With all the hubbub over Super Columbine Massacre, I thought maybe I should play it. Tragically, it’s a lousy game. And by that, I mean in terms of actually having any clue what you’re supposed to do at any given time. My own personal theory is that the guy who runs the Slamdance contest quit in disgust when he couldn’t figure out how to open his duffel bags and get his guns, resulting in him being caught by the hall monitors over and over again. Apparently, you’re supposed to know to go to the top of the hill to watch the bombs get set off. My attempt to do so resulted in, well, nothing happening.

That being said, as a message, it’s very well done. Really, watch the first half of this YouTube playthrough of the game. It is astoundingly detailed, as the game designer inserted every piece of knowledge he could find about the real-life Columbine, with easter eggs hidden throughout the world that gives an idea of the mindset of the two boys, and enhances the experience with poetry, song lyrics and philosophical quotes from the likes of T.S. Eliot, Nietzche and, um, KMFDM. It could be that my opinions are swayed by Midi versions of Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson songs, but if you actually know what you’re doing, the game offers a surprisingly thorough and intriguing interactive gameumentary of the killers’ last day on earth.

Of course, halfway through it, it gets absurd for no apparent reason (resulting in the duo’s nonsensical journey through hell), but until that point, it definitely, at least in my opinion, merits at least a seat at the table of an independent game festival, especially one that supposedly prides itself on being on the cutting edge of artistic expression. If nothing else, it discusses Columbine incident about a hundred times better than the awful movie Elephant. It tries to find empathy with all involved, and actually explores the true motivations of the two Denver high school maniacs, rather than simply dismiss it as a random and unpreventable attack, as Elephant and most other treatments of the topic do.

But don’t get me wrong, it’s still crappy as a game. Really, guys. Being caught by a hall monitor 15 times in a row is the most embarrassed I’ve been in any RPG since I got repeatedly ganked by a cat in UO.