Like any proper game adaptation of
a children’s film, Night at the Museum’s sequel film has given us this rather
bland piece of merchandise in the form of Battle of the Smithsonian for the
Nintendo DS. For this sequel title, the gameplay is appropriately yet
predictably simple. The player character is sent jumping, running, and
fighting his way through an enormous museum that has apparently come to life.
Naturally, this means the most exciting exhibits are out to get you, while the
more subdued exhibits (geology, anyone?) seem strangely absent. Taking a very
conventional approach toward game design has resulted in a
platformer that handles reasonably well, though it
fails to offer anything thrilling by taking extra risks.
As a whole product, Battle of the
Smithsonian isn’t really a terrible game – particularly when one remembers
that it is based on a children’s movie, designed for children to play, on a
handheld device. Given these criteria, you could certainly do much worse when
selecting software to keep your children entertained during summer vacation,
although this one will likely fail to hold their interest for very long.
Peppered throughout the game are little informational tidbits about the
exhibits, which could arguably be valued as an additional bit of stimulation
for stagnant student-summer minds. Most of the gameplay experience is quite
easy, furthering the notion that this was indeed intended more for children
than adults. It’s the same formulaic elements we’ve seen time and time again:
find this, climb that, and fight that baddie.
On the visual front, Night at the
Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is quite a letdown. Given the simplicity of
the mechanical design, you’d think a bit more time could
have been spent on the visuals. The marketing team’s questionable touting of
the “Ben Stiller likeness” was, as you may surmise, not the wisest of
decisions. Even younger players will instantly see that the character scarcely
resembles the comedic actor; in fact, he barely looks recognizable as a member
of our species. All other characters in the game suffer from the same
ambiguity. Much of the time, I was unsure who or what I was actually looking
at, which is a substantial problem for this game. After all, the Smithsonian
is all about famous historical figures and landmark scientific discoveries –
if I can’t identify them in the game, what’s the point? The unfulfilled
potential for children to learn a bit from these moments is particularly
disappointing, as I suspect the educational texts will be largely ignored.
Having personally walked the halls
of the Smithsonian several times, I can honestly say there is little
resemblance here to the actual museum. Perhaps that’s a good thing, given that
educational institutions are not generally constructed with children
exclusively in mind. In addition to being graphically unimaginative, the sound
design is fairly straightforward. The effects are pretty much what you’d
expect from this sort of title, without producing anything very memorable. In
short, Battle of the Smithsonian is a simple romp best suited to young fans of
the film. It should be reasonably entertaining for the kids who want it badly
enough, but those of us who’ve been out of diapers for more than a decade will
find it rather dull.
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Gameplay: 7.0
Conventional, yet
occasionally varied mechanics that might attract younger audiences.
Graphics: 5.0
Imagery of this
sort is clearly aimed at children, but character models are absolutely awful.
Sound: 6.0
Run-of-the-mill
soundtrack and mediocre effects get the job done.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Simple, short,
and child-friendly. Not much in the way of replayability,
however.
Concept: 6.0
There’s
really nothing here that hasn’t already been done before, so much opportunity
feels wasted.
Overall: 6.0
Fun for kids but
much too shallow for adults, Battle of the Smithsonian is perfect for young
fans of the film, if expectations are reasonable.
