At approximately the same time I was talking about Super Mario 64 Mario recolouring codes for the GameShark, a game development firm called Oxygen (not to be confused with the low-key satellite television network of the same name) had just released a game called CID The Dummy for Wii. "CID", the protagonist, is named for an acronym: "Crash Impact Dummy". The astute will notice that "CID" is also an anagram of "ICD": as in, the Incredible Crash Dummies.
Without rewriting my webpage on the subject, the Incredible Crash Dummies were the highlight of the early '90s. In fact, if you were to come up to me and say, "nineteen ninety-one", the first thing to enter my thoughts would be Slick and Spin, et. al. For some reason, whenever I lower myself to entering a dollar-store or a Walgreens, I always expect to find the recognisable orange-with-hazard-striping packaging of the Incredible Crash Dummies in the toys section.
Anyway, CID The Dummy. I'm not certain precisely why, but this game seems... well, stupid to me. A little crash dummy running about, punching enemies and crashing through walls.
Had I known about the game when it was released, I would probably have written this sooner. But, really, no one knew about it. Or they didn't care. MobyGames has nothing on it (but, of course, being wiki-like, they don't have many of the basics, either). Gamespot and GameFAQs have limited information on it, but lots of pictures. Nintendo's website has a short paragraph and the cover-art. Perhaps I just don't know enough about it, but it just seems totally unappealing to me, the Incredible Crash Dummies buff...
...and I ended up getting it for Christmas.
A friend of my mother's, whom we have known for many years, saw CID The Dummy in the 90%-off sale bin at the supermarket and, apparently, I was the first one she thought of.
So, we went to mum's friend's flat for a belated Christmas do -- something which took two interminable hours -- whereupon I was presented with CID The Dummy.
See, I also had seen that game in that bin -- I examined the cover art and the description on the back of the case, made the conscious decision that it was a waste of the 5 quid they were asking for it, and re-deposited it from whence it came. Unfortunately, this man's trash was another person's treasure... for the man who decided it was trash.
Y'know, in retrospect, it's rather likely that the very same game case that I rejected was the one that I received as a gift.
Anyway, I was presented with CID The Dummy and also a dilemma. What the bloody hell do I do with it now? I could, A) keep the game and not play it, B) try to sell it on eBay or craigslist, or C) try to sell the game to the vintage game store which, ironically, is only a few blocks away from the supermarket where it was purchased. I doubt very much that GameStop would have much use for it... if they do, it'd only be worth a couple of quid at the most -- not even enough to buy a new DSi stylus.
I still like the Incredible Crash Dummies, but CID The Dummy just seems like a cheap knockoff.
On the other hand, it could be an indicator of a resurgence of commercial interest in crash-test dummies. Perhaps, one day, my son will be able to play with crash dummies, as I have...
"Kieran, use your Test Centre. Daddy's tired of painting over the dents in the skirting-board."
