The year 2008 will always
be remembered as a year when people young and old took keen interest in the
debates and elections that would decide who will become the next President of
our country. Of course, for most these debates are as interesting as listening
to a lengthy lecture on osmosis. Wouldn’t it be great to see the Republican
nominee prove he’s better than the Democrat nominee by turning the campaign into
a brutal challenging event in an arena? Well, maybe I’m the only warped one who
does. Then again, Hail to the Chimp for the PlayStation 3 brings us a
party game that is also a political satire that hits close to home … well, if we
were cute animals, anyway.
The premise behind the
game is that the lion, king of the jungle, is missing and all the animals are in
an uproar. Someone must take the lion’s place and in order to do this a number
of animals must hit the campaign trail and win the public’s vote by competing in
a series of events against rival candidates. So everything from a polar bear to
a chimp as well as a walrus must compete and win the affection of the crowd as
well as the CNN-inspired GRR polls.
Sadly, during the
single-player portion of the game called Campaign, you can’t pick any of the
animals to play. You’re forced to take the role of Ptolemy, a sort of hip-hop
hippo, through most of the game rather than the titular chimp that’s actually a
lot funnier than the stereotyped hippo. The game cleverly mixes in a
newscast-styled show hosted by a wooden anchor named Woodchuck Chumley and his
other animal anchors that sets up each of the events as well as the results at
the end of the event. The “televised” event even comes with a number of humorous
commercials for fake products as well as candidate endorsed commercials.
The events take a stab at
political satire, whether it takes you to a body of water called the Watergates.
There are other locals that will pit you against the other candidates as you
collect clams (which represent votes). Each event usually involves clam
collecting, whether you’re tasked with taking as many of them and stuffing them
into a ballot box or holding on to a certain number of them for a limited amount
of time. Whether you’re in competing in a lava level called Ring of Fire or the
snowy tundra of Slippery Slopes, the events all start feeling the same as you
attempt to beat the other candidates.
Unfortunately, the
single-player game is plagued with a few problems that go beyond the fact that
the clam-collecting events get old quickly. There are AI issues that pop up
frequently that do get in the way of the action. Oftentimes one or two of your
opponents might get stuck in corners or on some environmental object. There is
the option to team up with another candidate but this feature rarely produces
anything helpful seeing as the AI help is unresponsive.
Still, this is a party
game and if you skip the single-player to go up against friends online or
offline you’re in for a better time. Easy to pick up and just start playing, the
gameplay is simplistic and the fighting mechanics rather basic no matter what
character you play. There are power-ups that the AI ignores in the single-player
Campaign so it’s great to see other players take advantage of them during an
event. Online, the game doesn’t experience any hiccups but I don’t see many
players willing to keep playing this game for very long because the events all
play alike.
The game’s graphics could
have been charming but instead they look rather dated. This is really
unacceptable seeing as The Simpsons Game for the PS3 looked far crisper
and featured better visual effects. The animal characters do look funny and you
can even add flair to alter their appearance a little. At least most of the
environments look good and the game runs at a steady framerate.
The game’s sound fairs a
lot better than the visuals. This is mainly because the voice acting is good and
the music fits the game’s theme. For the most part, the jokes are far better
than the sight gags and there are a few stabs at the Bush administration without
getting too obvious or controversial. There are a few lame jokes as well but
thankfully Chumley’s newscast delivery makes up for it. There are some sound
effects in the game but they’re nothing special.
Hail to the Chimp
for the PlayStation 3 had all the
makings of an excellent party game filled with witty political satire but
somehow the events just aren’t as inventive enough to be much fun for long. Yes,
the game does have some great moments playing against friends but since most of
the levels start feeling alike I really don’t see gamers wanting to keep playing
for very long. Really, if it’s a party game you’re looking for then this one
doesn’t make a bad weekend rental.
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Gameplay: 6.0
The throne to the animal kingdom is
up for grabs so it’s time to campaign by trying to outwit rivals in a
fist-smashing, clam-grabbing eleven events. The single-player portion is awful
so the real fun is competing with a group of friends offline or on. If
politicians campaigned like this you can definitely expect some high ratings …
and more voters at the polls.
Graphics: 5.5
The visuals just aren’t that good
seeing as we’ve seen cartoon-like graphics done better than this on the
PlayStation 3. Still, the animals look alright and there are some flashy effects
during the matches. Oh, and the politically themed environments are actually
cute.
Sound: 7.5
The music is loopy and utterly
charming and you just have to love Woodchuck Chumley who is appropriately stiff
as an anchorman. There are some really funny lines in the game and the
commercials are a hoot but most of the time the jokes can be really lame.
Difficulty: Easy
As a single-player game, the
opponent AI acts erratically so sometimes they’ll be smart enough to offer a
challenge and most of the time they can be way too dumb and thus make this game
way too easy. When a hippo can run circles around a slender and quicker squid
you know you won’t be breaking a sweat.
Concept: 5.5
At times, the political satire is
biting yet witty and oftentimes it’s just not funny at all. The different animal
candidates move differently so your friends and you have enough to pick from and
use in the game. The main menu screen is made up of an actual GRR broadcast.
Multiplayer: 7.0
This game was definitely not meant
to be a single-player game but rather to be shared with four players offline or
online. It is here that you even get to pick the animal character you would like
to play. There is the occasional dip in the framerate online but it doesn’t get
in the way of the levels.
Overall: 6.0
Hail to the Chimp
could have been one of those wonderfully
inviting and thoroughly enjoyable party games for the PS3 and this is too bad
since there are some fun moments. Still, I don’t see this game being the life of
the party seeing as Nintendo’s Mario Party games offers addictive
gameplay and plenty of variety. Sorry, but this chimp isn’t a barrel of laughs.
