Barnyard – GBA – Review

Aaah, yes. An animated movie for
kids, video games to follow, the American Way. It often seems that the biggest
concern of most of the people responsible for these movie tie-in games is to
hurry a mediocre product out as cheaply as possible. As a result, many of
these games are pretty lame. Surprisingly, considering that the movie Barnyard
itself isn’t all that good, Barnyard for the GBA is a pretty decently designed
game for kids.

The whole game is very similar in
format to a RPG such as Zelda, Friends of Mineral Town and even a little like
Animal Crossing. It is a very simplified version of these types of games,
though, and includes a large amount of mini-games, which RPG’s usually don’t
have. Essentially, gameplay consists of the player, who plays as a cow,
running errands for all and sundry while playing lots of different mini-games.
Successfully accomplishing tasks and winning games garners money, which can be
spent at the Gopher Underground for items to spruce up the barn, or to give to
the farm’s inhabitants. Powerups can also be exchanged for Gold Stars, which
are earned alongside the money.

The game is divided into chapters,
10 in all. Each chapter consists of a main mission, which usually involves
either giving some item to another character, or winning a mini-game. Running
these errands is fairly easy, but does involve some extensive traveling, as
the map is large and it’s sometimes necessary to go a long way around areas to
get to the desired location. Obstacles to travel consist of raccoons and
coyotes, but players will only encounter raccoons for the most part during the
bulk of the game. These baddies are only window dressing, and are easily
avoided.

There are lots of mini-games, and
most of them are quite fun and entertaining. My favorites were the darts,
which involved throwing some type of flying bug at a dart board; mini-golf;
bike racing; bowling; and marbles, a movement puzzle involving logical
thinking. There are also a few insipid games, such as police chase, a badly
designed car racing game; cheesy balloons, a game that requires collecting
cheese while flying; and a milk-shooting game. The other games fall in the
middle of these in terms of quality and fun. As stated previously, there are a
lot of games here, and I don’t think I’ve seen this many before in a game
that’s not solely a collection of mini-games.

For the most part, all of these
games can be accessed early on without having to be unlocked, but some aren’t
available until the map area where they reside is opened during the game’s
advancement. However, there really isn’t a central location for these games in
the general interface menu. Players will have to travel around the map to get
to them, which becomes a pain after a while. Supposedly, players can also buy
these games from the gophers to place in the barn, allowing for convenient
access in one spot, but during the course of the game, I only received one
game as an option to purchase in the store. More may become available when
playing after the game’s adventure is ended.

The errands are basic
“fetch-n-carry” tasks, and are made even easier by flashing location icons on
the map, which show players where they need to go to accomplish the jobs. The
main mission for each chapter is mandatory for game advancement, but all other
errands are voluntary and don’t have to be undertaken at all, or even finished
when accepted. They are simply means to earn money.

Players can also decorate the barn
basement, look over their movie picture collection and choose different tunes
from the jukebox. There aren’t a whole lot of items to decorate with, though.
More decorative items in the gopher underground would have been nice. There is
also a trophy room, but I must not be good enough to win any trophies, as I
never received any.

The interface is easy to
understand once the in-game advice from the various characters is encountered
during the game. It’s simple, while still managing to impart needed
information. Objectives are listed clearly for each chapter, and the inventory
and maps are readily accessible. At the same time, the manual lacks all but
the most basic information on using the interface, and doesn’t give any
information on the mini-games, or how to use many of the game’s features.
There are three save slots available, and an automatic save feature after
every mission and mini-game win, which is a great feature for young players.

While playing, I ran into a
strange glitch, which caused a screeching halt to gameplay. Early on, in the
first or second chapter, I evidently did some things out of order without
completing the mission, and caused the farmyard main gate to close. This left
me trapped in the farmyard, and unable to accomplish the mission, which
involved traveling to another location. I attempted to recreate this in
another game, but wasn’t able to, so I don’t know exactly what caused it.
However, it’s very early in the game and it’s pretty easy to just begin a new
game.

Overall, this is a fun, engaging
game that has easy goals and lots of cool mini-games. It is designed primarily
for kids, and as such, does a great job. There are some drawbacks, though,
which mainly have to do with the longevity of the game and some unsavory
aspects to the game. The game is pretty short, and older kids will finish up
quickly. However, the game encourages continued play with the animals going on
about their daily lives after the essential game is ended, and the mini-games
can be played as often as desired. The mini-games really needed a central
location after game’s end, though.

The unsavory aspects include the
strangeness of having cows as boys but with udders that shoot milk; I found
that slightly gross, besides the general anatomical wrongness of it all. Also,
there is a bar in the barn where cows can drink fermented products. And, when
the main character dies during the game, the other characters treat it very
casually, and his son seems quite happy about being congratulated on his
subsequent promotion. To be fair, though, all of these elements (except for
the callous treatment of the death) are straight from the movie. If parents
didn’t have a problem with the movie, they won’t with this game.

This was an enjoyable game for the
most part, and it’s always refreshing to see a game for children that is
actually designed with them in mind. The sheer number of mini-games is
amazing, and the quality of the majority is quite good. The game is short,
though, and older kids won’t find much of a challenge. Best for young players.

Review Scoring Details for Barnyard

Gameplay: 7.5
This game was fun
to play! It’s easy, and there’s not a whole of challenge during the main
adventure, but for young kids this is a good thing. The mini-games are a
varied assortment, and feature randomization. However, the game is too short
and too easy for older players. After the game is ended, the mini-games can be
played again, but getting to them is a major pain without a central location
for access.

Graphics: 7
The graphics are
nice, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Sound: 7.5
The sound effects
are good, and the music fits the barnyard theme well. The tunes are very
catchy!

Difficulty: Easy
Veeeerrry easy!

Concept: 7.5
I thought the
concept of this game with the open-ended play was refreshing.

Overall: 7.5
Overall, a nice
effort from Halfbrick, the designers behind the Ty GBA games. It’s great to
see a company that tries to deliver a quality game for kids. While there are
some design flaws and the game could have been a bit more challenging and
longer, what is here is a fun outing for the younger players. The bar and
other game features aren’t all that “kid-friendly,” but they are faithful to
the movie.