| Introduction
Hot from its recent showing in this year's E3, we
have here the latest in what has been an incredibly
successful franchise for Kemco. In fact, if I remember
correctly, Crazy Castle was one of the first tiles I
played on the GameBoy Color, only on that occasion the
game was fronted by Bugs Bunny, whereas in this version,
it's Woody Woodpecker who takes on the lead role.
GamePlay
Your tasks start out quite simply, the object being
to collect eight keys and then exit through the main
door. This is generally what you're aiming for on most
of the levels. The keys are located in treasure chests
behind closed doors and once you've entered a room the
door remains open, making it easier to see exactly where
you've been and where you've yet to explore. There's
no one pursuing you and absolutely nothing can harm
you but by the second level the opposite seems true.
Early in the game the only thing you're armed with
is your avoidance technique but searching in some rooms
will give you weapons, which will temporarily stun any
one of your many enemies. You'll also uncover some rather
ingenious gadgets to aid you in your quest, such as
a clock to freeze time and the various enemies for about
10 seconds and a helmet that allows you to run into
any unsuspecting foes and knock them off the platform.
It's not all about the single player game though.
The developers have wisely included a multiplayer option
which you'll be pleased to know only requires a single
copy of the game. This is basically a tag game where
you must pursue (or avoid) other players before the
timer runs out and judging from the few bouts I've played,
is actually quite fun. There's also an opportunity to
earn extra points by touching 'Mother Nature' should
she appear, but beware… this is also the place where
the player who is currently 'it' will be hiding.
Saving is done automatically after each level so
there's no nasty 14-digit code to record and then input
again without making a mistake.
Controls
Considering the simple objectives of the game, I
found that the controls were a little complicated and
a little overwhelming at first. The developers were
obviously aware of this fact and as a result, have added
a full tutorial section that guides you through almost
everything you'll encounter in the game. Despite the
complexity though, the controls are responsive, allowing
you to escape some of the enemies rather than confronting
them at the risk of losing some valuable energy. One
other incredibly useful aspect of the controls is the
map feature, which enables you to freeze the screen
and scroll around the whole world thus allowing you
to easily spot doors you haven't yet entered and more
importantly, see how to reach them.
Graphics
Unlike regular platform games, the main character
of Woody and indeed all the various characters in Crazy
Castle 5 are constructed of polygons and not drawn sprites
as you'd expect. This is a result of Tantalus' CRIS
technology, which I must admit, works well to give everything
on screen a greater sense of freedom of movement and
expression. Truth be told, you might not even notice
they're polygons, as they all blend nicely with the
background graphics in the various levels – all of which
are imaginatively designed and constructed. Special
mention must also go to the fully animated intro, which
is a clever blend of comic books and the animated series
and does an excellent job of laying out the game's plot.
Kudos to the developers for the visual polish.
Sound & Music
While the music can best be described as average,
there are some wonderful voice samples of everyone's
favorite Woodpecker doing what he does best. It may
seem obvious that you should add original dialogue in
a game of this nature but you'd be surprised at how
some developers conveniently forget. For example, the
latest Disney game 'Finding Nemo' is completely devoid
of any voice samples, which in my opinion, is a real
letdown.
Final Comments
There's something in 'Crazy Castle 5' for everyone
and while older players will fly through the levels
in no time at all, the younger ones are likely to find
it challenging. The game does manage to throw up some
intriguing problems in the later levels and some of
the bosses are challenging. As you'd expect, however,
there's nothing new or ground-breaking here as it's
basically a re-working of the same Crazy Castle theme
with some new characters and cosmetic enhancements.
Nevertheless, the formula still works and Tantalus has
produced a solid and enjoyable game, which while not
to everyone's taste, will certainly please fans of the
genre.
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