Foster’s
Home for Imaginary Friends is a popular show on the Cartoon Network. The
premise is that all these abandoned imaginary friends need a good home, and
Mrs. Foster has kindly opened up her residence. Mac is an 8-year-old boy who
lives close by, and has an imaginary friend named Bloo. Technically, Bloo
isn’t abandoned, but is allowed to stay at Mrs. Foster’s anyway. Foster’s Home
for Imaginary Friends GBA is based on the show.
Foster’s is
basically a platform game, with other elements thrown in the mix that feature
locational puzzles. There are also a few mini-games. The levels are mostly
missions that require Mac and Bloo to collect items for quests for various
characters in the game, and also are missions that involve finding their way
to another part of the house. To unlock the mini-games, they must collect
tickets found in every level.
While the
levels are basically platform-based, they are well-done and fun to navigate.
Bloo and Mac can slide down banisters and roll/crawl under furniture to reach
certain areas. Jumping and sliding is designed well, and the movement feels
free and smooth. Most of the time they will have to jump from platform to
platform to travel either up or down, and collect certain items that have been
requested by characters in the game. There are plenty of characters from the
show in the game, and they will either direct Bloo and Mac to a quest, or help
them along the way by lifting or moving items for them. Sometimes characters
are placed as obstacles, and Bloo and Mac will need to figure out how to get
past them.
The
platforming is not very hard, but the platforms themselves are hard to detect
at times. They are not clearly drawn and are often undistinguishable from the
background objects. If the player dies, it’s back to the beginning of the
level, but these restarts are unlimited, which is a good feature for young
players. There are three save slots which will save progress automatically,
but these saves are only at the beginning of each level, which is annoying as
some of these levels are overly long.
There is a
lot of dialogue in the game that has to be read. This game is on a young
player’s level, but a high level of reading is required. The dialogue is
funny and is very like the show, which is a witty and clever cartoon. Players
need to be careful to talk to every character they see just standing around,
as the game often won’t advance until these conversations are elicited. These
conversations will tell the player what they need to accomplish. However, the
players will have to remember what items they need to collect, as there isn’t
a task list, at least not one that I could ever find in the game’s options or
controls. Players can talk to Frankie if they see her, though, for task
reminders.
Overall,
this is a nice platform game that has enough different features to keep the
levels interesting. The gameplay is interesting, but doesn’t have a whole lot
of challenge or variety to it. It’s mostly a fetch-n-carry type of platform
game. As it is easy to play, it’s a good choice for younger players, but older
gamers won’t find much depth. Best for families with younger children.
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Gameplay: 7.0
The gameplay is
your basic platform style with collectibles.
However, while there isn’t anything that particularly stands out, the game
design is solid and offers a good, interesting time for young players. Some
heavy reading is required, though, and parents may need to help in this area.
Graphics: 8.0
It all looks
exactly like the show!
Sound: 6.0
Nothing special
here.
Difficulty: Easy
The difficulty is
easy, but players can get lost in the sometimes very long levels.
A task list would have been nice, too.
Concept: 6.0
Nothing new here,
but it is presented well.
Overall: 7.0
Foster’s Home is
a fun enough platform type of game, but it doesn’t really rise above the crowd
in any significant manner. It is a good game for young players, but could have
offered more actual gaming variety in the levels, than besides the different
story elements in the levels. A decent game for families with young children.
