Chex Quest - Defender of the Crunchy

I still think the armor is cool...

Back in 1996, FPS games were really taking off, but as a sheltered kid who's parents still believed that any exposure to violent video game would turn me in to a drooling serial killer, all I could to was watch from the sidelines, and play at friends house.  Then, I found a CD in my cereal box.   I then proceeded to play Chex Quest like a fiend for the next three days.

Chex Quest is a promotional game that came with (surprise surprise) Chex cereal.  You play as the Chex warrior, fighting of the green slime creatures called Felmoids.  What's more, your weapons don't actually kill anything, but teleport the critters back to their home dimension.  This game should be wretched and pathetic, a stupid promo game...and yet, it's not.

ohgodohgodohgod

This game was made with pure, unadulterated love.  This game is perfectly faithful to its doom roots, to supercharge health packs (breakfast cereals) to giant room-clearing BFG-type zorch cannons.  The enemies, while generally simple, can still give you problems with encirclement, and at higher levels can give even veterans the occasional problems.

The layout, the level structure, everything FEELS right here.  There's pitch-black rooms and halls, sending you stumbling along, hugging walls...suddenly, there's a screech and you start getting pounded with goo.  Ideally, if this doesn't send you in to a seizure-inducing collage nightclub flashback, it will feel much like the good old DooM.

Yes, we're fighting off alien invasion with a PowerSpork.  No, I don't see the problem with this.

What's more, it's non-violent.  Normally this is almost a negative for me, but let me explain:  I have three kids.  What's more, my eldest daughter will get nightmares at the drop of a hat, despite her love for all things creepy.  I love first person shooters, yet can't play most of them during the day.  This one, I can...hell, even SHE can play it, and I don't have to worry!

This is a somewhat short game, but trust me, it's worth checking out.  Go to almost any video game forum and bring up Chex Quest, and you're bound to have at least a couple rabid fans chattering about it within a few posts.  Plus, the big deluxe edition, Chex Quest 3, has all three official games in one.  it's good for a day's fun, when blood and gore has burned you out.

Is...is anyone else disturbed by this?  Anyone?