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Weekend Game: Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2

By EAN ⋅ January 19, 2008 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

Every now and then, a Flash game comes around that raises the bar to a whole new level. Last year it was Desktop Tower Defense, this year it may very well be Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2. As the sequel to the well loved Fancy Pants Adventures, Brad Borne had a lot to live up to during the development. The first game was so fantastic, that I wondered what could be done to enhance it. Well, with an impressive engine, great playability, and a bit of humor thrown in, World 2 shaped up to be everything that the first game was–and more. It’s a Sonic style 2D platformer that appeals to just about everybody.

Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2 follows the character from the previous game as he goes on a quest to retrieve his ice cream from a dastardly rabbit. The plot extends across six different levels, each with their own hidden secrets, trophy rooms, and golf holes. Yes, thanks to the new snail shell golf game, collecting trophies isn’t the only reason to replay Fancy Pants this time around. Every level has a side-quest to sink the stage’s only snail shell into a specially marked hole. A first for platformers? I think so.

One of the best aspects of World 2 is that it can be played through in as little as a half hour or for hours on end. I like to just plow through the levels and then return for the trophies and unlockable pants when I’ve got some spare time–or when Kongregate releases some new badges for the game. But if completion the first time through is the way you like to play, you can pull that off just as easily.

Now let’s just hope that Brad Borne can get the next game out in less than a year. In the meantime, professional developers need to take note of the fantastic work done with Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2. There are quite a few publishers who don’t release commercial games that are this polished.