GAMER'S CORNER: Justin McElroy: 'Insecticide' produces solid action, brainteasers

This should come as no surprise to you, dear reader, but I write about video games for a living. Not just reviews but news, features, the works. So when a good game escapes my notice it's a little puzzling, if not kind of humbling. But that's exactly what's happened with the new Gamecock DS release "Insecticide."

You play as Detective Chrys Liszt, trying to crack a case harder than a scarab's exoskeleton, using not only your pollen blasting gun but some old fashioned six-legwork. ... Yeah, six legs. Didn't I mention? You're a bug. In fact, everyone in this world is.

And the game's clever writers don't miss a step (or a bug-related pun) as they're revealing the game's story of mystery, murder and corporate conspiracies. The solid writing and a noir-inspired art style help to make it a truly cinematic experience.

It doesn't hurt that the story is told through some well-produced cinematics with great voice acting and a cool, jazzy score.

The hitch that I have is how the game's story plays out in gameplay.

"Insecticide" attempts to blend two genres and the result is pretty jarring.

Half of the game, you'll be playing an adventure title, hunting for items, solving puzzles and figuring out how they work together. It's made by some genre vets from LucasArts and it's spot on. Fun, engaging, great stuff.

But the other half, the action half, is more of a mixed bag. Firing is slow, turning is slow and there are some really tough sequences of tightrope walking that will have even seasoned gamers throwing their hands up in disgust.

Once you get the hang of the action sequences pace, you can usually navigate them without too much trouble thanks to an auto-lock on feature. You might even find yourself enjoying them a bit, if you can get through the frustration.

The action bits just make up too much of the game to make this easy to recommend to everyone. But the good here far outweighs the bad and, especially if you're a fan of classic adventure games, it may be worth fighting through the carapace to get to the satisfying stuff within.

Justin McElroy is a freelance writer living in Huntington. His writing appears on video game sites like Gamezebo.com and Joystiq.com.