Kids certainly
didn’t have anything to complain about this summer seeing as this year the big
screen was filled with a large number of animated features that ranged from
Disney’s Cars to the nutty antics of Over the Hedge with the
voices of Bruce Willis heading a cast of furry critters. These dozen or so
animated movies also means games based on said movies and we’ve seen quite a few
that haven’t lived up to the source material. Joining the list is Open Season,
a game that takes us into the wild as likeable Boog the bear with his pal Eliot
the deer in tow. Unfortunately, this is another game that just doesn’t live up
to the movie’s fun antics.
Open Season
follows Boog,
a bear Ranger Beth has taken under her protection since Boog was a cub. It isn’t
until the kindly bear frees a zany deer named Eliot that he is talked into
storming into a convenience store to take as many chocolate treats that Boog and
Eliot are forced out into the wild. Being the housetrained bear that he is, Boog
is determined to get back to the town of Timberline and back to his friend
Ranger Beth. Of course, this isn’t going to be easy since hunting season is
about to begin and there are hunters already lined up to take out a 900-.lbs
bear and the nutty deer that follows him.
Sadly, even with
the movie’s story and characters intact, the console version just falls flat in
the gameplay department. You get to control Boog and Eliot in a platform game
with all the usual platform game elements like collectible items scattered
throughout the area and while he doesn’t jump Boog has a surprising number of
moves. He can, for example, grab Eliot and toss him to get a hard to reach item
or use his incredible sense of smell to locate hidden items. Meanwhile, Eliot
can jump and has a knack for taunting enemies within range. Oh, and he can even
grab wily rabbits to fling at enemies.
The game is
composed of bite-sized levels with load times in between them so once you’re
finished with your main objective you move on to the next short level with yet
another objective to complete. The main objectives are fairly simple and easy to
complete. In one level, you’re asked to get past McSquizzy, a surly Scottish
squirrel who orders a team of squirrels to hurl acorns at you. In another level,
you are asked to find a skunk’s kids as well as some grubs to feed the hungry
pack of kids. The majority of the game is going on a series of fetch quests. In
fact, the opening dream sequence level has Boog trying to catch his favorite
teddy. While there are short side quests scattered throughout the game, the lack
of diversity in this game will bore even the youngest gamer. You can’t expect
gamers to go hunt down items throughout the whole game without adding new or
different gameplay elements.
While there are
some challenges tossed at players and open season hunters that make their
appearance later in the game, Open Season is a fairly easy game. When a
hunter is about, Boog can go into a Hide and Sneak mode where Boog comically
attempts to sneak past a hunter without being spotted. He can even use a
hunter’s trap against them. Really, there is nothing here that will make stump
gamers young or old so if you’re looking for a deeply challenging game you’ll be
greatly disappointed.
The good news is
that there are seven mini-game challenges you can play apart from the game’s
main story mode and you can even play them with up to three friends. The
mini-games, while not completely innovative, are fun distractions worth playing.
There’s Rabbits Everywhere, a game where you have to grab as many rabbits as
possible and toss them into a burrow. Then there’s Flowers for my Deer where you
have to collect flowers of corresponding colors you must give different female
deer. The real fun game mode comes in the form of Log Challenge (jump from log
to log trying to unbalance the other player).
Visually
speaking, Open Season manages to bring the movie’s characters to life and
it does so excellently. Boog’s fur actually stands out nicely throughout the
game and not just in the various animated cutscenes. Speaking of cutscenes, they
run as smoothly as watching an animated feature. The big letdown, however, comes
in the form of the backgrounds that occasionally matches the backgrounds in the
movie but then again you’ll find the forest isn’t as nicely rendered as the
game’s characters. It’s not bad, really, but it could have been better on the
Xbox.
The game’s sound
fairs a bit worse, mainly because Boog and Eliot aren’t voiced by the movie’s
actors that give both animals their proper personalities. The voice talent for
Eliot does do a good job of delivering his lines a lot like Ashton Kutcher does
(and to tell you the truth, I don’t know if that’s a good thing). As for the
rest of the voice cast, they manage to do a good job. Even the soundtrack is
likeable and the good thing is that it plays throughout the game without getting
old. Unfortunately, the sound effects aren’t as nicely detailed as the character
models. At best, they’re decent but it’s missing that animated movie touch.
Open Season
fails to
capture the fun and adventure seen on the big screen and offers a simplistic
platform game that becomes boring way too quickly. Even for the game’s target
audience the game will get too repetitive and the novelty of playing a big
loveable bear just isn’t enough to save the game from its stale gameplay. While
the multiplayer mode and the tons of collectibles will keep fans busy, there
isn’t much here to warrant the purchase price. Rent this one if you liked the
movie but if you absolutely want a good game version of Open Season, I
suggest you buy far superior Nintendo DS version instead.
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Gameplay: 6.0
It’s a good
story that makes for a good animated movie but most of what is presented here
falls a bit flat thanks to the boring fetch quests. Boog and Eliot do go through
some fun moments but kids will find the constant load times and the backtracking
boring really quickly. Well, at least Boog controls nicely on the Xbox and he
has enough moves to set him apart from Eliot.
Graphics: 7.0
While not as
gorgeous as Conker’s amazing fur, Boog’s bear hide looks great on the Xbox. In
fact, the game does manage to capture the look of each of the characters from
the movie, although the environments aren’t as beautifully detailed. At least
the animation runs smoothly during the cutscenes.
Sound: 6.5
The voice
acting lacks the talents of the film’s main characters, although the voice
talent for Eliot the deer comes dangerously close to mimicking Ashton Kutcher’s
goofy delivery. The game’s soundtrack is actually very good but it doesn’t make
up for a lack of good sound effects.
Difficulty:
Easy
Open Season
is a fairly
easy game even for the younger gamers in your family. There are challenges
tossed at you and some of them are even timed but you get enough time to
complete them and you can always restart a challenge you happen to fail.
Concept: 6.0
Boog is a fun
character who possesses enough skills to make him a worthwhile character to play
but sadly the majority of the time he is forced to fetch items just to move on
to the next level. There are mini-game challenges and you can share them with a
group of friends. You can even unlock an art gallery.
Multiplayer:
6.5
Let’s face it,
with an ensemble of cute characters and a fun premise like this it’s great to
find a multiplayer mode you can share with up to four friends. There are seven
mini-games and good portions of them are actually fun to play like the memory
game or the Log Challenge.
Overall: 6.0
Not as fun as
it could have been considering the film’s fun subject matter, Open Season
is a rather dull and repetitive platform game with not much going for it. It’s
great to take control of the movie’s characters but gamers of all ages will find
the countless fetch quests way too tiresome way too quickly. Sorry, Ubisoft, but
this isn’t the Xbox platform game worth our time or money.
