| Introduction
THQ are churning out Nickelodeon licenses at the
moment and most of them have been reasonably good. What
separates The Wild Thornberrys from the other titles
though is its theme as the story centers around a family
of eco-friendly explorers tracking down their beloved
monkey Darwin. This should be a reasonably simple task
if it weren't for Kip and Biederman who've kidnapped
Darwin. These two unscrupulous hunters are trying to
establish a zoo for their own personal profit and only
you can stop them.
GamePlay
Almost every level in this game has a mission or
tasks to complete in order to progress to the next.
For example, in the first section Eliza has to find
a pack of Cheese Munchies and a bunch of bananas in
order to gain information about Darwin's whereabouts.
As you progress in the game things become less straightforward
and you can find yourself exploring endlessly as well
as making 'leaps of faith' before actually finding the
right path. As you improve though you'll realize the
game has quite a tight structure and there are directional
clues everywhere.
Fans of the show will be pleased to know that you
can play all four of the main characters featured in
the series. Although you can't actually choose to play
Darwin, Eliza, Debbie or Donnie all the way through
the game you will control each one of them at some time
and each is equipped with certain skills. Eliza, for
instance, is a great climber and can scale trees with
little problem while Darwin is great at swinging from
vine to vine (although you may find this one of the
trickiest parts of the game and one where 'continues'
are very welcome).
Cheese Munchies are very important in this game and
they can be found everywhere. Crucially they lead to
Darwin as he's left a trail so you can find him. They're
also essential for boosting the amount of lives you
have and once you've collected twenty you're rewarded
with another 'continue'. There are some frustrations
here though so while saving your game allows you to
rejoin the action with your Cheese Munchie collection
intact, losing a life completely wipes it out.
Controls
Although all the characters are controlled in the
standard manner you may on occasion be given a special
weapon or power specific to an area. This could be boots
for climbing or a boomerang to pick off wild dingos
from a distance. Fortunately this is simple and full
instructions on how to use your new skill, and even
level tips, are given by the different animals you encounter.
Graphics
Whilst the graphics are very simple they're also
incredibly effective and reflect the visual style used
in the TV series. The character animation and special
effects are well above average. The storm in the first
section is incredible, you might be reaching for your
umbrella mid level. A nice original touch has been employed
in the cut screens which feature an image of the character
currently talking and the relevant text. The developers
have added the minimum amount of animation to the face
but the overall effect is excellent and it's nice to
see good ideas in place of memory hungry full screen
animation.
Sound & Music
The background music is absolutely fantastic. The
first level features a wonderful Jungle theme soundtrack
as well as some very atmospheric sound effects of a
rain storm. This combination makes for some of the best
sound I've ever heard on any handheld system. The remaining
three levels are just as impressive and if sound was
ever up for a handheld award this title would surely
be up there with the favourites.
Final Comments
As with the developers' last game, Rocket Power,
this is probably a little too tough for the target audience
as some of the sections are very unforgiving. It is,
however, a great little platformer and it could be argued
that the challenging nature of the gameplay makes for
a longer lasting experience. Add to this the fact that
the game looks and sounds fantastic and you have a title
that everyone should check out even if its only to see
whether you can actually get through the first section
without pulling your hair out.
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