been gathered first.

As it exists right now, Private Infiltrator is a fun, yet flawed game. I love the atmosphere the game is going for with its mix of classic spy story and modern-day spy gadgetry. The developers are trying to get the game approved through the Steam Greenlight program, and they’re continuing to fix and improve the game based on player feedback. Hopefully some of the wrinkles I came across will be ironed out, but it’s still a game worth checking out now, sharing opinions on with the developers, and keeping an eye on its progress going forward.

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

What does this score mean?

Private Infiltrator was reviewed using a copy of the PC version provided by the developer for that purpose. The PC and Mac versions are available through Desura.

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© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.