| Tony Tough, a paranoid nerd who needs to get a new hobby, stars in this old school 2D point and click adventure. The game’s annoying lead character and uninspired dialogue make Tony Tough an easy game to pass up.
The title character of Tony Tough is a kid who fancies himself a great private investigator. The joke, which is obvious from the start and beat into you during the game, is that he’s so obviously not. The story takes place during Halloween and follows Tony as he deals with a mystery that falls into his lap.
The graphics are all 2D backgrounds with objects you can manipulate in the foreground. Tony Tough is neither technically or artistically daring. I mention artistry because interesting, funny or thought provoking graphics can make up for the lack of the bells and whistles that motivate PC gamers to spend $2000 for a new rig every 18 months.
The sound effects were acceptable but plain. The music was also appropriate to the Halloween theme, but hardly interesting. There is plenty of voice acting in the game headed up by Tony himself. Tony has a nasal voice and complaining manner that grates on the nerves. Because you have to hear him quite a bit, this just makes the game annoying rather than fun.
As for the gameplay, Tony Tough is really no different that any other point and click adventure. You find objects, combine objects, talk to people, solve puzzles. This is considerably harder to do when you don’t give a fig about the character or his quest. Like most adventure games, you will eventually get stuck. However, trying every conceivable combination and action on items will eventually lead to the correct combination. Tony’s whining when you do something wrong (which you have to do a lot to advance) just kills the experience of playing the game. Point and click adventures depend so heavily on the main character to carry their story. If he (or she) has personality and is likable, you will want to help them succeed. When they are silly, sniping, know-it-alls like Tony, you want to exit program.
It is clear that Tony Tough tries to emulate great adventure games like Grim Fandango and Escape from Monkey Island. However, both of those games are drastically superior to Tony Tough, and cheaper. So unless you are a hardcore adventure fan, Tony Tough should be avoided. | 
