The 90’s were a wild time. For society, the 90’s was the decade that technology was truly embraced by the masses. The 80’s had seen an influx of technology like video games and computing being released at manageable prices, allowing parents and children alike to check out the technology that had previously only been available to the super rich and academics. Now anyone could get their hands on a Nintendo or a computer and sink hours of personal time into them. AOL soon would become ubiquitous and clothing choices ranged from pants so large you could fit two people inside of them to some of the ugliest tracksuits you’ve ever seen in your life.
The Big Con: Grift of the Year Edition is a video game that celebrates the 90’s and all of its glorious shortcomings through witty writing, clever throwbacks to the 90’s and loads upon loads of references that anyone who grew up in the 90’s would immediately understand. In fact, the trailer for the game is a spoof of that old warning we used to see on DVDs before the feature that would start out with the super melodramatic “YOU WOULDN’T STEAL A PURSE FROM AN OLD LADY” prompts complete with the Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego Rockapella sounding theme.
The game is pretty much a point and click type of game. You are largely only pressing a few buttons, but that doesn’t make the game any less fun, funny, or enjoyable. The premise of each level is fairly simple in that you’re given a small number of tasks or a certain amount of money you have to steal in order to fund the next phase of your adventure. You rob men, women, children, cops, workers, and your friends all in the name of saving your family’s video store from a mob boss who is threatening your mom.
You star as Ali, who sets off on a cross country heist to Las Venganza (Las Vegas) to procure enough money to save your family video store from becoming a chain because of a mob boss. You’re helped along the way by a ghost named Rad Ghost and several people who mysteriously seem interested in helping you. Your partner in crime is a guy named Ted, who just happens to show up when you need help the most. What follows is a set of zany adventures that involve heist after bribe after hiest.
Some of the items you steal can be used to unlock further information about your tasks. For instance, one used car dealer wants you to steal a gold fanny pack from someone. You have two options for how to approach this; you can steal the fanny pack and give it to him or you can use gold spray paint and a fanny pack you’ve found elsewhere to fool him into thinking you stole him the gold fanny pack. Other cons include stealing a baseball card from a child to sell it for almost quadruple what it’s worth and hijacking belongings from the luggage cart of a train.
The game is short, easy to learn and rather enjoyable. If you’re someone who grew up in the 90’s and you need a simple and fun game to pass the time, I can’t recommend The Big Con: Grift of the Year edition for Switch. The game is already out on other systems — I have been playing it on Xbox — but there’s something about this game that feels like it’s perfect for the Switch. The mobility and simplicity pair well together for a fun and entertaining game that can be picked up and put down with ease, since all of the information you need is stored in your journal and can be read at any time.
The Big Con: Grift of the Year Edition releases on Switch on June 1st, 2022 and stars Erica Ishii, Melissa Hutchinson, and Dave Fennoy as Rad Ghost.