This week marked a momentous occasion: The first game based on the bizarrely funny Internet cartoon Homestar Runner was released. I ran right out (or actually, sat right down on the couch) to download the game onto my Wii console, but I’ve hardly had time to play it.

My colleague/nemesis Danny, however, has. So I asked him to share some thoughts on the game, called “Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attrractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner.” Here’s what he banged out on his rickety keyboard:

If you know the name Strong Bad, then there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy “Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People.”  For fans of Home Star Runner, it’s probably the best $10 you’ll spend this week.  I don’t know about the non-fans, and frankly, I don’t care about them, because they suck and are wrong.

The game itself is a point-and-click adventure in the style of the recent “Sam & Max” games (from the same developer, Telltale Games), which can’t be a bad thing.  You control Strong Bad as he attempts to pander to his e-mail audience by beating up Homestar.  The puzzles themselves are simple enough, and most of the enjoyment from the game comes from the hilarious dialogue and ridiculous plot.

There are nice little incidental things to play around with, too.  You can send e-mails to your friends using Lappy (Strong Bad’s laptop), play Snake Boxer 5 on what appears to be an old Atari 2600, and write your own Teen Girl Squad comic, which Strong Bad will then rate for you.  Awesome, right?

While you can probably play through the entire game in two or three hours, you’d miss out on most of the fun.  So go buy it, play it and then come back and thank me for telling you how awesome it was and making you buy it and play it.

The game is 1,000 Wii Points ($10) per episode for the Wii, $8.95 per episode for the PC, $34.95 for all five PC episodes. I’m not sure the Wii version is worth the $15 premium over the course of the full “season” of episodes, but I’ve paid more than that for less entertainment.

(Screen capture by Justin Hoeger)