Costume Quest Dresses Up Nicely

Far from a mere setting, Halloween activities and iconography are neatly integrated into the gameplay, and it never feels forced. You trick-or-treat at houses (or in the mall) to earn candy -- the in-game currency, naturally -- or to get into battles with candy-thieving Grubbins. While exploring the various locations, you uncover costume recipes, which in turn act as your powerful in-battle personifications; you use the candy you get to purchase stat- and ability-enhancing stamps; you can even compete in a fun bobbing-for-apples minigame or trade icky-themed collector's cards (think Garbage Pail kids) for additional rewards.

But even if Halloween isn't your favorite holiday, the conversations the young characters share are witty, enjoyable, and as entertainingly believable as those mature, smart, and endearing ones you'd crack a smile at in a runaway indie film sensation. The art style is one that's immediately inviting, simple yet full of personality and detail, even making mundane objects look interesting. The transition from the simplistic overworld visuals to the more elaborate (and shiny) comic book-esque battle screens is also well thought out; just as a child might imagine their cardboard box and aluminum foil robot get-up is realistic, enemy encounters transform your characters into the epic version of their costumes. And it's always a joy to see the different special attack sequences (my favorite being the Statue of Liberty's bombastically cheesy heal that summons Lincoln's face in the sky and a flying eagle).

The actions you take in the turn-based battles are mostly the same, just with slight variations for each costume type. It all boils down to about three general moves: attack, alternate ability if you have one, and special move (when it's charged up). Your party always goes first, and the basic attack requires an easy, timed, random button press or analog stick wiggle. You can also press the button that flashes on-screen when an enemy attacks in order to mitigate the damage it does. It's a simple system, but enemy encounters are a lot more difficult than you'd think. Even if you fight every monster you come across, as you progress through the story your level will be about on par with the enemies'. And the fear of death for one of your party members is never really eliminated -- one mistimed mistake with a button press can result in an untimely demise, especially with some of the later magic-using enemies.

A few quirks should be mentioned. Here or there, I did encounter the odd suboptimal camera angle or two (especially during battles where the character being hit with damage wasn't even on screen), though it's nothing that hinders gameplay. And love it or hate it, but Double Fine isn't really into the whole "minimap" thing, so while you're cruising around the 'burbs, don't expect to have quick access to any street layouts. This makes it so you have to be a bit more meticulous in your exploration (especially because you have to trick-or-treat at every house before moving to the next area).