When it comes to comic book to video game translations, most gamers will automatically think of their favorite spandex-clad heroes zipping around levels and beating the stuffing out of assorted bad guys. On the other hand, those comics fans craving a bit of off-kilter independence might prefer something a bit smarter and a lot funnier. Bone Act One: Out From Boneville definitely fits that niche like a glove, offering up a few hours worth of excellent and often hilarious adventure gaming for the whole family. Based on Jeff Smith's wonderfully written and drawn stories, Out From Boneville retells that particular part of the Bone story in fine point & click fashion. The folks at Telltale Games have done a superb job here, creating an instant classic you don't want to miss. Despite a few minor technical hitches that will no doubt be tweaked in future installments, this is one of those games that will make you smile early and often.

Without giving too much of the plot away, Out From Boneville is the story of the three Bone cousins, Fone, Phoney, and Smiley, as they make their way through a perilous desert and eventually reach the safety of a lush forest and meet new friends. The trio has been kicked out of Boneville as a result of yet one more of Phoney Bone's bizarre get rich quick schemes gone awry. The actual event is never shown and the game opens with a wonderful shot of the blazing desert sun beating down on the cousins as they're two weeks into their exile trek. You do find out what occurred through dialog balloons, but although quite laugh out loud funny, that part of the story is less important than the matters at hand. Getting the Bones to safety relies on a combination of conversational, puzzle-solving and a little bit of platforming skills, but the game wisely allows younger players or those who just want to follow the plot to skip the trickier action-based segments if they so desire.

Out From Boneville has a great tutorial that walks you through the different actions while also allowing for hints if you get stuck. Adventure vets can choose to disable the tutorial right from the start for more seamless play, but the game is written smartly enough as to not give you the solutions to puzzles right off the bat. You play by alternating between the three characters, each of whom has a different inventory, and their varying demeanors make for an interesting set of problem solving skills. While the tried and true method of item gathering and combining is required most of the time, each Bone also carries something a bit offbeat that reflects their personality. Fone has a copy of Herman Melville's Moby Dick in his backpack, so using it on other characters gets you a brief passage read that's usually descriptive in a subtle manner. Phoney has a single dollar bill, reflecting his greedy nature. Save for one early instance, he'll find it's useless as currency. Still, try using it on random characters or in different situations to hear his responses. Smiley has an eternally fresh cheese sandwich, but he's not going to give it up anytime soon!

After escaping the desert and getting separated, Fone and Phoney have to independently tackle a series of navigational puzzles in order to reunite with Smiley, who amusingly enough seems so blissfully dopey as to not be impeded by obstacles. While playing as Fone, you'll also get to control a bug named Ted in a brief jumping puzzle, a nice touch that adds a twist to one early section. Fone also runs into a pair of initially scary red-eyed rat monsters who plan to eat him, but this sequence evolves into one of the funnier ones in the game, as the monsters argue the merits of stew over quiche, among other things [Sounds a bit like the Troll scene from The Hobbit! Ed]. Fone eventually makes good his escape (in a clever mini-game) and comes across a helpful red dragon (who's part of a deeper mystery) before he meets up with the lovely Thorn, a young woman he immediately falls in love with. While Fone Bone's meeting with Ted and his big brother go smoothly, hotheaded, impatient Phoney has to go and antagonize the pair of bug brothers, with hilarious results. Once he finally makes it past the duo and reaches his cousins, the game moseys into more funny antics, as the cousins help out Thorn and her Gran'ma Ben with some domestic chores while the plot advances down another intriguing path. While speaking to Gran'ma Ben, you'll also find the game setting up the next installment in the series, The Great Cow Race. By the way, if you're new to all this, I'd highly recommend purchasing both games simultaneously off the Telltale website for maximum enjoyment. They offer a couple of purchase configurations and even sell Smith's Bone collections on the site if you'd like to compare book to game.

In addition to the art, it's the presentation and writing that makes the game so engaging. Out From Boneville takes Jeff Smith's great 2D linework and translates it to 3D beautifully, without taking the cel-shaded route. There are some minor graphical hiccups here and there, as well as the occasional long load time between areas, but these don't affect the gameplay or the overall impact of the plot. Every character is wonderfully animated, down to their expressive hand and mouth movements, adding to their likeability. From the way Fone opens and closes his book to Phoney's penchant for slamming his fist into his hand and Smiley's one-string guitar playing, the animators did a great job bringing the Bones brothers to life. The backgrounds are nicely rendered, looking hand-painted yet reach-out-and-touch solid in a neat yet cartoony way.

I love the little touches like rocks and other objects that can be interacted with, especially as these sometimes act as hints. One early example is when Smiley is sitting on a boulder where a map is hidden under a small rock in front of it. If you happen to bypass lifting the map rock and head west a bit, picking up a few small rocks causes scorpions to run towards the boulder, drawing your attention back to it - subtle and brilliant simultaneously. Another section has the cousins playing games or telling stories to a trio of cute possum kids to pass through a section of a forest or acquire a certain quest item This could have been a throwaway scene in another game, but it's mined for a bit of comedy gold here.

Just as golden is the game's sound, with perfect voice acting and music throughout. I haven't been this pleased with a voice cast in a game since Half-Life 2, and that's saying a lot. Each of the Bones sounds exactly as you'd imagine and the other characters shine as well, a testament to the dedication of the actors in tandem with whomever at Telltale did the casting. Given the different dialog trees for each conversation, I'd imagine that the recording sessions were a blast! The aforementioned 'stew vs. quiche' dialog is pretty chuckleworthy, as is Phoney's dealing with the possum kids (and anyone else he stomps up to). All this choice vocalizing is wrapped up in a beauty of a musical score that gives a true cinematic feel right from the start. If there were ever a Bone animated movie, or even a weekly TV series, I'd expect (and hope) that all the talent involved in the sound production here would be part of that project.

The only drawback to all this hard work is that Bone Act One: Out From Boneville is a relatively short game, clocking in at about six to eight hours the first time through if you play without hints turned on. More advanced players will blow through it in about five, but this really isn't that bad a thing when you consider the overall quality of the game and the number of laughs you're getting for your money. Thirteen dollars is a bargain price for each installment, when you consider you're getting a lovingly crafted bit of gaming goodness that anyone with a funny bone will enjoy. This and the fact that Telltale has a long way to go in retelling all the Bone stories should help this project take off, making the upcoming installments well worth following. They've certainly gotten off to a great start so far and anyone with a gamer's head and heart should absolutely be playing this series, and if you've already blitzed through the first game, or are curious about the second, then you need look no further than our review of The Great Cow Race…

Reviewed by Greg Wilcox for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).