Game Review Data
 


Game Title

Rugrats - Castle Capers
Publisher
THQ
Features
1 Player. Password Save.
Format
Platform
Reviewer
Andrew Blanchard


RATING

Playable!


Ratings Scale:

Excellent!

Good!

Playable!

Ho-Hum!

Yuck!


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Introduction

Rugrats is arguably the series that launched Klasky Csupo into the main stream and their range of programs now dominate the Nickelodeon TV Networks. After a short period of producing "The Simpsons", the animation company developed its own unique style with "Rocket Power", "Wild Thornberrys" and many others joining the strange series from a child's point of view. Although this is the first Rugrats outing on the GBA, it's not on the Gameboy Color and while some of these titles have been great fun to play others were not as well received and a little simplistic. So, here we have Castle Capers and it will be interesting to see if THQ have learnt from previous gameplay errors or simply knocked out yet another cartoon license wrapped around a platformer.

Screen Shots

GamePlay

As with all things Rugrats the plot revolves around a fantastic story with a large adventure element even though they never leave the safety of their own home. It's all in the imagination see? Here we have Tommy and friends at odds with Angelica who, as usual, wants to rule the household and generally boss everyone else around. The game is set in a huge play set located in the backyard complete with various themed areas including an Ice Castle, a Beanstalk and inside a clock. Angelica has appointed herself queen of this new land but the others want no part of it. As a result, and in keeping with Angelica's personality, she's hidden some of the babies' belongings in the various worlds and it's your job to help find them.

Every area plays out pretty much the same and after you have chosen a character, you'll be catapulted into the play set and you can select the type of adventure you want. All of these are platform based except for 'Ali Baby and the 40 Fleas' which is a flying carpet challenge. Enter the doorway and you'll be told the level objectives and two other characters you may find on the way. It's always worth seeking out your friends as this not only increases your overall score but is essential for help getting to those out of reach and bonus locations. Bonuses are plentiful but in addition to your 'end of level' item you'll also need to equip your character with enough diapers and missiles to achieve success in any given area.

Before you can locate your hidden object you'll have to battle with Queen Angelica and some of her henchman. This is usually a simple affair consisting of firing your missiles in the general area of Angelica as quickly as possible. One strange and very frustrating aspect of this section of the game is the absence of any enemy power indicator so you will never be entirely sure if you are hitting your target or how much more damage is required before you complete the level. In addition you'll sometimes find your energy spiraling down rapidly without even being aware you're being hit.

Controls

Although this is the usual platform interface and on the whole the characters are very responsive there are some moves which proved a little tricky at first and which may be a bit too complicated for younger players. For instance 'stacking babies', you'll need some practice to perform this action and to dismount before something hits you and depletes your life. Overall though a friendly control system with frustrations kept to a minimum.

Graphics

The GBA can handle graphics of this nature with very little effort and the on-screen visuals are almost identical to those you'll find on the TV series. It's obvious that a great deal of effort has been centered on creating Tommy and friends in fine digital form. Things are, however, a little disappointing on the animation side and whilst this isn't the worst we've seen it's by no means the standard that we have come to expect. Characters should be capable of a little more than gliding around the screen.

Sound & Music

The music accompanies the gameplay perfectly with a mixture of samples and background tunes. The whole experience is kicked off with a wonderful and very clear rendition of the title track from the show and all the levels continue this high standard of audio with their own Rugrats inspired music. In short, all GBA titles should sound this good and, with the hardware on offer, there really is no excuse for them not to.

Final Comments

The first thing I would say is that some sections of Rugrats may be a little tough for the age range they're obviously aiming for while the lack of any real variety will bore the pants off some players. On the plus side there's a lot of terrain and secret areas to cover so platform purists should enjoy this TV series inspired romp at least for a while. It's by no means a classic and if you're on a limited budget have a look at around as there have already been some excellent platformers released for the GBA but for fans of the series this is definitely worth a look.

@ EAGB Advance 2002. All rights reserved.