Camp Lazlo
is a cartoon on The Cartoon Network, and features several strange-looking
characters that stay at the camp. The premise is similar to the old
Nickelodeon show, Salute Your Shorts. In Leaky Lake Games, players will get to
play lots of mini-games as the characters Lazlo, Clam and Raj.
This is
basically a collection of 15 mini-games, loosely tied into a story plot that
has the players collect certain items for characters in the game. Once these
quests are fulfilled, Lazlo, Clam or Raj will have to play and win a
mini-game. After these games are successfully completed, they will be listed
again on the camp bulletin board and can be played again. The big question
here, though, is will anyone want to replay these games?
The good
news is that there are lots of mini-games, more than are commonly found on
these types of games for children. However, the games, while unique, aren’t
very interesting. It takes a little effort to just figure out what the rules
are, as they aren’t stated in the in-game directions or in the manual. The
first few minutes for each mini-game will consist of learning how to play the
game. Once these rules are mastered, though, the game itself doesn’t seem
worth the effort. The games are mostly simple arcade games, which is not a bad
thing for a mini-game, but they just aren’t much fun. I’ve played much better
mini-games.
One of the
games has Raj filling up his trunk with water, and then going to a tree and
spraying it off. He can only clean about a tree and a half with each trunk
full, so will have to run back and get more water often. The trees are spread
in a line, so the furthest ones take up some time. Cleaning the trees is
awkward, and hard to do with the control system. But, the game isn’t hard to
win. Another game has players competing against another team in a
teeter-totter race. All this game does is have players press the “L” and “R”
buttons repeatedly, and occasionally the “A” button to liven things up a bit.
When not
playing mini-games, players will have endless chores to do. These consist of
fetching items for other characters, which is made easy by having a compass
with a directional arrow in the bottom of the screen, but these quests still
take a long time and often when one item is delivered, another one has to be
collected in order for that character to give up the original item. This can
get rather boring for children with short attention spans. Getting around the
camp is rather clumsy, too, due to really bad collision detection. It’s a
problem just getting in the doors of the cabins, let alone skirting all the
rocks and trees in the paths.
About the
only good thing I have to say about this game is that it allows players to
save their game at any time, which every children’s game should allow. Other
than that, there isn’t a whole lot going for this game.
The bottom
line is that while there isn’t anything really bad about this game besides
that it is boring, there are better mini-games collections out there. Lizzie
McGuire 3: Homecoming Havoc and Barbie Groovy Games are both much better
games. I haven’t played Rayman Rabbids, but it looks worth checking out, too.
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Gameplay: 6.0
The mini-games
are ok, but aren’t very entertaining. They are presented well enough, but
that’s about all you can say about them.
Graphics: 7.0
The graphics are
of average quality.
Sound: 7.0
The music is good
enough, and isn’t annoying as many GBA tunes can be.
Difficulty: Easy
This game is
easy, which is a good thing for younger children. However, the collection
story aspect is overly long for young children.
Concept: 6.0
There isn’t much
new here, except that some of the mini-games are unique.
Overall: 6.0
A very average
game that won’t hold the kids’ interest for long. The main adventure aspect of
collecting items for characters is boring, and the mini-games are, too.
Keeping it simple is good for a kid’s game, but this is too simple. Parents
are better off with some other mini-game collection.
