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Developer: Buena Vista Games
Publisher: Buena Vista Games
Genre: Platform
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 09 Nov 05
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- The cartoon might be a hit with the younger crowd, but the game disappoints with its unresponsive controls and lackluster action.
Overview
You know I have always believed that games based off of children's TV shows have had much better success on the handheld markets. The reason for this is because these games are much more simplistic, which mean simple ideas can go much further than on the bigger screens. So today we are going to check out Kim Possible: Kimmunicator for the Nintendo DS, which tries to make this Disney Channel show come alive on the dual screen. So were they successful in doing so? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
I have to say that going into Kimmunicator I really wasn't overly sure what to expect from this game. I had never played any of the previous Kim Possible video games, but had watched a few episodes of the show and found the show entertaining. So I was hoping Kimmunicator could kind of keep that same entertaining feel to this DS game.
This game is literally exactly how I was planning on this game to feel, with just a very typical action platforming experience that most of these games seem to be. You will find that while playing as Kim you will be jumping from ledge to ledge taking out bad guys as you go. The game puts gadgets as something to have fun with through the game, as of course Kim is a secret agent spy sort of character. So you can expect to use many different types of gadgets to help your adventure. This does help to make things varied throughout the experience, but I will let you know why this isn't as great as it sounds later on.
One of the big problems I had with Kimmunicator is actually the controls, which are nowhere near as responsive as many would hope. You would expect a game that has such simple premise to be a little bit more eventful as well, but unfortunately the only neat thing happening in this game are the gadget. Even them you only have a limited selection to play with. I hate to say this, but Kimmunicator just felt throughout my experience like a very limited, rushed, and uneventful experience that's potential heavily outweighed its final results.
The gameplay of Kimmunicator is just a very disappointing experience if you can't already tell. I know I have hit on this already, but just the feel of this game is very irritating and very disappointing. There was just nothing engaging about this game. Nothing that fans of the TV series are going to be like "wow I am so excited to finally be able to play as Kim". This is just one of those games that unfortunately just weren't developed to its full potential.
Graphics
Visually Kimmunicator really doesn't manage to bring anything together. In some areas the game shines pretty nicely, while faltering in the rest of the visual aspects. The actual character models in the game are probably the games finest point where you see a very slick looking Kim who actually was created in a nice fashion. On the other side of the spectrum, you have the environments which all tend to look the same. The biggest graphical problem that Kimmunicator faces is the animation, which brings not only the visuals down but also made the gameplay less exciting as well. In the end, the graphical quality of this game is just miles away from what it's capable of.
Fun Factor
It is hard because you see a cartoon that is fun to watch and has a good lineup of characters, but you have a game here that somehow fails to use any of this to its own benefit. The end result of Kimmunicator is a lacking experience both in the gameplay department and the graphical. The game just feels rushed with spotty action and much too repetitive. Sure there were some areas of the game that had some potential, but in this game I was just left feeling like that can only be better days for this gaming series.
Overall
Kim Possible: Kimmunicator wasn't the worst game of 2005, but it was a game that I would consider disappointing, uneventful, and unfortunately not very well developed. Even if you have young ones who find themselves wanting this game, try and stray them away and find some of the other DS games to entertain them. Unfortunately this game seems more like one that will probably stay in its case more often than not.
- Gameplay
5.0 - Graphics
5.0 - Fun Factor
5.0 - Overall
5.0
