Pico's Cousin
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The content below is not official to the Pico franchise. |
Pico's cousin, Otis, goes to the mall to buy Alien Hominid! - Newgrounds Description
Pico's Cousin is a point-and-click Flash game created by Magna and released to Newgrounds on May 13, 2003. This game is a fan-made spinoff of the Pico series that follows Otis, the titular relative of Pico, who finds himself in the middle of a terrorist plot while inside a shopping mall, and is forced to fight his way through and save the day.
The game received positive reviews from players who were fans of Pico's School for being a worthy successor to the game, though some criticism was made to the gameplay and visuals. It would later be followed up by a sequel in 2005.
Walkthrough
The game starts with Otis at his home watching a commercial for the video game Alien Hominid. He eagerly heads to the local shopping mall to get a copy of the game. Once there, he listens to the intercom, which gets suddenly interrupted by a violent ruckus. A group of terrorists just took over the mall, and Otis is now forced to take action.
Click the trash bin, and you'll find a pair of twin pistols. Pick them up and head right until you find the hallway to the intercom room. Enter it and go left. There, Otis will find the man on the intercom being held at his mercy by a menacing figure. This is Sandstorm. The employee exclaims that the fiend won't get away with his plan, to which Sandstorm replies that it's his boss' intention before killing the helpless civilian. Otis, now agitated, takes on the speedy terrorist. Quickly shoot him when you have the chance.
After apparently killing Sandstorm, Otis is understandably shocked, while also chastising himself for not interrogating him. Break the glass protecting the fire axe, which you'll have to take. Head outside and take the axe towards the safety barrier blocking the stairs. Break the barrier in half and head forward. Before continuing, you have the option to head into a clothing store and customize Otis' appearance. After that detour, continue up the stairs, and you will come across the IR sensors. There, you'll have to carefully click the green circle on the dashboard four times to avoid blowing up. After successfully deactivating the control unit, continue forward.
In the pure darkness, an ominous spirit with sharp teeth appears, with the intent to devour Otis. Otis is unfazed, asking if the stranger is "mental". The ghost is taken back, confused as to why the young boy in front of him isn't scared. Otis then insults him, angering the specter, who introduces himself as El Mandiblo, "the Spanish Terrorist". Shoot the apparition as he floats across the abyss until his teeth are completely shot out, and his life bar is empty. Otis flips the light switch, revealing El Mandiblo, now in anguish over his shattered grin. Otis insults him again, and the ghost flees, finding it pointless to continue fighting.
Head right twice, and you'll find the lost-and-found section being run by a kid named Gibbons. Click on him to have Otis talk with him, and he'll offer an upgrade for his "pussy little pistols": dual AK-47s. However, it won't come for free; Gibbons will ask for you to buy a candy bar from the candy shop next door, in exchange for the weaponry, and heads to the bathroom. Head right again and click on the coin mechanism of the payphone on the wall; you'll get 50 cents. Go to the candy store and politely ask the clerk for a candy bar. Afterward, Gibbons gets his candy and Otis gets his AKs, which he uses to shoot the drywall.
The next cutscene takes place, as Otis faces the main perpetrator of this escapade, Gangrene, who has been expected the kid's arrival. The final confrontation takes place, where Otis must take care of the menace quickly before he self-destructs. Keep shooting him as he speeds across the room, while also blasting away the heat-seeking rockets heading towards you.
After Otis defeats the terrorist, Gangrene reveals his true intentions: he has heard of the "school incident" that involved his cousin Pico and, seeking a proper challenge, Gangrene sought out to test the true strength of one of Pico's family members, that being Otis himself. Otis, at first, dismisses this, claiming he "never shot a gun" beforehand. Gangrene clarifies that Pico also had the same experience, and reveals the two cousins are gifted with a "warrior's genes", seeing how they both fought "with precision and instinct just by picking up a gun". Seeing that he was no match and not wanting to face the humiliation of being defeated by a child, Gangrene activates his suicide bomb. Before he is killed, however, Otis is saved in the nick of time by a helicopter that ropes him up before the mall explodes in a fiery blaze.
On board, an FBI agent reassures Otis he is being brought to safety; the agent questions him on how he survived the band of terrorists and handled two AK-47s, to which Otis responds, "I... don't know, actually... I just picked up a gun and... well, I fought". Otis then realized he forgot to pick up the copy of the Alien Hominid game, to which the agent mistakes him as talking about the actual Alien Hominid. Otis points this out to the agent, who immediately retracts his previous outburst, leaving Otis rather suspicious.
Alternate ending
The game ends as normally, but it's then revealed that both the candy store owner and the intercom operator are alive, piloting the helicopter. They talk about how the "training session" was a success and that more children will be "effective against terror acts". The clerk comments on how he regrets shooting a few kids for the sake of a training exercise. The operator also mentions that they purposefully ran the commercial for the Alien Hominid game at Otis' house, which cost thousands of dollars. The clerk brushes this off, saying that the Army will worry about it, and then proposes they buy some burgers to eat.
Meanwhile, the F.B.I. agent strikes a conversation with Otis, asking what kind of video games he likes. Just as he is about to answer, Otis is soon taken back as the agent addressed him by his name, which he never told him. Immediately after, the clerk asks the agent, whom he refers to as "Sarge", if he wants anything to eat, accidentally outing himself to Otis. Otis is understandably shocked and confused as to how he's alive, and frantically asks what's going on.
Sarge, now outed, decides to come clean: he explains that the whole mall escapade was all staged as a part of the United States Army's training program for children, all to make sure that Otis was ready for more dangerous threats in the future. Otis then connects the dots: everyone that he encountered in the mall, even Gibbons, were all actors and the weapons he found were planted there on purpose. He soon becomes furious as he also realizes that he was thrown into actual danger, and could have been hurt at any point; as such, he refuses to be a tool of the government. Sarge tries sedating Otis to calm him down, but he fails as Otis shoots him and the pilots onboard, escaping the helicopter before it explodes and conveniently landing in a pile of hay.
Characters
- Otis (debut)
- Gangrene (debut)
- Sandstorm (debut)
- El Mandiblo (debut)
- Gibbons (debut)
- Intercom man (debut)
- Clerk (debut)
- Sarge (debut)
- Pico (mentioned)
Transcript
- Main article: Pico's Cousin/Transcript
Reception
Since its release, Pico's Cousin would receive moderate-to-positive reception, with many users praising the Flash game for sticking closely to the Pico style while adding its own personal flair. The gameplay was noted for being rather difficult at times, some criticising the "IR sensor" puzzle. On Newgrounds, the game has received over 780,000 views with an average score of 4.24/5.00. It currently holds the Daily Feature award, which it earned a day later. Additionally, it is featured in the Pico & NG Parodies collections.
Sequel
After the game's surprising success, Magna would start production on a sequel, in which he would collaborate with poxpower, who would provide additional artwork. On March 28, 2005, Pico's Cousin 2 would be released on Newgrounds and be met with similar reception to its predecessor. It would feature expansion towards the lore of the Penilians, and cameo appearances from the likes of Alien Hominid and Pico himself.
Gallery
Title card.
Sandstorm holding the intercom man at gunpoint.
Sandstorm on the floor, dead.
Otis if the player tries to remove his pants.
El Mandiblo defeated.
Otis about to order a candy bar, with the dialogue options he has towards the clerk.
Otis receiving dual AK-47s from Gibbons.
Otis faces off against Gangrene.
Otis talks with Sarge, the FBI agent who saved him.
Otis rides his skateboard on a handrail.
Otis riding another handrail.
The clerk as a co-pilot of the helicopter with the intercom man in the alternate ending.
Video
Trivia
- The game contains Otis' biography that can be viewed while hovering over Otis during the preloader; however, the top text containing Otis' name, height, weight, age and blood type cannot be seen in-game normally due to the text being colored the same as the background.
- The text can be read normally when the background for the preloader is changed to a different color.
- Name: Otis
- Weight: 154 pounds.
- Height: 4'2".
- Age: 11.
- Blood Type: AB.
- The text can be read normally when the background for the preloader is changed to a different color.
- If the player tries to remove Otis' pants, the text "NICE TRY, PERV!" will appear.
- There are various pop-culture references (some even Newgrounds-related) made in the game:
- Otis' motivation is to buy a copy of the Alien Hominid video game, which was co-created by Tom Fulp. The character himself is even hinted to be real in-universe, which is somewhat confusing.
- When first entering the mall, Otis is seen standing next to the logo for "Fourbucks Coffee", a parody of Starbucks.
- Across the hallway, there is a Bed Bath & Below store, a small dig at Bed Bath & Beyond.
- Right outside the intercom room is a poster of Uncle Sam with a more vulgar twist on his slogan, reading "I Want You to Eat Shit, You Whore!"
- Next to the stairs is a promotional photo of 90s pop band Hanson.
- Otis can change his appearance in the store Abercrombie & Fitch.
- Gangrene namedrops Pico's School when revealing his plans.