Disney has released a trio of games based on several of their popular TV shows, Lizzie McGuire, That’s So Raven and Lilo & Stitch. Of the three, Lizzie McGuire 2: Lizzie Diaries and Lilo & Stitch 2: Hamsterviel’s Revenge, are the better games, with That’s So Raven not even in the running. While both Lizzie and Lilo & Stitch are good games, however, they are very different in their gameplay and format. As in the first Lilo & Stitch game, the second Lilo & Stitch is very much a platform shooter for the most part, with racing and puzzle levels included. Although easier to play than most shooters because of its target audience of children, it’s still a bit more difficult than Lizzie. Lizzie, on the other hand is a collection of arcade-style mini-games, which for the most part are fairly easy, except for a couple of more challenging ones.
Last year, Digital Eclipse designed the first Lizzie, and did a decent job overall, but the game had one big problem, namely that the platform levels that had to be played to open up the mini-games, had to be played anew each time the game was began, as there was no save option for the actual level progress, and only the unlocked games were saved. This quickly became old. A2M developed Lizzie McGuire 2, and has also done a pretty decent job, and this time there isn’t the same level that has to be replayed again and again to open up the mini-games. However, the game is totally linear, and each mini-game has to be beaten in order, for the next game to become available. This can lead to problems, depending on a player’s particular expertise at various styles of gaming.
The game is divided into three days, each with four games, for a total of twelve mini-games. All of the games are arcade style, but they are varied types of games. Three are side-scrolling platforms, where Lizzie must get to the end of the level. She has to jump on top of things to retrieve collectibles, while avoiding hazards either by jumping over them, waiting on them, or stomping on top of them. Some of these hazards are imaginative, such as the paper airplanes that whiz around the hallways; Lizzie can jump on them to gain higher ground, but has to time it just right to avoid gaining a hit. The beach platform level is the most difficult of these, because it features a difficult jump that is very tricky to accomplish. Lizzie must jump on a beach ball in the water to get to the other side, but the shore is very far away and nine times out of ten she just falls in the water.
Food fights always look like fun as long as they involve other people besides yourself. Lizzie is caught in the middle of one, and she has to catch the food with her food tray, then throw it right back. This is actually quite a clever game, and timing is everything – if she plans it right, the other participants will often wipe each other out with well-aimed mashed potatoes, and then Lizzie can mop up the rest of the crowd. Other cool games include a water skiing race, a time management type of game called “Waiting on Tables”, where Lizzie has to seat, serve and bus the tables in a timely manner to keep the customers happy, and a maze which has Lizzie doing her shopping and then dropping off her packages, all against the clock. Some not so cool games include two sport simulation games of badminton and beach volleyball, which feature some awkward controls in regard to moving Lizzie and hitting the ball at the same time. However, after playing them several times to get better acquainted with the mechanics, they are possible to beat.
This is a nice and varied collection of mini-games (twelve in all!), that, combined with the definite “girl game” theme, promises to be a popular choice with girls ages eight-twelve. Overall, it’s a good game which could have been a great game, if it weren’t for some minor problems, namely, an unevenness in difficulty and a too-rigid adherence to “earning” the right to play the mini-games. Most of the games are of a medium difficulty for this age group, but a few of the mini-games are unnecessarily demanding and are much harder than the rest of the game. This wouldn’t matter if all the games were accessible from the beginning, but because of the absolute linear nature of the game, being stuck on a beach ball in Day Two means that none of the games in Day Three will be available for play, unless the kid can find an older sibling to help.
Also, while the games featured here are amusing to play for the most part, it would have been nice if other types of games besides just arcade-style had been offered, like a simple board game or a logic puzzle game. This would have also helped the replay value to have some kind of thinking games included.
But even with these small quibbles, this is an engaging game for kids that offers a decent amount of replay value.
Gameplay: 7.5
There are a whopping twelve games to choose from, which, since most of the games are well-designed and fun to play, make this a very good value. While three of the games are the same type of platform games, the others are different enough to ensure interest stays high. The games for the most part are creatively designed and fun to play, although the two sports games could have used a better control design. However, accessing all the games may be problematic for some, as the game’s linear method of unlocking the mini-games could stop kids in their tracks if they find a game they can’t master.
Graphics: 7
Lizzie looks like the cartoon alter-ego of Lizzie McGuire in the TV show, and the levels are drawn pretty much on a level of quality comparable to other GBA games. The colors are pastel for the most part, which fits the “girl game” theme.
Sound: 6
The music is typical GBA fare, but is not bad. It’s not very memorable, either.
Difficulty: Medium
The games vary in difficulty, sometimes too much so.
Concept: 7
While many of these games have been done many times before in some form or another, the mixture here is good. While they are all basically arcade games, they also have a completely distinct focus from each other for the most part, except for the three platform games. The presentation is excellent, and many of the games show a great attention to detail.
Overall: 7.5
Unlike many games of this type, this is a fun, interesting game that delivers. However, a few things keep it from being a great game, mostly due to an unevenness of difficulty across the board and the resulting lack of access to some of the games this may cause. Still, kids will have a good time playing with Lizzie McGuire as she definitely does “got game”.
