There is tremendous potential in a game like Insecticide. Hopefully, we can call it a "trend-setter" if nothing else, because it simply falls short as a video game. Insecticide captures the story of a young, headstrong detective in the classic film noir vein, etching into the backdrop of a futuristic insect-ruled metropolis. Your job as the female sleuth, Chrys Liszt, begins hot on the trail of an elusive villain known as the "Soda Bomber". The setting is a dark, foreboding city where pollen-intolerant humans traipse around in hazmat suits, practically reversed in role with the newly sovereign bugs. Cute insect-related puns, creative characters and a cool storyline can really help to anchor a game... that is, if it's fun to play.
Unfortunately for Insecticide, you might squash this one after your first go at the controls. The uniqueness in the game's concept lies in a generous mixture of action and puzzle-solving interactive sequences. It's evident as you play the game that this mix is a good one. Furthermore, it's even well balanced. But you'll feel like a clumsy bumblebee trying to pilot the grubby girl gumshoe.
The action sequences play out in third-person shooter style, displaying a radar on the bottom screen and the action on top. You can mix up the control schemes in your options menu, to suit your preferred style. But in this case, there really isn't a way to play that makes it any more fun. Chrys is armed with her standard issue "Pollinator" at the outset. It's actually nothing more than a pea-shooter used to take down a series of repetitious enemies throughout the action level. More weapons and moves become available throughout the quest, but the rate of fire is too sluggish regardless. Besides pelting insects with your allergenic ammo, you'll find yourself crawling through quite a bit of platforming sequences as well. But with near-broken controls and the quirky camera, it'll likely feel more like a chore as the game wears on. All in all, the action segments in Insecticide can be most closely compared to some of the casual Flash games you can find by the dozen on arcade websites.
Between Ms. Liszt's adventurous patrols on the beat, she does have an important job to do. A Detective can't just roam around the office, pouring coffee and fetching donuts while asking worthless associates where her own documents are, you know. Wait - perhaps she can. Because that's exactly how your first interactive point-click detective session will play out. The puzzle-solving, mystery-sleuthing sections are actually more fun than the action sequences, although admittedly for the purpose of thumb-resting and relief from monotony. You simply crawl through your surroundings collecting objects, talking to NPC's and investigating notable areas in the scene. Some of the puzzling elements do impart a crime-solving feel, but not frequently enough to create that immersive experience. In the end, a lot of these sequences can be conquered simply with trial and error or just a lot of pointing and clicking. One positive element of note about the gameplay style is that the designers kept the look and feel of the characters and settings very similar between the action and investigative portions.
The graphics are actually quite nice, especially for a DS game. Some of the animations in the action sections seem a little dodgy, but the rest of the scenery is a delight. Full motion videos provide the perfect accent to highlight the graphical elements of Insecticide. The smooth, fluid animation and textures in the FMV's might actually surprise you.
Considering this is a good old fashioned film noir sort of fare, the lighting and shadows in the typically dim and dark settings had to be just right. The Crackpot team must've recognized the same thing, because they indeed pulled it off, both in the videos and the gameplay graphics. The sound isn't bad either, with solid voiceovers and a stimulating score to get you buzzing into battle. It may not really hold up as a notable feature throughout the game, but it's better than hearing those summer cicadas while the volume is muted.
Insecticide launched out on butterfly wings, but sadly this species seems more closely related to a dung beetle. It's not a bad game entirely, but I can't award a great deal of merit to a title that's just not much fun to play. However, the writing and other aesthetic elements of the game really bring it home to the honeycomb. Clever hard-boiled humor with the bug-inspired flair yields plenty of laughs along the way and anchors the game's theme tightly into a nicely woven story. Insecticide may not be everyone's cup of nectar, but compared to other failed attempts - this one is the lesser of (you guessed it) two weevils.
