Full FeedGamertell Review: Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble for PC, Mac
Title: Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!
Price: $20
System(s): PC, Mac
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Mousechief (Mousechief)
TIGRS Rating: “Teen” for mild language, cartoon violence, suggestive themes, crass humor, alcohol reference, tobacco reference and drug reference.
Pros: Innovative story, colorful characters, beautiful ambiance, intuitive controls and fun mini-games, auto save and multiple save slots.
Cons: Best played in short bursts, graphic at times, some boyfriends are hard to win over and new taunts can be difficult to come by.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, ****1/2 out of 5.
Note: DHSGiT does contain several mature, textual situations, comparable to those seen in cable TV dramas. The situations are not illustrated, but are present.
Dangeous High School Girls in Trouble (DHSGiT) is an amazing game. It is a delightful, empowering, realistic, dark, entertaining and captivating adventure that you can play for 15 minutes or for hours. The two areas where this casual game from Mousechief really shines are the vibrant characters and the witty script, but the whole game is really just phenomenal.
In fact, DHSGiT is easily one of the best games I’ve played in 2008. Sure, there are some quirks which may irritate me from time to time but most of those are caused by my own failings at certain mini-games (like Gambit or Flirt) and are not the fault of DHSGiT. Gamers of all skill levels and 13 (there are some mature issues in the game) or older will find something to love about DHSGiT.
Dangerous High School Girls Don’t Find Trouble. Trouble Finds Them.
Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble stars a group of dangerous high school girls who attend Daniel Gerard Ross High School in Brigiton, USA, in the 1920s. After you pick one of 12 girls as your clique’s leader, you set out to recruit three other girls for your group. Then you decide to investigate the weird happenings at the high school.
There was a fire in the cafeteria and the school nurse is covering up accidents. The only way to discover what’s truly going on is to use their popularity, rebellious nature, savvy and glamour to taunt other characters, fib about your true intentions, expose people’s secrets, flirt with boys and gambit like adults.
Fusion of Casual, Strategy, RPG and Mini-Games.
Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble is also interesting because it doesn’t really fit perfectly into any one genre. Sure, it can easily be declared casual but it also possesses adventure, strategic and RPG elements.
Most conversations with NPC characters bring up mini-games (Taunt, Fib, Expose, Flirt and Gambit) to play, adding to the casual atmosphere. However, characters can acquire items to use, boyfriends to boost stats and even level up after successfully managing a certain number of encounters. Also mini-games, Flirt and Gambit especially, require you to think and plan before acting. Plus there is lots of dialogue and you’ll find yourself investigating quite a bit.
It also has amazing characters. The dangerous high school girls of DHSGiT are the most fun and interesting but even NPCs like Liar Girl, Dapper Boy, Miss Fox and Miriam have individual personalities which make you pay attention to every conversation.
The cast is incredibly diverse and each of the twelve has an interesting little bio and personality, which is revealed through the beginning, conversations and pow-wows among your group. Personally, I like Eleanor - a dangerous high school girl in a wheelchair who’s anything but handicapped. At one point in the game, when revolting over a wheelchair ramp, she reveals the following secret, “Lately, various cute boys fancy to carry me like Cleopatra. This stupid ramp will ruin my one thrill!”
The presentation for DHSGiT is also quite unique. The game is designed to look like a board game. NPCs are indicated by silver pieces reminiscent of Monopoly figures. Prizes, actions and parley conversations take place on what appear to be cards. Even the environments for each area look like game boards, complete with the DHSGiT logo. It, and the sepia tones for some of the menu boxes, help create an ambiance which really make the game feel like it takes place in the 1920’s.
“Well-behaved women rarely make history.” - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Even if you only take the time to sample the Mac or PC demo of Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble, you’ll have no trouble seeing why it was named Most Innovative at Casual Games Association Innovate 2007. I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering a PC title like DHSGiT before, and it provides a memorable experience for anyone who plays it.
This independent game deserves a large audience, and Mousechief should be commended for creating such a wonderful game. It is mostly positive, entertaining, affordable and well-crafted. Kudos to Mousechief for all of their hard work on Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble.
Site [Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!]
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The light-hearted, “sassy” and “mischievous” tone of this game turns graphic and horrifying mid-way through the game. A high school girl is abducted and beaten unconscious by a college boy. Her friends find him with his pants around his ankles, about to rape her unconscious form. In order to get past this scene, you’re required to shoot the would-be rapist in the head.
The developer of this game and the owner of Mousechief, the company that distributes the game, justified this scene as “promoting awareness of sexual assault and effective response.”
He went on to say that 50% of women in the US have been assaulted, which is true. So why sucker-punch them in the middle of a cute game with having to relive what they experienced? Shooting an unarmed potential rapist is not an effective response, it’s homicide. An awareness-raising response would have included the victim screaming “FIRE” and gouging the guy’s eyes out with her car keys. She was rendered helpless in the story.
on April 23, 2009 at 10:44 PM - LINKIn another scene, a man drowns in human feces and urine. Big Fish Games yanked this game from its offerings for its graphic content.
I had actually almost forgotten about the semi-graphic nature and situations which did arise in Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble.
There are some dark scenes, which fit in with the satiric and sarcastic tones the game can offer. And the game does tend to get darker, more satirical, more dramatic and more sarcastic as the game nears the climax.
True, both of those scenes didn’t “have” to be in the game. So I won’t defend their existences. The only explanation I can see for them not having the victim yell “Fire” and use her keys is, perhaps they wanted to go for historical accuracy and didn’t think the victim would actually have car keys she could use. It’s grasping at straws, but still something.
The actual questionable segment for the implied possible rape scene is two sentences of text, without any illustration. It’s been quite a few months since I played, but I only recall having the characters select to shoot the assailant. I don’t remember if it was in the head or not.
I can definitely understand your thoughts and feelings on the game. They are certainly valid.
I’m surprised Big Fish removed it, since they have other games with adult situations on their site. I suppose it is their decision, and I can certainly understand if the few lines of text and occasional mature situation offended the company and its customers.
on April 23, 2009 at 11:12 PM - LINKI play graphic games from time to time. As a victim of violent sexual assault, I choose to avoid the ones which include potential rape or assault of women. My issue with this game is that it’s advertised as a sassy, mischievous “romp.” It should be labeled and categorized as having graphic content.
My issue with the developer is that he defended the inclusion of the scene as “educational” and “promoting effective response.” That’s utter crap! The scenario does nothing to educate a modern woman on how to defend herself against sexual assault. Her friends come a long and murder him before he perpetrates the act. She is helpless throughout the ordeal.
on April 24, 2009 at 10:52 AM - LINKHi again Revo,
That’s true, there should be a disclaimer. What I’ll do is amend the information box above, including the following:
on April 24, 2009 at 12:30 PM - LINKNote: DHSGiT does contain several mature, textual situations, comparable to those seen in cable TV dramas. The situations are not illustrated, but are present.
Thanks so much! A note like that would have prevented an unwelcome surprise, in my case.
on April 24, 2009 at 01:13 PM - LINK