Having recently played through
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, it should be no surprise that Eurocom – a
developer known for their licensed based video games – has churned out another
well-done video-game based on a highly popular film. So if you have prejudice
against a video game centered on anthropomorphic animals or even talking animals
and wrote off G-Force as a children’s game with no soul, you might want
to reconsider since the title is entertaining for all demographics.
As Jerry Bruckheimer’s first 3-D
produced film, G-Force is an animated family adventure about the latest
advancement of a covert government program to train animals to work in
espionage. The G-Force is compromised of Darwin (voiced by Sam Rockwell),
Blaster (voiced by Tracy Morgan), Juarez (voiced by Penelope Cruz), Hurley
(voiced by Jon Favreau), Mooch (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), and Speckles
(voiced by Nicolas Cage). From the team, Darwin, Blaster and Juarez are guinea
pigs while Mooch is a fly and Speckles is a mole – so, yes, the team is made up
of talking animals that are secret agents.
While the premise of the film is
about these cute – and sometimes obnoxious – animals saving the world, the game
doesn’t do a great job at providing a look into the plot. You are thrown into
the game with no purpose besides stopping Leonard Saber (played by Bill Nighy),
from taking over the world with his home and kitchen appliances that have been
turned into evil robots. Even though this shouldn’t be a problem with children
or anyone who has already seen the film, gamers who haven’t had the chance to
see it will be left scratching their head from time to time.
Played as a third-person shooter,
G-Force is one of the more exciting and action-packed titles aimed at
children in a long time. Darwin, the leader of the group, comes equipped with a
jetpack and numerous other weapons to take down enemies. From the plasma gun to
his trusty rifle, the action pits gamers against evil robots who are ready to do
Saber’s bidding at the drop of a hat. Immobilizing toasters and blenders is
highly amusing, and a part of that reason is that the controls are easy to pick
up and learn. Without the ease of controls, children may be asking their parents
how to play the game and becoming frustrated more often than not.
An even more attractive reason to
buy G-Force is the inclusion of 3D glasses and visuals. This addition is
a nice attraction not only because the feature is barely used in video games
today, but it does generally assist the game with a graphical flair that no
other children’s game currently has. The only forewarning that needs to be
placed is that the 3D visuals aren’t optimized with the infrared goggles, so
players will want to remove the 3D glasses when using the goggles.
G-Force also employs Mooch
the fly as a playable character. He’s accessible when players press up on the
D-Pad, so he’s always a click away. For the majority, Mooch is used as a gamer’s
puzzle-solver – he’ll turn on and off switches, reach high places, slip through
enemy security and much more. He’s also has the ability to slow down time, so
using Mooch is a refreshing break from the action that does get repetitive
towards the end.
Sadly, not all the actors from the
film have returned to provide their voice-acting. Of the all-star cast, Bill
Nighy (Leonard Saber), Sam Rockwell (Darwin), Jon Favreau (Hurley), and Zach
Galifianakis (Ben) have returned. It’s easy to tell the difference between a
sound-alike and the real thing when you take a quick look at Tracy Morgan’s
character, Blaster – the voice-actor doesn’t hold a candle to the over-the-top
comedic actor.
G-Force is a one time through
type of game; once players finish it, they probably won’t be playing through it
again. Taking nine hours to finish, children shouldn’t have any trouble with the
difficulty due to that the puzzles are easy to solve and the combat is simple to
understand. In the end,
