Over the past few months, there have been some rumblings about a mystery superhero project being developed by Activision (or Activision Blizzard or whatever the Vivendi-owned juggernaut is calling itself these days) in the Marvel universe. There’s been some crazy speculation about what the title could be (with the safe bet seeming to be Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, but hey – it could be Millie the Model or a US1 driving game), but tomorrow, Activision will finally make a formal announcement. Expect word around 10:00 am PST, and look for expanded coverage from Snackbar next week after I hook up with the Activision crew in New York City.
April 2008
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a game based on a movie based on a five-novel children’s fantasy series in which 3 kids discover a journal from a deceased relative that reveals the secrets to discovering the fantastic around us (goblins and fairies, etc.). Unlike the movie and perhaps the books, the game is best reserved for kids only. If your child is twelve or under, it’s okay to buy this game or rent it. If not, I recommend against it.
The game generally follows the movie, but that’s not a big deal as the movie cuts out much from the books. Cinematic cutscenes are included between levels. The most important question about this game is whether or not it captures the movie’s essence, and it basically does. The only exception is the voice acting by Freddie Highmore, who unfortunately plays the most frequently played character, Jared. He delivers in a deadpan voice: “A microwave is better.” “I’m not hungry right now.” “Better not wake mom up.” Still, the music and ambiance are appropriate and highly in character, though the chimes and xylophone may start to grate on your nerves.
The levels vary. The first one has slight RPG elements where Jared must discover the tiny character Thimbletack by figuring out what to do next. It’s not very hard; he discovers plaster and says “maybe I could break it with an object such as a broom.” Then, you must go and find a broom. And then break in the plaster. The Spiderwick Chronicles is filled with numerous such hand-holding mechanics. Other levels feature easy platforming and puzzles with obvious solutions. You even get a “quest book” that tells you exactly what to do next–ingenuity is not required here. You also get to play Thimbletack in some terrible levels that involved repeated rhymes by the Thimble-meister as he runs on boards and throws needles at cockroaches. The gameplay and the tacky level boundaries here are the quality of a bad Super Nintendo game. The combat in the other levels is simple jumping, whacking, shooting, and power-upping, but the mechanics and animations work better–more like a low-quality PS2 game.
Other presentational crimes include: The flowing leaves in the load screen. The captured fairies, who look like demons out of a Japanese RPG. Every single time you capture a fairy you must “paint” away some white to reveal the fairy on a card, not unlike scratching a lottery ticket. And every single powerup in this game is a fairy. Finally, with every single paint stroke (and you will be doing a lot of these), a synthesized flute toots a flowery, obnoxious chord.
There is nothing unpredictable here: the movie/book game is faithful to the presentation of the movie, but not so much to basic principles of good game design and presentation. If any kids want it, they should be fine with it–however, replay value is low and an unlockable minigame is the only available multiplayer mode, so be prepared for them to move on from it within a month.
For the rest of you: if you appreciate video games at any level, or are even allowed to play T-rated ones, skip The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Iridium Runners
PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by
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Iridium Runners has two things working against it right out of the gate. First, it’s a PS2 game. It takes a big, impressive title to make people consider stepping back a console generation and picking up a bargain bin game. Second, Iridium Runners is a piece of new intellectual property in a genre dominated by Nintendo’s Mario Kart: the arcade racer.
Iridium Runners doesn’t throw too many curve balls at you. There are multiple characters whose stats differ, and some characters are better suited to certain tracks than others. There are power-ups to be grabbed and launched at your opponents. Lastly, Iridium Runners features the standard laundry list of game modes that any kart racer has: single race, career, collect stuff on the track, elimination, and split-screen multiplayer.
Where Iridium Runners carves out a niche of its own though is its light platforming and mandatory iridium collection. Contestants need iridium to enable boost, but that’s not all it is used for. Iridium is also drained by the simple process of running so laps around IR’s tracks are an amalgamation of Mario Kart’s “shoot, drive, and slide your way across the line” and Gauntlet‘s “collect food if you want to live” gameplay concepts. Setting itself apart from the pack even further racers in Iridium Runners don’t have go-karts, bicycles, or futuristic cars to race around in; they’re all running around on foot. It’s just like gym class when you were a kid – except for the missiles, shields, pits, futuristic setting, and acceptability of punching an opponent to make him fall in one of the aforementioned pits. Most arcade racers feature weapons, but not since Road Rash and Bully have I been able to punch the jerk next to me as retaliation for trying to run me off the track.
Where Iridium Runners really shines though is the multiplayer. Sure, it’s funny to throw a blue shell up Bowser’s tail pipe and fly from fourth to first in a matter of seconds in Mario Kart, but the payoff of melee attacks combined with the risk of being in close proximity to fellow racers makes the combat in Iridium Runners different and refreshing. If you’ve got a multitap IR supports up to four players, and you’re missing out on the best part of the game if you’re playing alone.
Iridium Runners is great for what it is: a budget-priced racer on an aging console. If you’ve got a spare $15 and want a new game in your local versus rotation then Iridium Runners is a solid choice.
Nintendo sent word this morning that the Mario Kart Wii Driving School Tour would be headed to Houston’s International Festival on April 26th and 27th.
Mario Kart Wii will be on store shelves on April 27th.
