Bear Stearns Bravo is a Full Motion Video game created by Syndyne as a follow-up to Pronunciation Book. It is a two-part satire of the 2007-08 financial crisis and the parties responsible. It can be played on their site here
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You play as Franco, a Regulator in the Free Trade Zone of Los Angeles who is sent along with fellow Regulator Henri to investigate the Bear Stearns bank for conducting shady practices, which the Regulators call dollarcrime, with mortgages- represented here as glowsticks that can be used in battle. They set up to investigate the bank and its CEO, Jackie Dalton, and in order to bring him and his bank to justice, they will have to get evidence of their illegal activities. You will have to make decisions whether to arrest suspects or let them go in exchange for information, in addition to other decisions.
This game contains examples of:
- Antagonist Title: Bear Stearns is a bank that serves as the enemy organization, which Franco and Henri are trying to bring down.
- Big Bad: Jackie Dalton is the CEO of Bear Stearns Bank who is behind the illegal activities of the bank to screw over his debtors. Franco and Henri, the Regulators, must gather evidence to apprehend him.
- Cut Short: The second part ends with the heroes forced to work in Jackie's mines, and Jackie is never punished as the planned third chapter was never released due to audience disinterest.
- Egopolis: When Jackie takes over the Free Trade Zone, he renames it Jackietown.
- Karma Houdini: Due to the third chapter never being completed, Jackie Dalton is never punished for his crimes.
- Lighter and Softer: In comparison to Pronunciation Book, the preceding work which was a cryptic and somewhat dark Alternate Reality Game with a fully serious tone and philosophical statements, Bear Stearns Bravo is a satire with an entirely comedic tone, wacky scenarios, and exaggerated characters.
- Morally Bankrupt Banker: Bear Stearns, being based on the banks that caused the 2007-08 financial crisis (in particular the real-life Bear Stearns bank), is this. They are the antagonists of the game who trap gullible debtors into bad deals. Exaggerated when they go so far as to buy the entire Free Trade Zone of Los Angeles.
- Product Placement: In Second Impact, the artist Rocko is shown to have made a commercial for Verizon. It never aired.
- Samus Is a Girl: Played for Laughs at the end of First Impact, where it is revealed that Franco, the Player Character, is female, to which Chief exclaims, “Franco’s a girl?!”
