The
Animaniacs and the Gamecube sound like a great match, with the endless comic
possibilities presented by Wakko, Jakko and Dot, and the inimitable team of
Pinky and the Brain. Alas, while some of their zany, antic humor is evident,
the pointless gameplay sucks a lot of the fun right out of the game.
The story is
that the Edgar Night can’t be held this year, as C.C. Deville has stolen all
the Edgars, in revenge for never getting noticed by the Edgar award committee.
It’s up to Dot, Yakko and Wakko to find the missing Edgars and save the day.
This premise
actually works pretty well as it’s a good vehicle for collectables and also
for advancing the plot, by requiring a certain number of Edgars to be
collected in order to access certain areas of the game. At first, only Yakko
is available, then Dot soon joins the team after she’s rescued by Yakko. Wakko
takes a bit longer to find. The action begins in the Warner Bros movie lot in
a sort of tutorial mode. Once a few Edgars have been found, players can leave
the lot and explore movie sets like the Old West, a haunted castle, and other
areas.
Most of the
gameplay centers on finding scripts, coins and Edgars. The coins are gathered
by smashing objects, the scripts are scattered around the lots, and the Edgars
are earned by finding a certain number of coins, and by accomplishing tasks
set forth by in-game characters.
Yakko, Dot
and Wakko have basic moves such as jumping and simple attacks. They each have
special abilities, too, but these only become available after certain items
are found: a grass skirt for Dot to do a limbo in, a spade for Wakko to dig up
things, and bombs for Yakko. There are special power-ups, too, like
night-vision goggles, a proton accelerator pack (shooter) and a magnifying
glass.
The action
is typical platform jumping and running, while smashing objects and enemies.
The enemies are easy to defeat, but hard to avoid; it’s almost impossible to
keep from losing health points while running around some of them. The main
problem in avoiding them is the bad camera design, with some secondary
problems of having the hazards too close to the edge of some ledges for the
characters to pass by them without getting hit. To break up the platform
action, there are amusing Pinky and the Brain mini-games spaced throughout the
levels.
The levels
are attractively designed, and fairly fun to run through the first time. It’s
when you’re going through them the umpteenth time trying to figure out just
what you’re supposed to be doing that it becomes pointless and boring. The
problem is that there is no direction in the game. A few hints would be
welcome, not that players want to be led by the hand, but a few pointers are
sometimes necessary. It’s easy to become confused early on in the game. The
first level is the Warner Bros main movie lot, which begins like a
tutorial. Once I found some Edgars, I was able to access the Old West. There
were several areas in this level, and I became bogged down trying to find
Dot’s skirt. I spent a LOT of time going back and forth through five or six
different areas in the Old West, trying to find that skirt.
Finally, I
realized that there was more than one movie lot off the main Warner Bros lot,
which didn’t dawn on me until I revisited the main lot. I guess I just forgot
about that first world, as it seemed like mostly a tutorial, rather than a hub
world. This is where some direction or help from the in-game characters would
have been helpful. To find Dot’s skirt, it’s necessary to visit other worlds,
to find the spade for Yakko. This type of wandering around is needlessly
frustrating, and especially hard on younger players.
Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt
is a decent enough game, but not what it could have been. The Warner Bros.
(and Sister) are a hoot and a great premise for a console game, but the idea
wasn’t developed enough. The Pinky and the Brain mini-games are right on
target in utilizing the humor of the show, but the platform action isn’t very
exciting. There’s not enough variety in collectibles, and the lack of
information about what to do next bogs down the gameplay. The levels are
fairly well designed, but not fun enough to keep revisiting again and again
after all the collectibles have been gathered. Parents may want to think about
this game before purchasing, as they will probably have to help the younger
kids play.
|
|
Gameplay: 6.0
The gameplay
becomes tiring after replaying several times. Some type of direction is
severely needed, to keep things moving along.
Graphics: 8.0
The game looks
good, and the characters are drawn very well.
Sound: 8.0
The music sounds
just like the old TV show, and the voices sound the same, too.
Difficulty: Medium
This game is not
very easy, due to the wandering around bits.
Concept: 6.0
There should have
been more done in developing this license.
Overall: 6.5
A decent game in
terms of graphics and humor, but a little lacking in level design. The
platform moves just aren’t that interesting, especially the third or fourth
time around. The Pinky and the Brain mini-games are the most fun, but there
aren’t that many of them. The lack of direction is what really kills the game,
though. With the generous health points, numerous save spots and easy to
defeat enemies, this would seem like a game targeted toward kids, but the lack
of more detailed information on the gameplay isn’t kid-friendly. A mediocre
game that could have been a lot better.
