| Introduction
We've already seen the movie tie-in version of Jimmy
Neutron, which we reviewed some months ago, and the
game wasn't actually that bad even though it fell into
the formulaic platformer trap. Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy
Negatron is Nickelodeon's attempt to build (or milk)
the franchise even further by producing an alternative
story line which catapults Jimmy into another dimension,
only to be replaced by the evil Jimmy Negatron. Confused?
You should be, but let's face it--when was the plot
ever really important to a movie tie-in platformer?
GamePlay
Your first challenge is to decide whom to play--Jimmy
or his Robot Dog--and then it's pretty much straight
into the game. Everything begins on a quiet day in Jimmy's
hometown, where it's up to you to explore and chat with
the local residents to find clues and information about
what's going on.
After you've exhausted this, a quick trip in the
waiting time machine will take you to one of your first
three challenges. Much of the town is closed off until
you complete certain things and while this is a little
frustrating, there's still plenty to do.
The challenges are where the whole game starts to
become unstuck, because not only are they incredibly
unrewarding, but they lack imagination as well. Most
involve jumping from platform to platform and collecting
items in order to 'fix' the current area.
Problems arise when a single enemy hits you, sapping
not only your energy but also transporting you to a
seemingly random point in your current environment.
Annoyingly, this can actually put you in greater danger
if you're placed in water or lava, or even on top of
another enemy. It's hard to fathom exactly why the designers
would choose to do this rather than making the game
challenging--it simply makes it frustrating.
What this title does deliver is value for money,
as Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron is much larger than
most other similar games I've played recently. This
is further extended by the inclusion of a number of
multi-player options, although the first of these (a
coin collecting game) is very similar to one that's
featured in Jimmy's last outing.
In addition, you're also treated to an 'Asteroids'
clone and a Shepherding-type affair. None of them are
outstanding, but it all adds extra value to the overall
package. Finally, the password system is another confusing
and drawn out process. It's mystifying that developers
continue to implement these types of features for titles
aimed at children, not to mention that these are supposed
to be portable games.
Controls
This is where you suddenly realize that this game
looks a lot better than it plays, as the controls are
some of the most awkward and frustrating we've encountered.
The problem is that your main character simply doesn't
possess the range of moves that you require to fully
enjoy this game, so you'll regularly try and perform
a task with little success. This is all linked to the
camera angles, and if you had just had a little more
freedom with its positioning, this would have been a
far more satisfying gaming experience.
Graphics
Visually, this title is a real surprise with its
original use of a 'Mode 7' engine. The whole Jimmy Neutron
world is now available for you to fully interact with
(up to the edges anyway), giving a real sense of gaming
freedom. The various objects have also been rendered
in full 3D, making for some interesting environments.
The problem is that the developers seem to have spent
more time on developing the technology than actually
designing the landscapes, and the result is uninspiring
environments with little to interact with. A bold experiment
fallen considerably short of the mark.
Sound & Music
While the soundtrack isn't bad, it's by no means
outstanding, though the actual theme seems to suit the
gameplay perfectly. The sound effects, on the other
hand, are far more basic and all appear to be from a
stock Spectrum 48K library. The real shame here is the
absence of any samples from the TV series, which would
have been easy to implement and helped the audio aspects
enormously, but instead is another missed opportunity.
Final Comments
Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron deserves everyone's
attention simply because of its unique use of the 'Mode
7' engine. The problem is that this seems to be where
the lions' share of the design process went, so while
this title looks incredible, it simply isn't that much
fun to play.
If this was limited to a single gaming aspect, we
could probably let it pass--but JN vs. JN appears to
have issues with everything, from collision detection
and camera angles, to level design and general playability.
This really should have been a great game, but unfortunately
our initial excitement was soon dampened by frustrating
and unrewarding gameplay. One for Jimmy Neutron fans
only.
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