| Introduction
Being a really big fan of Dexter's Laboratory to
say I was looking forward to this game would be an understatement.
The adventures of Dexter, Dee Dee and friends have been
entertaining fans of the Cartoon Network for years now.
Computer games exploiting it however have been very
thin on the ground though we have recently seen a Gameboy
Color title based on the series which was a rather disappointing
'Elevator Action' clone. This is the first outing on
the GBA and we can only hope that the developers have
produced a game more suitable to this great animated
license.
GamePlay
Everything about Dexter's Laboratory is quite surreal
and this game is no exception. If you've never seen
the series basically you have what appears to be a normal
family in quiet suburbia except Dexter is something
of a boy genius (with a huge laboratory behind a secret
door in his bedroom) and his sister Dee Dee is not unlike
most little brothers or sisters. It's Dee Dee who actually
sets the whole game off by trying out Dexter's newest
invention, 'The Clone-a-matic'. The obvious happens;
dozens of mischievous little Dee Dees run amok around
the Lab and it's your job to catch them.
You start the game equipped with only a 'Grabber
Arm' although Dexter's also packs quite an effective
kick and punch. The object here is to collect the miniature
Dee Dees and deposit them in the suction tubes before
tea time but as usual with this type of games there
are many things that delay your progress. Throughout
your quest you encounter machines that require fixing,
switches that operate bridges or doors, and a whole
host of robots. It's important to destroy all the robots
rather than avoid them as some actually hold all important
key cards.
Everything stems from a central hub and it's here
that the saving is done on one of the computers. Dee
Dees are located all over your Lab and when you approach
a door to an area it will inform you how many you are
required to collect before entering. This gives the
game some much needed variety as it means you're not
stuck in an area until you complete it. There are a
handful of major frustrations, leaving some levels means
you lose the items you are currently carrying whilst
exiting some doors may reset the whole area, you find
robots that have just been destroyed moving around again
and doors which you've previously opened, locked.
Controls
Dexter is the only character you play in this title
and although simple to control we'd advise you to swing
over to the tutorial before really getting into the
game. One aspect the tutorial doesn't touch on, however,
is the map mode. This is incredibly useful and without
it the game could be almost impossible to play. Not
only does it show you your current position but also
where all the machines, suction tubes, teleporters and,
most importantly, Dee Dees are. The sprite detection
is good but because of the isometric perspective the
game is played in some jumps can be a little tricky.
Overall though, quite a competent control system despite
the complexity of some of Dexter's actions.
Graphics
Although the imagery may seem a little simplistic
at first it's actually very faithful to the cartoon
series and the world Dexter inhabits. The cut-scenes
too, are taken straight out of there and have a real
50's feel to them. They're not the best graphics we've
seen on the GBA but they certainly suit the style and
pace of gameplay. Finally, this is another title that
has a handy contrast control lurking in the options
so no more complaining that the screen's too dark.
Sound & Music
The start-up and menu screens feature a sample of
the theme from the cartoon series and, although a little
muffled through the GBA speaker, it's excellent when
using headphones. Everything else closely resembles
the incidental music also featured in the series and
complements the title perfectly.
Final Comments
This is a great deal more satisfying than the first
Dexter title and people who like this type of simple
puzzle solving and finding keys will no doubt enjoy
this game. The problem is things do tend to get a little
repetitive and a lot of the locations look exactly the
same. On the plus side you are getting a lot of game
here for your money, with 70 levels you'll be playing
this for some time to come. As usual with anything that
falls in the mid marks category we'd suggest you 'try
before you buy' but with GBA titles flying out at the
moment this is one of the better cartoon licenses we've
seen to date.
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