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Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Genre: Adventure
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 01 Feb 06
User Rating
7 (1 vote) -
- The delightfully cute children's tale gets a movie, and naturally a video game too. Pity it's not that good and will bore the younger gamers away in no time.
Overview
Wow I really was surprised that there was a movie based upon the childhood character of Curious George. What was once a cutesy fairytale book now became a major animated movie, and with that also a video game. I knew right when I heard there was a Curious George movie a game was going to have to follow it and Namco confirmed that right out of the gate. So the big question is can the game be as successful as the movie? You will have to read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
The game is based on the Curious George animated movie, so if you've already watched it, you'd know what to expect. Having said that, the game only features a pretty stripped down accounts of the movie's story, and does a poor job at that. The story is told in very simple and uneventful animations that do a nice enough job of going along with the same feel as the movie.
The gameplay in Curious George is definitely aimed towards our younger gamers, but there are things about the game that hold it back from even being an entertaining game for the younger crowds. You obviously play as George in a very simple and easy to play (most of the time) platforming adventure, where you will be looking for items or collecting other things. The game just borrows a lot from other children's games, and nothing ever feels very original in the game.
The developers of Curious George did try to make sure the user wasn't doing the same thing over and over again by offering up some very simple mini games to try and mix things up. The only problem is that even kids are going to realize that the mini games are just not overly entertaining, and that they just make the game even less interesting then had they not been in the game. I say this because the games are so tediously boring and we have seen them done so much better so many times before, that even the young ones are going to be bored of these things very quickly.
In the end there is really not a whole lot about Curious George that I would say was just stand out entertaining. When I look at the experience of this game there are a few faults that really plague the game, which starts out with its length, which can be easily completed even by a young one in a matter of hours. Also the game just doesn't have anything interesting going on it. The story in the game is uninspired and lacks depth, the gameplay is not overly eventful, and unfortunately the mechanics just aren't anything to write home about.
Graphics
Visually, I have to say that I was a fan of the style used in the movie and in the game. The cel shading technique that the developers put into the game was just beautiful from top to bottom, as the game just has a lot of great uses of this style and makes the game very kid friendly. The environments are pretty well designed, and the overall presentation of Curious George is definitely a positive one.
Fun Factor
I have to say that you would think a game based off such a sweet and entertaining movie would turn into at least a semi-entertaining game. I can see that the game had potential in all areas, but unfortunately none of this actually turned out all that great in the final results. When you have a game like Curious George, you don't have to try and stand out all that much. But you have to at least try and make the game enjoyable, and I just never got the feeling throughout the game that this was a primary focus. Like I mentioned before, the game is very short, and that is telling you that the developers literally either ran out of ideas or time.
Overall
When I look back at my quick experience with Curious George I see a game that would be a tough one to recommend even to the strongest of fans for the game. I say this because Curious George on paper could have easily been a great children's game but it seems like the developers fell into a problem that many developers fall into when developing a game based off a children's movie and that is under develop. In the end unless you have a kid who can't live without this game, you will have many other places that will better suit your hard earned cash.
- Gameplay
5.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
5.0 - Overall
5.0
