Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands

 PC
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. GamePro
    95
    The transition from the politics in episode 2 to the completely different slant of rock and roll in episode 3 never feels forced, out of place, or nonsensical. It just works because the writing is so damn good, and leads me to believe the creators of this series could cover any topic and still make a funny game.
  2. GameZone
    88
    Telltale Games keeps the series strong with Baddest of the Bands — it’s a rockin’ adventure that is bound to keep fans of both Strong Bad and point-and-click games happy.
  3. PC Gamer UK
    86
    Decent puzzles with hilarious jokes. Surely I'm dreaming? [Christmas 2008, p.99]
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  5. Armchair Empire
    85
    After a slow-paced beginning, Baddest of the Bands finishes with an encore performance that rock and rolls past Episode 1 and settles right behind Episode 2.
  6. GamingTrend
    85
    Baddest of the Bands is another solid entry in the Strong Bad series. The storyline is self contained and it isn't essential that you played Episodes 1 or 2 in order to enjoy Episode 3.
  7. IGN
    84
    Baddest of the Bands offers around five hours of more humorous pointing and clicking for fans of Homestar Runner. If you're not a fan you're probably going to be lost -- which is why you should head over to the official website right now and start catching up.
  8. My Gamer
    84
    While fans have probably already paid for the entire season long before this episode came out, people who are newer to the series can easily find something to hold their attention but may want to wait a little long for the series to congeal together in both difficulty and, hopefully, an overarching plot.
  9. Gaming Target
    80
    The Baddest of the Bands may not be the laugh-a-minute experience of the cartoon, but it is a funny, fun adventure game.
  10. Cheat Code Central
    80
    Like the episodes before it, Baddest of the Bands is wildly ridiculous and largely entertaining. It doesn't pack quite the epic feel or the challenge of Episode 2, but the rocking subject matter is a perfect fit for Strong Bad's outrageous wit.
  11. 1UP
    75
    While the adventure entertains about as well as its predecessors, Baddest of the Bands makes one notable misstep -- auxiliary elements like Teen Girl Squad and the classic-gaming minigames are less prominent in this iteration.
  12. PC Zone UK
    75
    Any problems melt away fast with writing as sharp and hysterical as this. [Jan 2009, p.75]
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  13. Jolt Online Gaming UK
    70
    Overall the third Strong Bad episode is more of a Homestar Jogger than a Homestar Runner. Baddest of the Bands lacks the novelty of the first episode and the imaginative gameplay elements of the second, settling into a formula that fans will most likely find mildly enjoyable at best.
  14. Adventure Gamers
    70
    The fact that this game excels at the end makes up for the slow beginning and mini-game robbery, but only to make it just as good as the last two episodes.
  15. Game Chronicles
    70
    In the end, if you are reading this review, you’re probably curious about the game because you’re a fan of the website. If you like Homestar Runner and Strong Bad and the Cheat and so on and so forth, there is no reason why you should not get this game. You’ll love it, trust me.
  16. Total PC Gaming
    70
    Fun, forgettable and well worth the impulse buy. [Issue#14, p.62]
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  17. PALGN
    70
    Baddest of the Bands is pretty funny, and has a fair bit of content for your money. It's just not very original.
  18. Gaming Nexus
    67
    Baddest of the Bands takes on an ‘80s hair-band schlock as the sense of humor grows even slightly less predictable than its preceding episodes. Its take on reality TV-based competitions, however, isn’t the most timeless theme, but the chuckles don’t suffer from it.
  19. GameShark
    67
    Unfortunately, while this third episode was overall entertaining and fun to play, it doesn’t improve from the previous one. In fact, it takes a step back, which is obviously a bit disappointing.

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Best PC Game of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. Steeldude
    May 4, 2015
    7
    In this episode, Strong Bad's fun machine breaks and in order to fix it, he has to earn a lot of money. So, in order to do that, he decides toIn this episode, Strong Bad's fun machine breaks and in order to fix it, he has to earn a lot of money. So, in order to do that, he decides to organize a music competition and win the whole thing.

    - Unlike the previous episode, this episode has several layers - first, you have to get everyone to take part in your competition and later, you have to make sure your band is the best one. It's quite a bit shorter than the previous episode, but there are slightly more things to do during Extended Play.

    - Certain max achievement requirements are super tricky and are practically sure to be missed without a guide.

    - Also, this episode does not contain the mini game in which you create your own Teen Girl Squad comics, even though the comics itself makes a return in some shape or form. Also, no extra game like the strategic field in the previous episode.

    - The bonus video mini game in this episode revolves around using a spaceship, shooting aliens and rescuing people and it's quite a challenge to beat the score of 45000 points.

    - Overall, I like the musical theme of the episode, however, I still feel that the previous two episodes were better and more "funny". The part where you have to sabotage each band is great, nevertheless, not as funny as you might expect, because certain characters' relationships change quite a bit during this episode.

    - Instead of being able to see card boxes as in the previous episodes, you have to use your microphone during this episode to make them appear. Basically, it's a big guessing game and it's not very fun.

    - The episode took me 6 hours to finish 100% and I had to replay it once as it was impossible to 100% the awesomeness during the first time through.

    So, for the slightly weaker substance of this episode and some missing features, I am going to reduce the rating to 7 for this episode. It's still fun, but the previous two episodes were simply better.    … Full Review »
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