If you can't get enough of the endless loop of Beavis and Butt-head reruns on MTV every night, make sure to buy the Beavis and Butt-head video-games for Sega Genesis, Super NES, and Sega Game Gear. Each game has a slightly different plot, but the goal for all three is the same. The two want to get their hands on tickets for GWAR, the real-life band whose members wear costumes resembling H.R. Pufnstuf characters with glandular disorders.
In the Genesis version, the idea is that Beavis and Butt-head's tickets have been shredded by a lawn mower, and they're out to find the pieces. The search takes them to familiar settings such as the mall, Burger World, the high school, and the sewer. Along the way, various weapons, objects, and clues help them fight enemies, avoid hazards, and gather pieces of the tickets.
The game's standard seek-and-find plot keeps you thinking and moving, which is, of course, a major challenge for the two neurally deficient lads. To get a piece of the ticket inside the laundromat, for instance, they have to open a squeaky dryer door without waking a woman who'll stab them with a knitting needle. The solution: lube the hinge with some oil from the auto-parts store. But they can't do this until the rent-a-cop lets them in.
The story line is strong enough to keep you interested, but the best reason to play this game is for the laughs. To move around town, our antiheroes use a TV remote to channel surf from place to place, and instead of the conventional "health" indicators, Beavis and Butt-head have "attention span bars" to show how long they can stay in the game.
Major B&B fans will recognize several characters and situations from the TV show. There are even a few surprises you can't get on TV. One of my favorites is "strategic flatulence," a deadly weapon in the B&B arsenal. So it's gross. It's Beavis and Butt-head. What did you expect?
Beavis and Butt-head: US$64.99 for Sega Genesis or Super NES, US$49.99 for Sega Game Gear. Viacom New Media: (800) 469 2539, +1 (212) 258 6000.
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