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Midway has been publishing sequels this year.. Like there's no more time. We saw updates to Blitz and Hitz. Defender and Spy Hunter both received 3D makeovers. Midway recently broke that trend with the published (expect a review shortly) Haven and is trying to do the same with Dr. Muto. Poor Dr. Muto comes along in a time where there is too many plat formers already out there. Mario has his sunshine, and Jak & Daxter come from the folks responsible for the PS One Crash. Other infamous characters include Sonic, Ratcher, Clank and Klonoa. Since platform games are a dime a dozen, Midway has tried to create a different game and in most parts they succeeded. They don't want to be labeled as a typical run, jump, collect repeat game and breathe new life into a repetitive genre.
The shady person the game is based off, Dr. Muto is a highly insane scientist who... destroys his very own planet. Your typical story line, right? He has to create a new place to live and will need to collect materials from different worlds. You'll soon find out that your materials are living, breathing, organisms and collect means to morph using your spiffy ‘Splizz’ gun. There's something going seriously wrong in Dr. Muto's head but, you'll want to play to see what ethical issue you can bring up next.
Surprisingly for a plat former, Muto has a lot of action going on, a lot more than you'd expect. Dr. Muto is able to jump, morph, blast and run to reach his goals. You go through for different worlds using your patented ‘Splizz’ Gun to morph into various animals and creatures. Your computer, AL (A knockoff of HAL, can you guess what money?), helps you along the way. AL lets you know your next destination and what you need to find/collect there. There's plenty of collection here and luckily for you AL keeps track of them. The coins, music pieces, 'shines', are replaced by odder things in this game though. You'll collect Terra pieces, Isotopes and DNA pieces in order to make the Genitor 9000. Don't let the Genitor's name bother you; the machine has a very good use. It was made to reverse the process and rebuild Dr. Muto's home planet once more. To build the machine you'll need to collect seventeen pieces which are across the four worlds. Not as easy as it sounds since you'll also need to collect DNA and Isotopes to create formulas that allow you to morph. You'll also need to build items such as rocket launchers and baller guns. You'll also need to them to gain invisibility and invincibility. You'll need to keep track of what you collected, as it is vital for your mission.
Thankfully, Midway made the levels very nicely and easy to explore. They are excellently laid out and very unique. Make sure you love the levels since you'll see a lot of them as you go through them over and over looking for that missing isotope. It may turn you into a mad person like the doctor you're playing. You're never really sure if what you need can be found in the world you're currently in. If you have a lot of patience that's nothing really but for short-tempered people... you'll get annoyed, fast. If you could know which world a certain piece is in, the frustration level would have dramatically lowered. I'm pretty patient... Or incredibly bored... So I actually went back until I found everything.
The game's visuals go with the game play very well. The levels are excellently laid out. Your enemies are animated nicely and are made of good textures. The world itself has crisp textures as well. Dr. Muto is one of the best designed characters ever. The game's visuals, as a whole, are very colorful and full of emotion. Sound wise, the game is solid as well. The background music fits the game perfectly and the sound effects are awesome. Character morphing is particularly enjoyable.
Midway attempted to bring something new into a pretty stale genre. They attempted to bring more excitement than you'll find in the normal title. The graphics are great, the sound is great also. It also handles like a dream. The only thing 'wrong' with the game is the lack of more specific instructions in getting all the pieces you need to. It becomes very tedious, repetitive and most of all, irritating. Midway has something very good here, and you should pick it up or rent it and see what you think of it. If there's a Dr. Muto 2 and the instructions are improved, the game is much better than other offerings.
Since I played both the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game, I can say they are exactly the same. Stick to your favorite system for this one. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Dec 3, 2002
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