Beavis and Butthead Do U is the boy's second adventure outing. Their first game, Virtual Stupidity, was well regarded and a very good adventure game. Do U provides superior graphics and more non-linear gameplay, but doesn't quite measure up to the standard set by their first game.
The boys are on a field trip to the local college, chaperoned by Van Dreeson, their granola-head teacher. The purpose is to help prepare the kids for college, but all Beavis and Butthead can think of is trying to score with college chicks. The class is given an assignment, to gather eight signatures by department heads, which will get them into a party at the end of the day.
The graphics in Do U are much better than the 320x200 resolution ones found in Virtual Stupidity. Those looked dated even when the game came out. Here you'll find 640x480 screens that look much more like the environment of the TV show. There are still a few discrepancies that are a little annoying. For instance, the backgrounds feature objects that are anti-aliased against each other, but foreground objects like the boys themselves and interactive objects are simply overlaid on the background. It makes them stand out unnecessarily. Had the background matched the foreground, or more detail been given to the foreground, the game would have looked much more even. Another little problem is the fact that the boys lose detail when they move away from the camera point of view. Rather than being detailed at a smaller size, the image simply loses detail, so that it loses most of its clarity and pieces of its outline. These are really pretty minor complaints, but the game would have had a much cleaner look to it had these things been tidied up.
Sound effects are very well done, and the music fits B&B well. The voice acting, as usual, is superb; many of the voices being provided by Mike Judge himself. While music is provided by The Newlydeads, Union, Testament, Boiler, Crowbar, and Los Gusanos, music videos - a Beavis and Butthead staple - are absent.
Gameplay is standard adventure - find the hotspot, collect inventory, and use items to further the story. The first major undertaking in the game (about 2/3 of the game, in fact) requires you to get eight signatures from around campus, and makes for surprisingly non-linear gameplay. While certain objects are required to get many of the inventory items you need to complete the quest, you have free roam of the college at all times to get them. Many of the signatures do not need to be gained in a specific order. The puzzles are fair and not too difficult, beginner or intermediate adventurers should be able to get through the game with few or no hints.
Fans of the MTV show will appreciate the humor of the game the most. The toilet humor and slapstick is all here, but not quite as edgy as that of Virtual Stupidity. Most disappointing to me was the absence of many of my favorite characters. While Van Dreeson and Stewart are present, Buzzcut, Mr. Anderson, Daria, and the boys' hero Todd are not in the game. In fact, most of the characters in the game are new and not as memorable as those that have the show's history behind them. Fans will be delighted that Cornholio makes not one, but two appearances. The arcade mini-games that were prominent in Virtual Stupidity are not part of Do U, but there are a couple of diversions that take their place. A "Simon" type memory puzzle is present, as is a golfing sequence.
Beavis and Butthead Do U is a good, solid adventure. The story is missing some of the cleverness that made Virtual Stupidity such a wonderful game. The interface is easy to use and doesn't get in the way. It's not nearly as smart or funny as the boys' first adventure and is missing too many popular characters. For fans of the series, it is worth checking out; non-fans won't appreciate it as much.
