Whiplash – PS2 – Review

It’s taken some time, but
humor is slowly worming its way into video games.  Usually it’s thrown in on
the side, or is there by default (as was the case with SpongeBob SquarePants:
Battle for Bikini Bottom).  A few games have been promoted as being
full-fledged comedies, but the writing has yet to match the quality of film or
TV.

Eidos hoped to
change that with Whiplash.  Whiplash is a kooky, funny adventure that will
garner at least a smirk from the opening sequence alone.  It’s not totally
kid-friendly; the humor is geared more towards the early teen to adult age
group.  Now I’m not saying that kids shouldn’t play this, but they do make
light of frying animals (in the literal sense) and the whole game is filled
with destruction.  On the other hand, there’s not any blood or gore, so if
your kids are mature enough to handle cartoon violence, they shouldn’t be
restricted from playing this game.

The destructive element
is my favorite part.  Computers and other electronic equipment are everywhere
in the game.  Some is used to lock up animals, lock doors and create other
barriers that must be broken, but for the most part you’ll encounter equipment
that does absolutely nothing.  Why would you want to destroy it then?  Because
it’s fun!  That, and because you gain points from doing it.  You never really
know what you could retrieve from a machine unless you wreck it.

How you wreck it is where
most of the cartoon violence comes in.  Whiplash stars a weasel (Spanx) and a
rabbit (Redmond).  In a fashion similar to Abe’s Oddysee, they’re being held
captive by an evil corporation.  The corporation doesn’t want their "juice"
though; it wants their bodies for experiments.  The two animals are chained
together, creating a number of amusing joint attacks.  Spanx is the commander,
so it’s Redmond who ends up getting thrown around as if he were a ball
attached to the chain.  Pre-release details were scarce as to why the two
characters are chained together in the first place, but the game’s intro movie
explains the reason for it.

After whipping Redmond
around for a while, you’ll notice that pressing the attack button no longer
changes the attack formation.  The standard tap-tap-tap combos are temporarily
eliminated.  Redmond currently goes berserk, flying up and down, destroying
everything in his path.  The only thing that keeps him in place is the fact
that he’s chained to Spanx.  Redmond can wreck machinery and defeat enemies
faster when he’s berserking.

Whiplash will likely be
perceived as an action/adventure, but the gameplay involves more
enemy-fighting than item-collecting.  I wouldn’t call it a beat-’em-up, but it
feels like it’s moving in that direction when you start pummeling.  None of
the enemies are particularly difficult by themselves, but in large numbers the
flamethrower-toting Hazmats can be a bit of a pain.  The security guards’
strength also depends on their numbers, though I never felt overwhelmed,
regardless of how many were attacking.  Downed enemies can be hit continually
for fun and to retrieve points and health items.  They’ll stop dropping things
after about three or four items have fallen out, indicating it’s time to move
onto your next victim.  But until that happens it gives you a reason to stick
around and really stick it to those unconscious foes.  Does anyone actually
die in this game?  It doesn’t appear that way.  So while it is violent, it’s
done in a very fictional way.

While the idea is fresh,
the levels are a little generic.  They’re not the kind you usually see in an
action/adventure, but they won’t be unfamiliar to any gamer who plays
first-person shooters.  You’re trying to break out of a lab/factory-type
place, so the game mostly consists of dark, less exciting areas.  Hallways
seem to repeat themselves, and no matter how many rooms you visit they never
seem to change that much.  There is of course more than a lab to explore, but
several of the areas within each level repeat themselves.

Whiplash is one of those
"try it and see" kinds of games.  Most gamers won’t be dying to run out and
buy it.  The screenshots might encourage you to do that, but after playing it
for a while you might think otherwise.  It’s fun but it’s short-lived.  You
should be certain that you know what you’re getting yourself into before
shelling out the full price for it.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7
It’s all about
the button-tapping.  Fighting fans call this "mashing," though I wouldn’t
falsely label this game as a button-masher.  Sixty to seventy percent of
Whiplash involves attacking enemies and destroying their property.  The other
thirty percent is all about exploring and trying to figure out what to do next
(hey look, there’s a locked door and a switch over there.  I wonder what might
happen if I push it?).  It’s not an intelligent game by any means.  But for
some reason or other I enjoyed it.  I wouldn’t tell the world to go out and
buy it, but if you’re curious, try it out at Game Bust or Game Crazy.

Graphics: 6
Whiplash’s
graphics are a bit drab.  They’re somewhat grainy and lack the colorfulness of
other PS2 titles.

Sound: 6
The voices are a
little annoying, but their dialogue is humorous enough to make up for that.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Frustration
occurs more frequently than a real challenge, but it isn’t a very difficult
game to conquer.

Concept: 6.9
I like the idea
of games that have a comedic story instead of being serious or just plain
stupid.  At this point though video games are still far behind the movie
industry.  Whiplash is funny, but it has more to do with on-screen actions
than the dialogue.  The whole game will make you laugh, but it isn’t the
comedy-fest I was hoping for.

As far as the gameplay
goes, you’ve experienced it before in many other titles.

Overall: 7
Do you hate
kiddie cartoons?  Would you like to see a bunny fry?  If so, then Whiplash
might just be the game for you.  It doesn’t have depth or any mind-blowing
mechanics, but the destroy-everything-in-sight gameplay is more rewarding than
you’d expect.  The story is humorous, but not to the point where I’d recommend
that you buy the game for it alone.  You’ll laugh but you won’t be rolling on
the floor for hours, unless this is the kind of thing that does that to you.

This is one of the
cheaper games available (the MSRP is $40), but I’d suggest that most gamers
rent this title and see how much fun they can extract from that five-day
period.  After that the only thing standing between you and total abandonment
is replay value, which depends on how much you enjoyed the experience the
first time around.