# Genuinely Funny Videogames **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222 "2003-04-12T07:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/1 "2003-04-12T07:04:45Z")
Somebody reminded me recently that there haven’t been any really genuinely funny videogames (or computer games) made recently. And it hadn’t occurred to me, but I think it’s true. Games _are_ evolving (albeit painfully slowly) to be more subtle and artistic, with a little more thought to the artistic design than “and we’ll put pentagrams and decapitated heads all over the place to make it look bad-_ass_!!!” But they’re still not making headway with the comedy; there are few I can think of that are genuinely funny and not just funny “for a game.” _The Sims_ has some great stuff, especially with the voice work, but I don’t know if it really qualifies as comedy more than just “quirky.” _Tropico_ has a funny premise, but once the game starts it’s just straight-ahead city-building. And just about every other game from Japan is funny, either intentionally or not, but I don’t know if “weird” necessarily equals “funny.” Plenty of games have side jokes, but they’re usually either corny programmer humor or references that are only smirk-worthy if you’ve played the first 10 games in the series. The kind of thing I’m looking for is _Sam & Max Hit the Road_, or _You Don’t Know Jack_ (especially “Movies”), which are IMO the twin pinnacles of comedy games. So: any recent candidates? And, what do you think is the funniest game ever made? ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/2 "2003-04-12T07:34:09Z")
Lucasarts did a pretty good job in this department with their adventure games. Grim Fandango had me in stiches at times(when Manny tries to pull a hammer on Domino in chapter 3), and The Monkey Island games were pretty good too. Some RPG’s had from snippets(Some of the Final Fantasy games have had me chuckling at times) to more, but darker bits (Fallout series) of humor along with some oddly appropriate references. Hell, I’ve seen some amusing moments/qoutes in “Half Life” and “Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2” as well. ---
**Author:** ![Drex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dc4da7/32.png) [@Drex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drex)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/3 "2003-04-12T07:41:33Z")
Have you ever played Earthbound? Yes, it’s weird. It’s also one of the funnier games I’ve played. Sigh… I love Earthbound. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/4 "2003-04-12T07:43:34Z")
I thought fallout 2 had a lot of funny dialogue and pop culture references and such. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/5 "2003-04-12T07:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drex \* > \*\*Have you ever played Earthbound? Yes, it’s weird. It’s also one of the funnier games I’ve played. Sigh… > > I love Earthbound. \*\* I remember that. Interesting game. I have to get back to it someday. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/6 "2003-04-12T08:16:38Z")
Ghost Recon was an otherwise serious game, but the manual had one gem in it: “Combat, in its simplest form, involves shooting, blowing up, or otherwise wreaking havoc on your enemies.” It’s so dry, it cracks me up. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/7 "2003-04-12T09:29:46Z")
Second for _Grim Fandango_, my favorite game in that genre. _Duke Nukem 3D_ provided some good laughs the first time you heard the jokes. I enjoyed the spy satire in \*No One Lives Forever \* 1 & 2. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/8 "2003-04-12T10:04:02Z")
I remember SmashTV as being a hoot… ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/9 "2003-04-12T10:15:58Z")
Was SmashTV the one that simulated a gameshow where you fought for cash and fabulous prizes? And there was the announcer doing the cheesy commentary? “I’d buy that for a dollar!” ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/10 "2003-04-12T10:27:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Was SmashTV the one that simulated a gameshow where you fought for cash and fabulous prizes? And there was the announcer doing the cheesy commentary? > > “I’d buy that for a dollar!” \*\* That’d be the game. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/11 "2003-04-12T10:41:52Z")
_Day Of The Tentacle_ _Full Throttle_ _Azurik_\* I’d call those genuinely funny games, and they’re not TOO old… \*Note: _Azurik_ is only funny because it makes me laugh at the notion that some idiot somewhere called this steaming pile of wombat shit a “game”. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/12 "2003-04-12T10:56:03Z")
If we mean unintentionally funny games, how about those shitty “interactive movies” from the mid-90s when CD-ROM was the Next Big Thing? ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/13 "2003-04-12T11:20:29Z")
You want to mix games and humor? Then you must check out [Fargo](http://www.gamespy.com/fargo/). ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/14 "2003-04-12T11:53:10Z")
_Gex: Enter The Gecko_ had some funny lines, and some of Gex’s moves made me laugh. Favorite lines uttered by Gex (both while in invulnerable mode - covered in flame): “Flame On!” & “I’m flaming…in a masculine way!” _Blasto_ was very funny too, between the Saturday morning cartoonish look of the game and Phil Hartman’s perfect delivery of Blasto’s lines. But some of those lines took on ironic meanings after he was murdered by his wife. “Hi, honey, I’m home!” for one, and his often uttering, “Not in the head!” while being shot at in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/15 "2003-04-12T11:55:33Z")
Don’t miss the Oddworld games for good, intentional laughs. General Azlick gets me every time, and it is in general a laugh a minute, when you aren’t dying. Heck, even when you are 🙂 So thats Abes Oddessy and Ummm… Something or other Munch, and another title, but they go under Oddworld, search for that. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/16 "2003-04-12T12:15:32Z")
How about Earthworm Jim? ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/17 "2003-04-12T12:29:27Z")
\Starship Titanic?\ ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/18 "2003-04-12T13:24:48Z")
Zork Grand Inquisitor? “Who’s the boss of you? I am the boss of you!” ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/19 "2003-04-12T13:25:10Z")
i still remember the ‘cheering as you do the platform jumping’ joke in MDK2 ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222/20 "2003-04-12T13:27:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Was SmashTV the one that simulated a gameshow where you fought for cash and fabulous prizes? And there was the announcer doing the cheesy commentary? > > “I’d buy that for a dollar!” \*\* Interestingly, that was an adopted quote from… uh. C. M. Kornbluth’s story, “The Marching Morons,” a dystopia based on tyranny of the stuuuupid majority. Very funny, very scary. True classic of science fiction. Also referenced in Robocop, for the same reason. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genuinely-funny-videogames/168222.md?page=2)