Bruiser & Scratch (WiiWare)

Game Profile

Bruiser and Scratch are stranded in a strange world with a dark secret. Their only hope in finding a path home is to unravel the mystery of this place, one oversized puzzle at a time.

Along the way, they make new friends and meet up with old adversaries, each of whom plays a role in their journey. Bruiser and Scratch offers a number of tutorial levels to bring the player up to speed gradually. The story unfolds over 48 puzzles and six landscapes. And for players who can’t get enough, Challenge mode offers 75 additional puzzles that range from child’s play to mind-bogglingly difficult.

Game Review

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Review

USA Thu, 11 Dec 2008 by Corbie Dillard

Does Steel Penny Games debut WiiWare puzzler have that Naughty Dog magic?

It seems only natural that a game being developed by former members of such an accomplished developer as Naughty Dog would garner some serious hype when it's announced. While it's always nice for a developer to get some type of recognition ahead of time,..

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User Comments

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1. Pocketim New Zealand 07 Feb 2008, 02:39 GMT

This game looks interesting, even though we don't know what the heck in a hamster ball this game is :P

Jupiter Adept

2. Jupiter Adept Canada 09 Feb 2008, 02:23 GMT

So, is this a detective game or something?

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3. Pocketim New Zealand 09 Feb 2008, 07:33 GMT

@ Jupiter Adept: No one really knows what this game is, all we know is that it features 2 pets, its made by ex-Naughty Dog developers, and that Bruiser looks really weird :D

Jupiter Adept

4. Jupiter Adept Canada 09 Feb 2008, 13:46 GMT

Yeah, he looks sort of gangsta. Anyway, I'd rather have a detecive game than a puzzle game.

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5. Bulerias United States 14 Feb 2008, 17:04 GMT

Does anyone get a sweet Sam & Max vibe from this? Granted, not much info is known, but I'm talking about the concept art and premise.

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6. Serpent United States 18 Feb 2008, 17:47 GMT

Yea i get the Sam & Max vibe also with almost everything.

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7. Masuyo United States 19 Feb 2008, 12:04 GMT

"furry friends" lol oh no... furries.

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8. TheLuigiDude United States 03 May 2008, 23:11 GMT

The characters kind of creep me out, but hey I'm loving the point and click adventure/mystery games revival going on and I'm happy to see it won't stay on the DS! But somebody's got to interview these dudes...hmmm

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9. Objection_Blaster United States 14 May 2008, 22:03 GMT

500 pts? Thatd be cheap. But I dont much about this one. Puzzle or S&M?

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10. Pocketim New Zealand 21 May 2008, 08:19 GMT

The screenshots look good, however that 3rd screenshot looks way to similar to Bomberman :p

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11. Rashoodeus United Arab Emirates 24 May 2008, 22:31 GMT

Aww i thought it'd be a point and click adventure before the release of the screenshots.

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12. Mr.Game and Watch United Kingdom 26 May 2008, 19:33 GMT

Errr...
Looks a bit dire.

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13. NNoah95 United States 12 Jul 2008, 18:36 GMT

This looks like a game I might buy if it was cheap. It better be good if it were 1000 points.

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14. MoneybagzX Canada 13 Jul 2008, 03:23 GMT

the cat creeps me out so i wont be paying attentoin to this

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15. Ricardo91 United States 07 Aug 2008, 03:31 GMT

This looks like some kind of puzzle/strategy hybrid, with a detective vibe. It sounds interesting, and it's made by former members of Naughty Dog, so it should be good. Can't wait to see more info on it.

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16. WiiMan192 Australia 22 Oct 2008, 20:52 GMT

This was announced a while ago... I'm guessing this is a point and click adventure/puzzler, but it looks overdue for more info.

bwaybuddy26

17. bwaybuddy26 United States 07 Dec 2008, 23:12 GMT

Announced for release on Dec. 8 from the game's website.

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18. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 08 Dec 2008, 14:22 GMT

FINALLY. I thought this game would never come! XD
I'm gonna give it a shot. Hope the blocks are reasonable.

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19. longtimegamer United States 08 Dec 2008, 14:28 GMT

Heck in a hamsterball. he heh.

Well, this guy liked Lost winds and world of goo and he has his three rules for a good game (or puzzle game, not completely sure). Maybe that's a good sign.

owen

20. owen Jamaica 08 Dec 2008, 14:38 GMT

my best guess would be that its a puzzle platformer in which you have to bring 2 charactors to a certain point without dieing to complete the map OR its a turn based strategy RPG set in the period just before world war 2.

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21. Zaphod Beeblebrox United States 08 Dec 2008, 14:47 GMT

Is Bruiser and Scratch similar to Adventures of Lolo?

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22. longtimegamer United States 08 Dec 2008, 14:53 GMT

LOL , I really liked that last answer owen.

@Zaphod- I don't think anyones completely sure. I just hope it turns out to be really good.

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23. RadioShadow United Kingdom 08 Dec 2008, 18:33 GMT

Why does 'Scratch and Grounder' come to my mind? XD

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24. KnucklesSonic8 Canada 08 Dec 2008, 22:11 GMT

This game is great. VERY challenging already! Definitely stands out amongst other lackluster puzzle games. I'm VERY pleased and I'm enjoying this thoroughly thus far. I'm only on Stage 5!

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25. Jockolantern United States 08 Dec 2008, 23:09 GMT

So far, I'm really enjoying this game. A simple puzzle mechanic which works well and allows for a great increase in depth much later down the road. It looks like the game is bound to get wickedly challenging down the road as I sneaked a few peeks at some of the much later Challenge levels and they look downright brain-busting.

Your accuracy in completing levels is also tested, unforgivingly. Didn't think a level through correctly that first time around? You're 0 / 1... permanently. If you manage to get it the second time around, your trophy level only gives you a rating of 50%. You can beat it again and again and again to up that percentage if you wish, but the game is quite insistent on you seriously thinking levels through beforehand if you want to show off a 100% clear rating. Plus, there's always incentive to go back and try and beat levels in less time and with fewer steps taken while STILL managing to complete it correctly and not letting your trophy percentage take a hit.

The dialogue in story mode so far actually brings one back to the rather quirky, odd sense of humor Naughty Dog themselves are known for and I would surmise the title will get a 7 / 10 from the review crew here. It's a game for puzzler fans only, but for that particular crowd, it is quite the intellectually engaging treat.

VaultBoy

26. VaultBoy United States 09 Dec 2008, 00:56 GMT

The game kind of reminds me of Pengo. But, imagine it with no enemies, no normal ice blocks, and having to get all the white bonus blocks together. Basically, there are different block types throughout the game. By kicking the blocks, they slide until they hit an object (and wrap around the screen if they hit an edge). This can result in you kicking a block that wraps around and runs you over. Basically, every block type has at least one block matching it's type (but there can be multiple). Once all matching types of a block have been brought together, they merge into a new type. Once you've brought all blocks together into a single block, you win the level.

The difficulty ramps up fairly quickly as you can easily put yourself in an unwinnable situation. I'm currently stuck on level 10 of the story mode. I've played a few of the challenge mode puzzles and while difficult, I've been able to get through them after a couple tries. (Unlike level 10 which I'm on like try 30.) It would've been nice for the game to include some sort of hint option after you fail a level a few times. It could be as simple as, "Here's a tip, try to get the blocks in this formation," which could be a formation 5-10 moves out. Basically, just have it point you in the right direction.

I'm usually a pretty big fan of puzzle games, but this one is a bit disappointing. I'd give it about a 6 / 10 as there are much better puzzle games on WiiWare and VC.

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27. megatron United States 09 Dec 2008, 01:45 GMT

eh, i wish i had held out on this until some reviews got posted.
i like the puzzles, but that's about it. i don't like the visuals, the controls, the menus, the music, the lack of voices...

VaultBoy

28. VaultBoy United States 09 Dec 2008, 09:08 GMT

megatron, you summed up my thoughts. It just took me 3 paragraphs compared to 3 sentences. :)

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29. Stevii's Father Philippines 11 Dec 2008, 01:59 GMT

It seems to play a bit like Pengo (pushing sliding blocks)...
but on second thought, it seems a lot more like that block puzzle at Snowpeak Ruins from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN_ZS1gXIe4)...
But AN ENTIRE GAME ON THAT MECHANIC!

Spend 1000 points and let me know if I was wrong.

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30. Wiiloveit United Kingdom 21 Dec 2008, 18:33 GMT

Anyone who wants this in Europe won't have to wait much longer - the game has been officially PEGI rated, showing that Steel Penny LIED when they said it would take a while.

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31. gameking23 United States 21 Dec 2008, 21:25 GMT

@Wiiloveit Maybe the rating process went faster than Steel Penny had originally though. In that case they did not lie.

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