As an old-school gamer who grew up with the sweet aroma of floppy disks and the satisfying click of cartridges, I’ve seen my fair share of gaming history unfold – the good, the bad, and the Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland.
As a kid, I remember taking quite a leap of faith when buying games based on my favorite TV shows or movies. The gaming world has come a long way since then, leaving behind the era of underwhelming tie-in games, from Star Wars to Batman and beyond. Yet, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland seems to harken back to those days of disillusionment, and it’s particularly saddening given the beloved Rugrats franchise is at play here.
“Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland” – This is a 2D platform game set within Tommy Pickles’ house, famously depicted in the cartoon. You can choose to play as any of the four main babies (Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, or Lil), navigating through stages with the objective of accumulating enough Reptar coins. Once you have amassed enough coins, a door to the final boss will open. The game begins and ends with static images without voiceovers, similar to an episode of Rugrats. However, as in any classic Rugrats storyline, the events are orchestrated by Angelica, the iconic older cousin who often bullies the babies.
As an enthusiast, diving right into the game after a quick welcome, I soon discover it doesn’t handle as smoothly as I’d hoped. However, there’s a unique aspect that catches my attention – each character in this game has a distinct jump height and bounciness, reminiscent of the classic Super Mario Bros 2 tribute.
Apart from this, there are other elements borrowed from a Nintendo game that sometimes gets underappreciated. For instance, after hitting enemies, you can pick them up and toss them around, and entire stage designs are inspired by this 80s dream game. A desert level, in particular, features sand blocks to dig through and snake-like enemies that burst out with a remarkably similar animation. It’s questionable whether it’s wise to emulate such a classic experience when the current game doesn’t seem to play as smoothly.
Above all else, the game design in Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland seems to be its main flaw. Many of the game’s stages are confusing mazes that are difficult to navigate, filled with underhanded tactics intended to cause harm and annoyance. Unfortunately, the game is also oddly zoomed in by default, and while you can adjust this, changing it creates large blank spaces around the play area, making the option less useful.
In addition to finding the game’s design lacking, nearly every foe encountered in Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is maddening. The giant, hard-to-manage Cynthia heads that fly around are especially frustrating. Moreover, there are enemies that shoot projectiles, and they seem to be strategically placed where it’s extremely challenging to dodge their attacks. Essentially, some basic aspects of this otherwise simple platformer game aren’t up to par, leading me to have a less than enjoyable experience from the opening level to the final one.
To sum up, we’ve previously agreed that I didn’t find Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland an enjoyable game to play. However, there’s one more crucial point about it that needs to be addressed. The game is being sold for around £30 or its equivalent in your region, yet it only takes approximately ninety minutes to finish. Regardless of the value of £30 to you, this short playing time makes it an overpriced game. It’s hard not to feel disheartened thinking about someone receiving this as a heartfelt birthday gift or as a comfort after a tough day, only to find out that it’s such a quick playthrough.
There are at least a few elements of the game that are at least rather novel. The fact that you can switch characters mid-level to conserve health is a nice way to preserve lives. You can also switch between the default visuals and 8-bit visuals, and while neither look particularly gorgeous it’s at least something to play around with, and a nice throwback to that NES-era.
The game “Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland” falls short overall, and the fact that it’s based on a childhood cartoon favorite adds to the disappointment. The gameplay is clumsy due to poor platforming, the enemies are aggravating, and its brevity is disappointing. It’s advisable to steer clear of this one, regardless of how many years have passed since you outgrew diapers.
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2024-09-10 12:16