‘Asterix and Obelix: Slap Them All’ get-a-fixes November release date
By Toutatis! Those fuzzy-faced indomitable Gauls are back. After a few decent-enough HD remasters of their inaugural 3D platforming adventures (and one miserable attempt at a co-op continuation) Asterix and Obelix are returning to basics in a comic-styled 2D brawler. The title? Asterix and Obelix: Slap Them All. As indicative a name as there ever was.
Wee bit of context for all you no-doubt-confused Yanks browsing our site. Asterix is a European comic character who found astonishing success in the late 20th century thanks to his cunning, wit and adventurous spirit; think Tintin except half the height, living in 50 BC and sporting an absurd yellow moustache, and you’ve got the basic idea.
Though the initial runs of the strips were in the native French – penned as they were by legends Alberto Uderzo and Rene Goscinny and published as they were in the Franco magazine Pilote – Asterix endeared himself to the English speaking world through an eventual translation effort which was, simply, stellar. All of the charm of the comics was retained despite the language barrier, and the localisers tossed in a few gags and puns of their own, making the resulting stories dry, droll masterclasses in comedy.
“I’d like to return this melon, it’s gone rotten,” says a British character to a vendor in one comic’s background gag. “You’re saying I’m selling mouldy produce?” retorts the vendor. “Yes I am, old fruit.” That is actual genius and I’ll hear no argument to the contrary.
Accompanying Asterix were a cavalcade of wacky sidekicks: Obelix, the dimwitted menhir delivery man who was “not fat, just big boned,”; Getafix, the village druid who brewed invincibility potions on the daily; Vitalstatistix the chieftain and his no-nonsense wife Impedimenta; and the loyal hound Dogmatix, just to name a few. These loveable folks partook in a variety of adventures in the comics, including but not limited to participating in the Olympic Games, proving to Julius Caesar that they’re as strong as gods, contending with a corrupt fortune teller, and battling an alien invasion. Yes, really.
So popular are Asterix and his friends that the comic books continue to this day, long after Goscinny and Uderzo’s deaths, and he even has his own theme park in France. As ol’ Walt would tell you, that’s how you know you’ve made it.
To return to the subject after that history lesson, then, Asterix is no stranger to the world of video games. Aside from the aforementioned XXL series of 3D platformers, his pedigree in this regard stretches all the way back to the SEGA Master System, where the Gaul starred in a 1991 side-scrolling beat-em-up. (Ha, knew we’d be able to work in a SEGA reference even here. That’s consistent branding for you.) Slap Them All looks to be echoing this outing in particular, featuring a stylish 2D parallax presentation mixed with all the requisite Roman bashing one could ask for. Soz, Julius.
As Eurogamer reports, publisher Microids have announced a release date for the game – 25th of November. In the press release, they elaborated a little more on what fans can expect: “players will be able to control Asterix and Obelix as they journey (either solo or with a friend via local co-op) across iconic locations from the comic books, battling Roman legionaries, pirates, brigands, and even the dreaded Normans.” Hopefully not the ‘of the North’ variety.
This gorgeous hand-animated adventure hits all the major platforms on release – and you can bet this enthused reporter, surrounded presently by mountains of 70s Asterix memorabilia inherited from his dear old dad, will be picking it up.
Will you? Are you an Asterix fan at all? Let us know!
Via, Eurogamer.
