There is
trouble a’brewing in the Nicktoons Universe and Jimmy Neutron has called
together four of the greatest … well … err … Ok, four Nicktoons have joined
forces to combat the energy-stealing plans of the villains they are already
familiar with.
It seems
that Professor Calamitous has stolen Jimmy Neutron’s plans for the Universe
Portal Machine and has pulled together other similarly evil individuals – Vlad
Plasmius, Plankton and Denzel Crocker – under the banner of the Evil Syndicate.
They have created a doomsday device and unleashed evil minions on the worlds of
Dimmsdale, Amity Park, Retroville and Bikini Bottom.
To counter
this malady, Jimmy has enlisted the aid of Danny Phantom, Timmy Turner and
Spongebob Squarepants (no Timmy, he is not a block of cheese, and yes, Danny, he
does talk).
Ok, caught
up to speed? Good. While all these characters are doubtless familiar to
Nickelodeon fans, they may not be so familiar to others who do not frequent the
channel. The challenge facing THQ and Blue Tongue Entertainment was to create a
PlayStation 2 game, Nicktoons Unite!, that would appeal to fans of the TV shows
as well as to those gamers craving some stylish adventure with four distinct
personalities. For the most part they succeeded, though this game is rather
linear in design, and the personalities bleed into each other, the game tends to
tread the same turf as recent team-oriented games such as the X-Men titles from
Activision.
Each of the
four heroes is assigned to a D-pad direction, and you can change them out on the
fly. The AI for the non-controlled characters is rather good and they will
attack the various monsters on their own, but the game is littered with
power-ups that include health-regenerating icons. Before blindly running over
and collecting them, players will have to pay attention to which character needs
it the most, control that character to pick it up.
Each of the
characters has four attacks – one you start with and three you can unlock when
you find the right machine within the level that is designed for a certain
character. For example, the first level is a prison filled with ghostly
incarnations – right up Danny Phantom’s alley. Danny starts off with the Ghost
Punch ability, but two-thirds of the way through the level, he finds the machine
that boosts his abilities and he acquires his second power – Over Shadow (he can
take over the form of an enemy that he has stunned). Only Danny can use the
device and the others will have to wait for levels designed around their
character’s home areas for their chance to gain new powers. Additionally, there
are coins to collect that act as a guide to the zone – just follow the path of
the coins. These coins are used to level up abilities the characters already
have. Find the Great Goddard within the level and you can upgrade skills.
The
characters all work in tandem to defeat the levels, which usually end with a
boss battle and the all-too-familiar oversized bar of hit points for the boss
that you will need to whittle down before he falls.
The control
scheme is easy to understand and use, and three other players can jump into the
game at any time by plugging in a controller and hitting the start button for a
cooperative adventure. While this is a fun idea, the whole game is essentially
geared for younger players. Older and more veteran adventurers may find the
experience too easy and the humor – while nicely in character – is pointedly
younger in tone.
Graphically
the game has a nice three-dimensional feel to it, but the camera is somewhat
locked in place, and will only swing to one side of the characters – while
exploring a zone – move behind a wall and the camera loses sight of them.
Otherwise, it does not move at all. This is not bad, as it does give a fairly
decent view of the level the characters are in; players just cannot swing the
camera to see what may lie in front of them on the path they are pursuing.
The sound is
also solid. You may recognize some familiar voices in this and the dialogue is
well done. The music and sound effects are Ok, but nothing to get too excited
about.
Nicktoons
Unite! is a game that has been done at the older level with X-Men Legends, but
this is pointedly a younger game that, while not bad, fails to offer anything
new. Still the look of the game is nice and younger players may get a kick out
of the antics and heroics of their favorite cartoon series’ characters as they
battle through a host of levels to save their respective Nicktoons worlds from
the dastardly machinations of the Evil Syndicate.
|
|
Gameplay:
7.0
Some load times,
but a simple control scheme and linear play will likely make this game very
accessible to younger players.
Graphics:
7.2
The levels look
very good and the special effects are in line with the cartoon series.
Sound:
7.0
The dialogue
sounds as though it could have been lifted straight from the television shows.
The music and sound effects are decent, but nothing to get overly excited about.
Difficulty: Easy
The gameplay is
very directed. Though the levels are a decent size, much of what you do is
repetitious.
Concept:
6.0
There is nothing
really new here.
Multiplayer: 6.5
Again, nothing
that has not been done, but this is strictly co-op play that is simple to set
up.
Overall:
6.8
The game is
geared toward younger gamers and succeeds in bringing four diverse characters
into one game. While somewhat repetitious, the linear design and simple control
schemes will draw players along and it is not hard to work through the levels.
The puzzles are easily managed and the graphics and sound work in concert to
bring the game to life in a nice, if unexceptional, manner.
