Not since
Banjo and Kazooie has there been a pair of characters as interesting as Tak
and Lok. In The Great Juju Challenge, their latest surreal adventure, the two
heroes must work together in unique and entertaining ways. Sound familiar? The
gameplay premise sounds like the other guys, I know. But this isn’t the
other guys. It’s Tak and Lok’s adventure, taking place in a weird fantasy
world that’ll gain numerous "ooooohs!" and "ahhhhhs!" from kids everywhere.
To bring you
up to speed, Tak has been the star of the game since the start of the first
game; Lok was a later addition. Tak is short and fast; Lok is bigger and
stronger, but consequently slower. Together you have a grand combination of
enemy-busting attacks and team moves (Lok can carry Tak to safety, then toss
him over his shoulder to reach new platforms). Each character is fully
controllable and may be accessed at any time (almost) by pressing the
character switch button, which is R2 in this version. It could be C-3PO* in
another version, but I really couldn’t tell you at this point.
Tak’s
journey is less gloomy this time around, concentrating on the idea of winning
The Great Juju Challenge. Missions are timed, though you may continue (albeit
with less of a reward) after the time runs out. Levels are puzzling but linear
– it’s very much a game of get from point A to point B.
Come ‘on, can’t we just
skip all day?
The good
news is that getting from one letter of the alphabet to the next is not as
easy as jumping on a few platforms. Level objectives change frequently, and if
you’re like me you’ll want to skip most of the animated sequences interwoven
into each of the levels. Those sequences, as annoying as they may be, reveal a
lot of the hints that players will need to get through the game’s hardships.
Choose not to view them and you’ll end up scratching your head for a bit.
(Which might make you consider switching shampoos, but please don’t. It’s just
the game. Your scalp is fine.)
Part of the
fun for me was solving these puzzles without having any clue as to what as I
was doing. On the easy side of the spectrum are the obvious puzzles that
include icon-matching sequences (press the button as soon as its icon
appears). A slightly less obvious puzzle put me in a scenario with deadly
plants and two rhinoceroses. One was small and crying (you’d think it was a
baby or something! Oh, wait a minute…), the other was big, too heavy to
lift, and wouldn’t wake up if its life depended on it.
As it turned
out, however, it would wake up if the life of its young depended on it.
Solution: carry the baby rhinoceros over to the mother, wait for the mom to
wake up, then hop on her back and plow through the Tak-shredding plants. Very
Donkey Kong Country, wouldn’t you say?
"Are you sure it’s this way?"
"Yes I’m sure!"
"Then why does that sign say ‘Dead End’?"
"Uhh…ignore that! We’ll find our way!"
Tak’s
controls haven’t gotten the massive tweaks that other high-profile
action/adventures get, though I suspect that has to do with them already being
at a high-quality level. They’re a little stiffer than Jak, Ratchet and Sly
(the "Big Three"), but it’s only noticeable when you combine a jump movement
with an attack, or when you try to move the camera while walking or running.
This game doesn’t really want you to do that. With the camera it’s not at all
possible! You can spin the camera whenever you want as long as the level was
designed to allow for that, but the up and down movement may only be adjusted
while stationary. It’s weird, and feels somewhat unnatural, but it doesn’t
detract much from the overall experience.
As for the
areas where the camera cannot be moved, The Great Juju Challenge has stages
that place the camera in what it thinks is the optimal position. Whether it is
or isn’t the best position for gameplay, it is always the most dramatic and
interesting effect for the scenario. (Art versus function? Tough call.) In one
of the first where this occurs, the screen is split and Tak and Lok are
separated. Players must either team up with a friend or switch between Tak and
Lok to reunite the characters at the end. The view is above isometric, almost
to the point where it’s a top-down view. These stages have the most linear
paths of all, so it’s not like you needed the camera to be moved, it’s just a
matter of preference.
To get
through this stage Tak must jump on switches on unlock doors or lift platforms
near Lok. Lok, noticing the change in his location, may use that to get deeper
into the stage. By the time he reaches a dead end he will have crossed at
least one switch that needs to be pressed. Now it’s time to switch back to Tak.
On the
surface that’s a pretty basic puzzle, but they throw in several twists and
unusual ideas that’ll make you stop and think, if only for a brief moment.
Even at this
day and age, split-screen gameplay is still useful.
This is not
a game for Einstein, but there are many gamers who will get a kick out of it,
even if they’re long past the age of watching Nickelodeon. What counts most is
how much gameplay is baked in the center, and how much of that center is warm
and delicious. The Great Juju Challenge will leave you wanting a second
helping, but when the plate is full and you’re chowing down, you’ll be glad to
be stuffing your face with it.
*Yes gamers,
that was a joke 🙂
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Gameplay: 8.0
Full-throttle
action/adventuring from a linear perspective. I can practically see the flag
rising over the castle (you know, the one Princess Peach is not in).
Tak is like the original Mario games in that it’s less open-ended than
modern-day action/adventures. It does, however, have a greater amount of
versatility than most linear adventures (Crash Bandicoot, for example), and
the execution of two useful, important characters is extremely pleasing.
Graphics: 8.0
The Great Juju
Challenge has all the bells and whistles that make a PlayStation 2 game a
PlayStation 2 game. Look for leaves, trees, branches, etc., and interact with
them whenever you can. The animation is superb, as are the story sequences.
They’ll fool most into thinking they’re real-time. Who knows? They could be.
But they take the player out of the game and away from the action; they load
separately; and appear to have been tweaked over the in-game engine. Either
way it’s a noteworthy visual.
Sound: 8.7
Voice-overs from
the pros who worked on the previous games (I can’t confirm that, but what’s
the difference if I’m wrong? They sound the same). The music at times has a
fantasy, almost mystical sound, proving to be much more effective than the
standard kiddie compositions. This is the best Tak soundtrack to date.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Not the hardest
tool in the shed, or the sharpest one for that matter. The Great Juju
Challenge is great fun for kids, and will be very entertaining for anyone else
who will let themselves enjoy it. The challenge, however, isn’t always that
great.
Concept: 7.5
The Great Juju
Challenge is the third installment in the Tak series, so it can’t get off as
easily as it would have as a brand-new franchise. It’s a really good game that
the fans will love – but does it take us to a far-off place that the previous
titles could not reach? I think we’ll have to wait for Tak’s first PlayStation
3 adventure to see that happen.
Multiplayer: 7.7
Co-op multiplayer
where you have to cooperate!? That might be a bit much for kids to handle. I
suppose a parent might be more convincing. So “Dad,” if you can get Timmy to
cooperate you’ll have a good time, but wish there was a way for each of you to
have an equal amount of fun at all times during the game.
Overall: 7.9
More fun than you
can shake a Juju at. Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is a shorter, linear-style
action/adventure, but its varied gameplay makes it a clear-cut winner. Tak
fans are going to be thrilled with everything but the length – the younger
crowd probably won’t be bothered by it that at all. The challenge isn’t high
enough, but am I their target market? Hardly. I’m just one of the lucky few
who said, “Forget the kiddie facade, let’s see what this game is really made
of.” Simply put, it’s made of some really good stuff.
