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GAME ON!
By Ian Bonds
May 26th, 2006
Ah, the summer movie season. Invariably, it always seems to yield one thing that we gamers fear most…the cheesy tie-in game. As of late, however, things haven’t been as bad as they once were, with many game tie-ins to films have actually not only captured the spirit of the flicks, but also offer a unique and enriching gaming experience, KING KONG being the one hat instantly springs to mind. This week, we’re looking at a whopping THREE licensed games, as well as a few other choice titles that have come my way. Remember kids, I play them all so you don’t have to. Let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into this week.
HEDGING YOUR BETS
As a fan of the Dreamworks computer animation studio, I really wanted to see the new film OVER THE HEDGE (and I will this weekend, actually), but even more so, I actually wanted to play the game. The trailer for the film already instilled the characters personalities in my mind, and they looked like fun little critters to play as. Sadly, the end result of playing the game, available now on Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, DS and GBA, was nothing short of disappointing.
The game starts in what seems as the MIDDLE of the story, assuming the player has already seen the film, where our intrepid heroes RJ the Raccoon, Hammy the Squirrel, Stella the Skunk and others are desperately trying to infiltrate a yard and get food. Why? Well, to hold back the bear’s wrath! What bear, you ask? Well, apparently, there’s a bear that lives in the forest, past the hedge that divides the human world from the animal world, and…um…I think RJ stole his food. So they steal more food to pay him back. I think. Seeing as I didn’t see the movie yet, I’m not sure.
What we get as far as story is minimal, but some of the set-ups are better than others. As you play through your normal platforming and beat’ em up styles (each animal is for some reason equipped with a melee instrument; golf club, bat, bit of wood, etc) you collect items (oh boy!) and power ups, even a variety of hats…for some reason. Again, it’s not clear.
What is clear, however, is that practically no one involved in the film participated in the game, as far as voicework goes. Instead, we get some rather HORRIBLE sound-alikes, that don’t really do a good job, but sound more like a really bad impersonation. Bad audio aside, the combat is a little too loose to be fun, and the platforming is basic in some areas, and hard as balls in others, making this a strange option for what is essentially a kid’s game.
There are a few cool things, however. The level design is pretty good throughout, despite some of the level goals being a bit tired. Unlockables include clips of the soundtrack, and, my personal favorite, some of the original comic strips that the film is based on. I actually enjoyed reading those more than playing the game.
As a film tie-in, it’s serviceable, but as a game, it’s barely anything worth mentioning. It doesn’t seem to capture the feel of the film, let alone any of its humor. But then again, maybe I have to see the flick first.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
CODE BREAKERS
Next up on the Catholic League’s hit list is a game based on a film based on a book, a book of fiction at that, about a hidden conspiracy having to do with a secret society and the “truth” behind the legends of the Bible. No, not SNAKES ON A PLANE, but rather THE DA VINCI CODE, out now for PS2, Xbox and PC, and what’s more confusing than the puzzles strewn about the game is why they felt the need to MAKE a game at all.
Somehow, THE DA VINCI CODE doesn’t quite seem like game material. Sure, there’s mystery and intrigue, but beyond that…it’s kind of dull subject matter. Still, Developer The Collective seem to have infused it with a bit of action as well as the slews of puzzles that the novel is known for.
Sadly, that action is a bit ham-fisted at times. The combat is entirely…well, unnecessary, really, but in order to make an exciting game, yes I understand its inclusion. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Through a series of button presses shown on the screen, you, as either Robert Langdon or Sophie Nevue, can evade your attackers and lay the smack down like some Harvard scholars’ version of the UFC. Sure, they may be MOSTLY brains, but there’s apparently some brawn (and ninja skills) involved in all that cryptography.
As far as the actual puzzles…well, you’d be hard pressed to decipher many of them unless you actually ARE a cryptographer. Sure, I missed the first (and easiest) one right off the bat (and once I discovered the answer, I felt REALLY stupid) but as you progress the puzzles become harder and harder to decode, with many a player desperately scrambling to the internet for a walkthrough…or even a summation of the book, to see if the codes are there.
The game itself seems to be more closely tied to the book than the film, as none of the characters resemble their film counterparts (though the lead does a very good impression of Tom Hanks’ voice). The graphics overall aren’t much to look at, and when you throw in that clunky combat and incredibly annoying camera, it makes it all the more ugly.
Still, there’s a good bit of challenge here. If puzzles are your thing, you won’t mind the odd battle sequence as you try to unlock the secrets of a weirdly encrypted floor safe, or even opening secret passages with coded letters. Just be sure to keep a piece of paper handy to jot down a lot of things (though much is kept in your visual database, thankfully).
All in all, this is another game that will appeal more to fans than casual gamers. Read the book, see the movie, and if you’re REALLY up to it after all that, THEN play the game. You may have a better go at it after doing all those anyway.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
I’VE TAKEN AS MUCH AS I CAN STAND
For our third and final film tie-in we have X-MEN: THE OFFICAL GAME, out now for (deep breath) PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Xbox 360, PC, DS and Gameboy Advance. Instead of recreating the film’s story, however, this game takes place before it, branching the plot of the second and third films together with an action game reminiscent of X2: WOLVERINE’S REVENGE.
Not surprisingly, this title shares much with that previous film game, in that you play through much of the title as Wolverine, though the action is spread between Iceman and Nightcrawler as well. Sadly, however, the combat for Wolverine isn’t as deep as in the X2 game, with only a handful of combos and no upgrades to speak of as far as new moves, just advancements in power. That holds true for the other two characters as well, though Nightcrawler is the most fun to play as, as his teleportation moves make the combat the most fluid and fun I’ve had in a while. Iceman’s stages are nothing more than glorified (and annoying) surf levels, where you glide on a board of ice and blast stuff with your cold…blasts.
They managed to get many of the actors from the films to portray their characters, including Patrick Stuart, Hugh Jackman, Shaun Ashmore, Alan Cumming and Tyler Mane, though instead of CG cutscenes, we have slightly animated comic panels, with eerie drawings of the actors. Hell, in all of his scenes, it looks like they cut and pasted Patrick Stuart’s head onto a drawn body, reusing the same face photo each time. It’s creepy.
While the game does look best on 360, it still is obviously made for the current-gen and ported up, just with shinier graphics and cleaner edges. The gameplay is sadly basic and repetitive (especially Wolverine’s stages) and won’t thrill many fans looking for a film version of X-MEN LEGENDS. At least the one redeeming factor is we now know why Nightcrawler isn’t in the third movie.
The DS and GBA games are entirely different beasts when compared to their console brethren, however. The GBA game has you switching between four Mutants (they added Colossus as a playable character in the GBA version) as you slash, blast and beat your way through stages of annoying, repetitive, ugly foes with a minimum of moves. Wait, that actually sounds the same as the console version. Well, ok, the story is entirely different, how’s that? Yeah, it’s just that bad.
The DS version is the worst. Instead of normal gameplay with touch screen additions, they made the action of the game controlled ENTIRELY on the touch screen, and movement done with either the D-pad or the face buttons (for you lefties). Combat is done by tapping the stylus onto your foe to “target” them, and you character will automatically attack. While this is cool for characters like Iceman, where he’ll just keep throwing ice blasts until the baddy is defeated, it makes Wolverine look incredibly stupid, as he just stashes wildly at nothing…until you move him close enough to his foe to destroy it. Sure, they added Magneto as an extra character…but you really won’t care here either.
So, it’s not perfect, to say the least. While the console version defiantly has it’s bonuses over each handheld version, they’re all kind of weak. Once again, games based on comic characters (and their films) are back on the downward spiral. SPIDER-MAN 3, save us!
One Gamer’s Opinion (console versions):
One Gamer’s Opinion (handheld versions):
SAVING GRACE OF THE WEEK
Still, despite all these gaming woes and movie tie-ins, I did find solace in something that my DS brought me. No, NOT the X-MEN game. Rather NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. is my reason for joy. Sure, the title is a bit simplistic, but man, is it ever fun. Taking the basic mold of SUPER MARIO 3 and SUPER MARIO WORLD as the level structure, and building from there, it’s almost like a greatest hits package, just full of brand new tracks disguised as old favorites. The same wonderful platforming action is there in all its glorious 2D style, but now it’s infused with a bit of 3D imaging with backgrounds and character models, as well as a few new tricks up Mario’s sleeves with new Mega and Mini mushroom powers. Each level also has alternate routes, which unlock new paths around the worlds. It’s taken a long time, but the joy and love that Mario brought gamers oh so many years ago is finally back in it’s truest form here, and never have I enjoyed a game so much as this one. Classic, through and through, but entirely new. Fan-fucking-tastic.
One Gamer’s Opinion:
So, on that note, we end another week of gaming…stuff. I probably won’t be back next week, but rather the week after, for two reasons. Firstly, I’m playing through not one but TWO RPGs (METAL SAGA and STEAMBOT CHRONICLES), and secondly…I’ll be at Vulgarthon most of the week. Still, stay tuned, and, of course, Game On!
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