Before we get into this weeks review I'd like to thank those who participated in last week's challenge as the winners of Wasabits are Beauthegamer(3000W) and Zine(2000W) with honorable mention going to the lovely ladies, DJ RockerLP and LadyZyre(1000W)! Remember guys, if you wanna win even more wasabits and front page love and recognition, feel free to submit all of your flash game ideas to our suggestion thread in the forums!

Gone are the days of yore where you would toil away wasting hours upon hours and every quarter you were supposed to spend on lunch in the local arcade. Back then, gameplay was a simple romp through level after level with your favorite characters to jaunt up to a boss whose health you could only discern by the colors and speed of which he flashed. Those days seem to have all but been forgotten, yet seem to live on with a certain nostalgia through flash games. This brings me to this week's Workless Wednesday Review of Dadgame.

The game is a continuation of 2004's wildly funny and infamous flash cartoon short Dad's Home and its' 2007 counterpart Dad's At Work. Dadgame and the accompanying animatons are all works by newground user Sakupen, who although does not sport a large collection of work, does however make sure his work is quality with a few awards under his belt. The phrase "quality over quantity" comes to mind, which impresses me as most flash artists are more interested in continuing their series than making sure their work is quality.

Dadgame starts out with Dad, whom you play as, at work and barging in on his boss to destroy his office in a highly comical manner to steal his dastardly plans for world domination! Did I mention you launch yourself away from a ninja and go flying from a window? So what else is an evil crime syndicate boss to do when his plans are stolen? Call the police he bought off of course! Hilarity ensues!

Continued After The Break

The game is your general style side scroller where you fight a bunch of guys and then you fight a boss in a linear fashion. It does however hold a twist with the inbetween "destruction" levels where your job is to cause as much chaos in a level as (in)humanly possible. You will have a set amount of items to destroy and can only progress when the number is met. Alternatively, while in the process of causing said destruction, you will gain percentages which once you hit 100% causes Dad to go crazy invincible and will give you access to a special whirlwind attack to cause even more damage!

Now, I generally find that the number one problem I have with flash based side scrollers is that I have a keyboard in place of my beloved joystick/controller. Dadgame has an incredibly intuitive and easy to use button system that combines the creativity of special moves with the ease and fun of button mashing. Why fun you ask? Let's face it, we all know rapid button pushing is not only fun but it covers that primal urge to smash we all face daily. Whoa killer, don't throw your mouse, just go play some more Dynasty Warriors!

The art style is a custom classic, but could definitely use some serious tweaking here and there to smooth out the edges and pixelated lines. However, I must say it does hold a style all its' very own. I think that some of this might be the file size limitation of Newgrounds, so I think this would be the type of game I'd like to see redone with high rez (possibly HD) graphics and be released on XBL as an Arcade Original, because this is something I would not feel remotely bad about purchasing. I must also add that among the art style, the cut scenes between levels really make this game.   I think I could watch them over and over again, but they do include the option to skip them for those of you who are gaming on a time limit.

With everything considered I must give props to Dadgame for giving me a fresh throw back on a seemingly stale concept. I definitely enjoyed this game as I would usually go out of my way to avoid playing an action/adventure side scrolling flash game. If you're interested in the game, it will definitely eat up a chunk of your time.  I'd have to suggest making time just to play this game distraction free as it will require some of your attention and there is no pause button.

Looks like that's it for this week guys! Remember to get in your submissions for the flash game suggestion thread and be sure to get in on the weekly challenges to get your extra Wasabits! I mean really, don't YOU wanna have the biggest E-Peen?