|
THQ brings the popular Nickelodeon franchise to consoles once again. The Nickelodeon games THQ makes are largely slammed by critics yet they sell countless thousands of copies every year for the publisher. Fairly Odd Parents: Shadow Showdown, while not a bad game, doesn’t attempt to do much more than be a fairly average attached to a very successful license. Fans of the cartoons wouldn’t want anything more, but is the game fun to play?
In Shadow Showdown, you once again play as Timmy who in case you didn’t know, has two wacky fairy godparents (hence the name Fairly Odd Parents). In the game you’ll traverse to numerous locations, with the help of the fairy godparents to help you out when the going gets tough.
In Shadow Showdown, you’ll be playing a typical platformer by definition. You’ll notice Timmy moving around, pushing crates, and jumping on enemies along the way. There are a great many levels in the game, but they offer the same fundamental experience, which I already explained. There are a few varied levels found throughout including one where you control a pinball in a pinball machine and another which has you flying around in a glider. In keeping with the license, you’ll be able to pull off wishes which only require three wish stars. These wishes aren’t anywhere near as varied or fun as those found in the cartoon and are usually required to continue progressing through the game.
The game’s visuals don’t push any of the consoles. The many levels you’ll find in the game are pretty varied, but they lack some of the more intricate detail needed to bring the game to life. The character models are very simple, which keep with the game’s art style but once again suffer from low-resolution textures.
The game’s sound is helped because the game is voiced by the same cast of the show and additionally, has the same off the wall dialogue frequently found in the cartoon. The music and sound effects however are very general.
Blitz Games was able to create a rather homogeneous game on both platforms, as there are no significant differences between the two.
Overall, Fairly Odd Parents: Shadow Showdown isn’t a bad game. It just doesn’t do anything particularly interesting to warrant playing through unless you’re a diehard fan of the series, but I suppose the game’s target audience, children which are also fans of the series, will be pleased. -- Jake Wilson, PGNx Media
---- Oct 6, 2004
|
