[GAME MASTER]Blistex Kiss Kiss

It is with some embarrassment that I introduce the game for this week’s review. Blistex Kiss Kiss is a flash animation game posted on the Web site of Blistex (www.blistex.co.kr), the lip balm brand similar to that of Chapstick distributed by Hyundai Pharmaceutical.
I would like to make clear to the reader that the JoongAng Daily has no financial or other interests whatsoever with Blistex and that the company probably won’t even know that I’m writing this review. I myself, have never even bought, or let alone used Blistex lip balm.
That said, the only reason I went to their Web site and played this terribly funny game was after seeing rave reviews on Post Adventure, a domestic portal and forum for adventure games, and wanted to see what it was all about.
The game explicitly states that it is “only for high school girls” and describes itself on the title page as a “full-on pretty-boy kiss simulation game.” Hmm...
Click on the pop-up window and you have three characters standing in front of you. One is a haughty-looking dark-haired player-type who is wearing a black suit and a white shirt with the top buttons undone. The second is a blond with long-ish hair, wearing jeans and looking like a girly glam-rock star. The third looks like the younger brother of a friend, probably about 12 years old.
The object of the game is to get one of the guys to kiss you on the lips. This requires one to first date one of the three guys, and get him interested enough in you within the designated time. This can be achieved by selecting the right things to say, choosing the right places to go, or by giving him appropriate gifts at the appropriate time.
If you achieve this first goal ― which by no means is an easy task ― the second objective is to choose one out of six lip balm flavors. If you choose the right one, he will kiss you on the lips.
Compared to the male players, some of whom claimed that right-or-wrong answers were random, I was able to discover fairly easily that the makers of the game were not rash ― they had given their male characters preferences and personalities, which made the game more than just a simple guessing game. (That’s why, guys, it was made for high school girls.)
The real beauty of the game, however, was not in the game-playing, nor the small strategy involved in seducing the male dates, but the dialogue. Whoever wrote the script deserves credit for some hilarious, original lines.
The best bit of conversation came when I succeeded in kissing the younger boy. “Are we doing the right thing?” he asks. “Hush,” I say.
“My older sister told me to be careful when I met you today. She said you had other intentions and warned me not to wear shorts!” he says.
At this point, my character thinks to herself, “I’m going to strangle that girl!”
This dialogue was a bit shocking, and it immediately made me feel old ― I was surprised that high school girls would be enjoying such lewd jokes.
I’m not sure how this game affected actual sales of the lip balm, but the game developer certainly showed potential. Developers of bigger online games could certainly use a scriptwriter like the one who did this game.

by Wohn Dong-hee