George of the Jungle (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Like most Europeans I was first introduced to George of the Jungle thanks to a Disney live-action film in the late 1990s. It is, of course, much older than that and the first cartoon series was broadcast across the US during the 1960s produced by the legendary Jay Ward. This game does seem to have dropped out of nowhere but in fact is launched on the back of a new cartoon series along with, no doubt, related merchandise. It's not going to take a great deal of imagination to deduce that this will be an action platformer but is it one of the better kid's titles available?

Gameplay

While there is the odd break to fight off bees, deliver eggs or feed animals, George of the Jungle is technically a platformer with little in the way of surprises. You play George as he swings, jumps and climbs his way through a variety of areas in the jungle. Your only real objective here is to collect enough rocks, eggs or whatever you need to complete the level. This is simply a case of jumping to every corner of the level but you won't need to do a much exploration as the levels simply aren't that large. One thing you have to watch out for is water as George can't swim and it goes without saying that he's not to keen of those 'leaps of faith' that developers pop into games to lengthen the levels and frustrate the gamer. There are also very few continue points so death generally means starting from the beginning, which is another way developer can lengthen the game (starting to see a pattern here?) You will reach some areas that appear impossible to pass, where you must call on one of your jungle friends for help. This is one of the better aspects of the game and it would have been nice to see this feature exploited much more in the game's design. Unfortunately that's it and with no multi player it's also a rather short affair and once you have completed the game there's little incentive to revisit George's world.

Controls

Standard arcade stuff with reasonably good collision detection but it will take some time to get used to George's idea of 'gravity'.

Graphics

Visually the game is a perfect representation of the latest cartoon series and the environments are colorful and will no doubt please younger gamers. The animation isn't bad either with George and the other jungle inhabitants roaming around in a fluid and realistic manor although there re some occasions where the on screen action doesn't always reflect the situation you're in. The cut screens are unfortunately static and, in this case, it would have been nice to add a little FMV just to pad out the overall presentation.

Sound

Actually one of the better aspects of the games overall design. Not only are the various pieces of background music and sound effects perfectly suited to the gameplay, but fans of George will also get the full theme music bolted onto the front end to sing along to.

Dual screen

While the bottom screen has been used, the games on offer here fall far short of what we've come to expect from 'mini-games'. One of them, for example, has you tapping the screen to fend off attacking bees. The first problem with this section is that the stylus doesn't always register on the screen meaning more unwanted attacks and, you guessed it, even more tapping. The shooter sections (which are played over both screens) are better but are too few and not nearly as challenging as they should be.

Final comments

Even taking into consideration that this is aimed at the younger gamer it still falls short of what they should be expecting from a game of this nature. It's far too short; it has incredibly repetitive gameplay, some of which is too difficult whilst other sections are far too easy. In addition the dual screen is poorly used and the mini-games are forgettable at best. There are some good aspects though and the game not only looks but also sounds like the TV series. It's just a shame it's not as much fun to spend time with. A definite 'try before you buy' title.

Pro: Some Nice Audio and Visuals.
Con: Very Short and Can Be Very Difficult.
Final score: 5.5

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