I know, I sound like a broken record
as I always seem to say the same thing: A popular children’s license is cashed
in on by both the owner and the game developer. Sometimes this works out
fabulously and sometimes it doesn’t work out that well at all. Many of these
cartoon licenses actually have lots of gaming potential provided that the
developer understands the property and can translate it well into a viable
gaming genre. Pokemon is a good example of this. While it was a game originally,
the cartoon spawned some stand-out characters that were then retranslated into
their own games.
So the Secret Saturdays is one of
those licenses that would seem to resonate with gamers. The Saturdays are
actually a family of Cryptozoologists who specialize in finding and protecting
those strange, unique creatures that are mostly myth. The Saturdays may be
scientists, but they are all action. And most of that action is caused by their
arch enemy, Argost. Argost wants many of the creatures for his own evil
purposes. These creatures, referred to as Cryptids, sometimes are misunderstood
and almost always very powerful.
The game is a pseudo-3D action
adventure. I say pseudo because its really more of a 2D side-scroller with a
fair amount of visual depth in it. As you move your characters (because you play
many of them) you must rely on each of their unique abilities. For example, Zak
Saturday has the ability to swing around on his cane with retractable claw,
while playing as Fiskerton (the resident bodyguard and sasquatch) you can climb
very quickly on those levels. In fact, when completed, you will play as seven
different characters across 10 levels. The controls themselves aren’t
particularly difficult to get down, but the game’s camera often causes more
trouble than any baddie could. You see, as you progress, the camera will pull
back when you come into a larger boss battle, this auto camera can become a
hindrance in some cases and cause problems.
The show has been lauded for its
original ideas, good voice work and cool animations. The game manages to get the
voice work right as there are several of the original voices featured in the
game. Action music from the show is there as well so the game could be
considered a good job of sound effects and other noises.
The game isn’t all about hitting and
action; there are some puzzles to be found, although they simply aren’t that
tough. Yes, this is aimed squarely at the target audience and that target
audience is 9-years old, so I couldn’t expect the challenges to be too tough. My
boys seemed to get by pretty quickly as well so I can honestly tell you that
this is a game that isn’t too tough for younger gamers. That and the fact that
it really isn’t all that long either may be appealing to some gamers, but my own
children did not play the game as much as I would have thought. When asked, my
older boy actually told me that the game was boring because its the same thing
over and over. And true to form, the game does suffer from repeated gameplay and
ideas.
The graphics aren’t too bad, but
they aren’t too good either. They are passable in some areas and a bit better in
others. I thought the character models were recognizable but not as sharp as
they could have been. Having just played Astro Boy for the DS, I couldn’t help
but compare the crispness of the lines in that game to this one. Yes, they are
different animation styles, but this title just didn’t have that same
definition.
I had wondered what kind of game
this may have been had the developers allowed for a multiplayer experience,
given that there are so many playable characters the game practically begs for
some multiplayer action. The game, because of the nature of the levels and
character specific powers, wouldn’t be so hot as a co-op title, but there surely
could have been some other ways the developers could have had some single-card
download play.
Gameplay: 6.0
The fact you play as so many different characters, each with their own
uniqueness, helps but it is a very formulaic, repetitive game. Puzzles aren’t
difficult at all, the camera can cause problems.
Graphics: 6.0
Things could have been sharper, but there are lots of different Cryptids to see
and deal with. Lots of character models, lots of the same environments.
Sound: 7.5
Having the original voice actors is a plus in almost every instance.
Difficulty: Easy
Concept: 6.7
Thios was one Cartoon Network license that I would have liked to see succeed,
mostly because the idea of the show is pretty clever and there is so many
characters to play as.
Overall: 6.1
I really wanted to see this title take off. It has some things in it to make a
player stand up and get excited, but those same things are painfully
underdeveloped and a potentially great license is squandered.
