| Introduction
I'm obviously hardly the demographic that Acclaim
intended to reach with their latest Mary-Kate And Ashley
title and as a result, it was obvious I needed assistance.
Now, you may recall I have a niece who is expert in
all things Barbie and luckily for me her sister is a
bit of a Mary-Kate and Ashley fan.
For those who don't know, the Olsen twins are something
of a media phenomenon whose parents/managers wisely
copyrighted their image some time ago. This has led
to their names and faces being attached to almost every
product under the sun from cartoons and toys to clothing
and of course video games.
GamePlay
Although the 'Adventure' section is the main part
of the game I'd recommend that most gamers try out the
'Arcade Mode' first, where you can practice your skills
and which, to be honest, is far more entertaining.
The 'Adventure' section consists of simply driving
round your neighborhood from A to B and back to A again,
picking up passengers. Successfully completing these
chores gains points that can be spent on a number of
upgrades that allegedly enhance your car, though you're
unlikely to see any real difference in the overall game
play. Drive around for long enough and you'll be interrupted
by one of the handful of arcade games, complete it and
it's back to the driving. It can be rather tough though
as four minor offences (bumping into another car, driving
on the wrong side of the road, etc) means your newly
acquired license is revoked and it's back to the beginning.
The other side of the game is the 'Arcade Mode',
where you get to choose a handful of mini-games via
a menu system. First up is the 'Trivia Quiz', which
challenges you to answer five multiple-choice driving-related
questions. The problem here is that European gamers
will find that the North American bias means that some
of the questions are impossible to answer.
'ATV Park Clean Up' is a simple race around an area
picking trash up against a timer and while it no doubt
encourages players to consider their environment, it's
not much fun to play. Other sections here are a lot
like the main 'Adventure' except you'll be challenged
to deliver election leaflets or items in an allotted
time.
Finally. there are the 'ATV' and 'Jet Ski' sections,
which are straight racers. I have to say that we felt
short changed here, as these are identical in every
respect except for the graphics.
Controls
The control is one of the marginally stronger aspects
of this game but it's by no means the most complicated
system you'll ever encounter as most of the title involves
simply driving around suburbia. Up, down, left, right,
gas and brake. It really is that simple and after some
ten minutes of driving around picking up people and
carrying out chores, it also gets a little tedious.
Some of the controls in the mini-games can be a little
frustrating too and you'll no doubt be cursing your
ATV because of its limited turning circle and habit
of bouncing off objects it's nowhere near. It should
be noted that the collision detection is not particularly
sophisticated, so it is very advisable to give everything
a wide berth if you want to retain that nice shiny license.
Graphics
Visually the game is a little disappointing and even
my niece commented on the rather simplistic graphics.
Everything in the main game is viewed from an isometric
perspective that, although it gives you a reasonably
clear view of your immediate area, you can't help feeling
is all a little flat and lifeless, especially for a
supposedly populated neighborhood.
The animation isn't really up to scratch either and
even though it only really involves a variety of cars
driving around roads, for most of the game they appear
to neither move realistically nor in a pleasing cartoon
like fashion. All this is held together by some rather
uninspiring menu systems and the likenesses of the Olsens
have clearly been borrowed from the animated TV series
making them appear a little strange to say the least.
Sound & Music
The audio is as mediocre as the visuals. There are
some nice touches though. Pressing the shoulder buttons
as you’re driving around allows you to change the song
on your radio but I really can't imagine a teenager
or even pre-teen actually listening to this let alone
enjoying the style of music. There are also some voice
samples but they have been captured at such a low rate
it's hard to even make out what they're saying let alone
who's actually speaking. Headphones NOT required.
Final Comments
Before you snarl at the reasonably high mark that
this game has received (i.e. greater than a 1) please
bear in mind that this is from a seven year old Mary-Kate
And Ashley fan's perspective i.e. there's little here
for all you Metroid Fusion fans.
We did actually agree on the game's good and bad
points but I have to say that overall, neither of us
were that impressed. This is mostly due to the bland
repetitive game play, which is inexcusable in any title
aimed at a younger audience. The developers have tried
to address this with the 'arcade' section allowing for
a wider choice of game play options but the mini-games
themselves have been constructed with very little design
or care leading to game play that is more frustrating
than entertaining.
Overall even if you are a fan of the Olsen twins
this is a definitely 'try before you buy' title and
as far as entertainment value goes, 'Barbie Secret Agent'
is probably a safer bet.
|
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