Lord Darkar
is an evil man. He likes to be in the company of other evil-doers, people like
Icy, Darcy, Stormy, and the Army of Decay. They recently left the Cloud Tower
School for Witches to join Lord Darkar (that’s "darker" with two A’s) in his
quest to take over the world.
This most
dreadful situation should not frighten you. Just as there are those who will
always do evil, there are also those who will spend their lives trying to
combat the villains who darken our sunny skies. Bloom, Flora, Stella, Musa,
Tecna and Layla – known to many as the six members of Winx Club – are out to
protect what we hold dear. The members have to, as the manual states, "juggle
their school work and the fate of the universe, all the while looking fab."
They combat
evil in the way that every fairy should: by using their powers to fly away
from attacks, and by using their other, more magical powers to retaliate. In
this respect the game could be compared to R-Type or any other side-scrolling
shooter. Danny Phantom for the Game Boy Advance is another fair comparison.
One of two official
screenshots. This one focuses on the action stages.
The shooter
levels are short and easy, but only take up a small portion of the game. The
rest is dedicated to mini-games:
Dragon
Flight
Same as the
shooter levels, minus the shooting. Your goal is to fly through the
atmosphere, chasing a mysterious shadow until you reach the level’s goal.
Enchanted
Garden
Tap any part
of the screen to fire a blast from this stage’s glowing core. The blasts are
used to ward off bugs that are trying to eat your plant. You need the plant to
continue growing – which it does automatically – to finish the level. To win,
protect the plant until it grows into a star shape.
Dance
Floor
DDR without
the dance pad. In other words, you’re just tapping a screen to eliminate
arrows as they pass by.
Solar
Power
Draw lines
back and forth to bounce a ball across the screen. The object is to bounce it
toward the pixies that appear. Catch the required number of pixies before the
time runs out and you win. Just be careful not to let the ball bounce off
screen – if that happens you’ll be forced to re-start.
Rhythm
Jam
More DDR-style
gameplay without a dance mat or instrument controller. This one requires you
to change virtual instruments (guitar, piano, drums, etc.) before you can hit
the proper notes.
Tecna-Logic
A
ridiculously long and frustrating puzzle set that’s anything but logical. Drag
tiles with your stylus to form a connected pipe system to the goal. Once the
pipes are linked, the energy is able to flow to the end. Tap the screen to
eliminate bugs that, if left alone, will devour your pipeline.
The second official
screenshot, also focusing on the action stages
(and looks almost identical to
the previous image).
I can get on
board with the shooter stages. They’re short and much too easy, and don’t
really have that many enemies to combat. But the controls are at least
functional, and where else can you find an R-Type-style game designed for
kids? (Outside of Danny Phantom.)
What I can’t
get on board with are the mini-games. Had I been aware of their presence, I
would have dreaded the thought of this game’s release. But they were not the
focus on Winx Club’s promotion. The first batch of screens and E3 trailer
focused on the side-scrolling action. Check the back of the box and you’ll see
the same thing: a screenshot of the action stages, along with four promo
lines:
"Side-scrolling action."
"Play as
your favorite Winx."
"Design and
trade custom outfits."
"Addictive
mini-games."
Notice that
the mini-games are the last thing mentioned. They are also downplayed in the
game description, which talks about making "new friends," testing your
"magical abilities," and protecting "Magix from evil." It does not say a thing
about the plethora of mini-games you have to endure to get to the action
stages.
The
mini-games are boring, unoriginal, and often cheap and frustrating. Adult
gamers rarely have the patience for this sort of thing – do you believe kids
will, by some chance, feel differently? No action stage, no matter how
entertaining, is worth this kind of trouble.
Players
might find a small amount of enjoyment in the fashion editor, which uses a
Windows Paint-style program. But it’s not worth buying an entire game for.
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Gameplay: 4.0
What starts out
as a promising adventure quickly evolves to a world of long and frustrating
mini-games.
Graphics: 3.0
The action levels
aren’t too awful, but the mini-games, which could’ve been packed with polys to
off-set a tenth of the monotony, are devoid of any DS-specific effects.
Sound: 6.0
Nothing so bad
that you’ll plug your ears, but the audio is pretty dull.
Difficulty: Easy
Winx Club’s cheap
mini-games have nothing to offer kid gamers. The puzzles are lame and
frustrating, and the line-drawing missions are too long. You’ll be bored –
regardless of your age – long before the credits roll.
Concept: 7.0
I like the base
idea: fairy-like warriors who can fly and have cool attack possibilities. But
those levels are too short and too far between the rest of the game, which is
nothing more than a series of terribly unproductive (and not at all
entertaining) mini-games.
Multiplayer: 4.0
Do yourself a
favor and forget this game has multiplayer capabilities. It’s not even worth
thinking about.
Overall: 4.0
Parents be
warned. I know your Winx Club-loving children are going to want this game.
Growing up I had to try every new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game just
because I loved the cartoon. I also played The Simpsons and Looney Toons
games. When they were good, there was rarely anything better. TMNT Arcade goes
down as one of the best action games of the era. But when these games were
bad, it didn’t matter where the license came from – I always lost
interest. Likewise, Winx Club fans are not going to want to invest much time
in this game.
