Koala Lumpur, a silly and twisted tongue-in-cheek ride until the very last screen, is well worth your time.

Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge is both a return and a departure for Broderbund. This game marks the company's long-awaited return to the graphic adventure genre, all but abandoned since the best-selling Myst. But unlike previous Broderbund titles, which were mostly wholesome, Koala Lumpur is aimed squarely at an adult audience. Although the game doesn't contain swearing or nudity, some of the themes are mature and most of the game's humor is intellectually high-brow, with a bit of Ren and Stimpy-style physical comedy thrown in for good measure.

In a unique development process, Colossal Pictures (of MTV's Liquid Television fame) created all of the artwork and original character design, while Broderbund's internal studio created both the sound design and engineering. Originally conceived by Colossal as a cartoon series, Koala Lumpur is a third person graphic adventure with far-out graphics and a script that should have you laughing long after the game is over. The story focuses on the adventures of marsupial Zen Master Koala Lumpur and his canine scientist sidekick, Dr. Dingo Tu-Far. As the driver of a Trans-Temporal Recreational Vehicle (TTRV), Koala must travel to other dimensions to save the world from a chain reaction of events that will lead to a comedy apocalypse. To achieve his goal, Koala must find a number of scrolls that contain magical incantations. When all of these scrolls are uncovered and read, Koala will achieve total enlightenment. As you may have surmised, nothing about this adventure is normal.

An example of Koala's break from the ordinary is its unusual interface. Your cursor in the game takes the form of an animated fly, which you scoot across each of the scrollable rooms. Oddly enough, the fly is actually a character in the game that interacts with Koala, Dr. Dingo, and other folks you meet on your inter-dimensional journey.

One of the game's most unique features is the "chatter" that transpires between Koala and Dr. Dingo, which is not only random, but also independent of your actions. The game's producer describes this dialogue as "similar to the types of discussions between the characters played by John Travolta and Samuel Jackson in the movie Pulp Fiction. Koala and Dr. Dingo have long, philosophical discussions about ordinary things."

The puzzles in this adventure are also fairly unusual. In one instance you must literally climb inside Dr. Dingo's head and physically manipulate his thoughts while he's being examined by his ex-lover, Tuff-Love, a femme fatale rabbit and psychoanalyst. In another section you must piece together a sewer system, taking into consideration x, y, and z axes.

Broderbund is definitely forging new territory with Koala, and this zany game, dubbed "The Wizard of Oz on Acid" by its internal development team, promises to be a compelling game experience.

In an attempt to break into the comic adventure game circuit, where titles like Virgin's Toonstruck and Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry series receive top billing, Broderbund has stepped up to the mic with Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge. This collaboration with Colossal Pictures delivers its mature themes, high-brow remarks, and twisted puzzles with the finesse of a seasoned Las Vegas lounge comedian. And their routine deserves a loud round of applause.

With opening credits and a theme song, Koala Lumpur begins like a Saturday morning cartoon show - not too surprising, since the characters were originally created by Colossal Pictures as a cartoon series. Koala Lumpur is the wacky story of Zen Master Koala Lumpur, a mystic, enlightenment-seeking marsupial, and his faithful canine companion, Dr. Dingo Tu-Far, who are on a mission to locate pieces of a scroll in order to save the cartoon world from the Comedy Apocalypse. The pair travels to strange places - including Dingo's brain - searching for scroll pieces and solving a variety of puzzles along the way. And although a few of the puzzles take more than a little patience - like maneuvering through the corridor while avoiding a force field and exploring a maze of tunnels - most are easily solved and fit well into the story. As a bonus, a few of the puzzles could even be considered educational - like learning the names of obscure phobias and even a foreign language - although the ability to speak Dog may not help you in your next job interview. (Then again, it may not hurt either.)

While the plot and characters are highly entertaining, the interface makes Koala Lumpur a unique and fun experience. Instead of the typical point-and-click cursor setup where the player uses the mouse to search the screen for active areas and objects, in this game the mouse turns into an animated fly which is also a character in the game. As Koala's familiar, Fly buzzes around the colorful and highly detailed screens searching for clues to puzzles and picking up objects, including Dingo's brain matter. In addition to leading Koala and Dr. Dingo around, Fly can leave and explore the other areas without his pals.

Koala Lumpur, a silly and twisted tongue-in-cheek ride until the very last screen, is well worth your time. It proves that Broderbund can go beyond educational and wholesome entertainment titles and, more importantly, that they have a sense of humor. They pull the trick off so well that it's hard to believe that Koala Lumpur is the company's first attempt at a comedy title. The previously conservative Myst makers show that they can loosen their ties, throw back a few drinks, and deliver a silly comic adventure just like the pros. Let's hope that they hear the cheers and answer the crowd's applause with an encore.