Happy Tree Friends

February 27, 2008 - To late-night tokers, Happy
Tree Friends is as familiar as their own toes. But not everyone is
aware of this Internet-turned-TV cartoon phenomenon. The Happy Tree
Friends are, at first glance, a group of cuddly and colorful forest
creatures. You know, the kind of rabies-free critters kids love to pet.
Then one of the Tree Friends accidentally walks into a saw blade,
slicing itself in half and spurting blood everywhere. They may look
cute, but Happy Tree Friends is not for kids. It's for adults who like
to laugh their asses off in the middle of the night. The
blood-splattered mayhem of the Tree Friends is set to come to XBLA and
PC in April.

Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm
is built off the Lemmings model of casual gaming. You must guide a
quintet of Tree Friends -- Flippy, Flaky, Mole, Nutty, and Russell --
safely through 30 perilous levels. You play as Lumpy, though you exist
off-screen and act as the hand of God. Equipped with four powers --
freeze, nitro, fire and "action" -- you must neutralize the death traps
that threaten the hapless Tree Friends. They are fairly mindless, so
it's up to you to quickly judge the best use of your powers to
neutralize threats quickly and at the proper time.

Each
stage begins with a flythrough, allowing you to quickly assess the
numerous pitfalls that lay ahead. Your four different skills (or
powers) are going to be used heavily throughout each level. Freeze is
not only good for putting out fires and closing off open steam vents,
but can also be used to keep the Tree Friends from moving across the
screen. Just freeze the suckers in place. This is quite helpful since
each level contains time-sensitive puzzles such as swinging blades.
Nitro is used for explosions to blow up some impediments in the way of
the Tree Friends. Fire is useful as a motivational tool. Drop some
flames behind the Tree Friends and they will move more quickly. Using
fire and freeze powers in tandem, you can manage the tempo of your
friendly little cadre. The action power is used to activate buttons and
levers in the environment.

The levels in Tree Friends are colorful and of the type you'd see in
the saturated, happy land of family friendly animated films. But there
is so much blood. In fact, there are about a half-dozen custom deaths
in Tree Friends. Oh yes, there will be blood. You only need a lone Tree
Friend to reach the exit and beat a level. That may often be the case
as the five Friends seem attracted to anything that might prove lethal.

Happy Tree Friends is a strange little game. The gameplay is simplistic
-- it really is just a riff on Lemmings -- but it's unbelievably
twisted. In "Alls Whale that Ends Whale" one of these massive mammals
of the deep has fallen onto a seaside resort. During the Tree Friends
escape from this level, they come across the beached whale. You need to
cause the beast some pain so an empty pool fills with its blood to
allow the Tree Friends to swim across. What makes this all the more
horrific is that it's hilarious. It sounds like a horrid offense to
marine life, but when you see it in the context of the game, it's
riotously funny.

The
Happy Tree Friends game includes a "hella funny" exclusive episode of
the show. The videogame-focused episode is unlocked when you score a
bronze medal in each level. Now you have something to work for, kids!
The first half the special episode is expected to be released shortly
as a teaser. The full version of Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm is
expected in April.