Mr. Bill's   Adventureland   Review

What a great little game!!!  And TOTALLY ADDICTIVE!  Supposedly made for children, it nevertheless has kept us enthralled for hours at a time, and should continue to do so for some time to come since we've yet to perfect our score.  And, lest you think we're unique, we'll quickly point out that the reason we played it in the first place was due to the enthusiastic insistence of several adults who frequent our website.

It is primarily a puzzle game (actually strategy) with a very skimpy storyline used only to set the scene.  You are introduced to a group of happy, adorable little creatures called 'Gruntz' (like 'Smurfs', but usually not blue), who are playing with their toys in a field "one fine day in the land of Groan", when they stumble upon some mysterious switches.  Naturally they have to trigger them, and that opens a 'worm hole' into another dimension into which their ball falls.  About that time they are attacked by a similar group called 'The Disgruntled' (they have no toys) and, in the ensuing chase, all end up warping through the worm hole.

The game itself then begins and it's your job to successfully bring them all back home.  Any who are killed along the way (friend or enemy) turn into 'Goo', which can then be sucked up through a straw (collected) and rebaked into a friendly Gruntz.  But to succeed you must collect the 4 pieces of 8 different 'Warp Stones' in 8 different worlds (a total of 32 levels), and it gets increasingly more difficult to do as you go along.

You are introduced to the difficulty gradually with an extended training period (actually easier playing levels) during which you learn how to use such things as toolz and toyz, while avoiding or eliminating such things as holez, bombz, all sorts of weaponz, hazardz, and enemy Gruntz (the Disgruntled), all the while being helped along (and teased) with plenty of onscreen hints and funny comments from the Gruntz.  And yes, all words which normally end in "S" now end in "Z" and you'll find it a hard habit to break, even when not playing!

 It is a game of logic, memory, and concentration, and it's not made any easier by smart aleck, wisecracking little creatures who are prone to gripe if you take too long, start singing anything from 'Saturday Night Fever' to 'The Andy Griffith Show', and quote everybody from Gary Coleman of 'Different Strokes' to Jim Carrey.

"Well, allrighty then!"  It is indeed one of those rare games that the whole family can enjoy, both those playing and those screaming from the sidelines.  Simple point and click interface, Quest Mode (single player) and Battle Mode (1 to 4 players, very intense and fast paced), with multiplayer support for up to 4 players over the Internet.

There is a Level Editor (to create you own Custom Levelz for others to play and you can play their Custom Levelz), a Patch that corrects a few minor problems (like getting a perfect score so that you can reach and play the Bonus Level), and there was a Demo of Gruntz. There are also Two Small Patches that allow Gruntz to play on either XP or Vista at a larger resolution. I am now playing it here in the year 2011 on my XP at 1024 X 768 resolution. I hope to make the above patches and Level Editor available soon here on Mr. Bill's Adventureland.

© January 2000  Mr. Bill and Lela

Full View Screenshot

Produced (1998) by Monolith Productions.

Minimum System Requirements:

PC: Pentium 133 MHz, 32 Mb RAM, 4X CD ROM Drive, 2 MB Direct X Compatible Video Card, Windows 95/98, Direct X Drivers, Windows Compatible Stereo Sound Card, Modem With LAN or Serial Connection For Multiplay

Note!  It can also be played under XP and Vista and probably Windows 7. There are Small Patches that can change the registry of the game so that it will be able to play at higher resolutions (either 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768). It initially played at 640 X 480.

Where To Buy This Game:

The best chance for finding this game would be at used software places or auctions or trading sites. Our Places To Buy Games page may be able to assist you in finding a copy of this game.

Walkthroughs or Hints: