It was just the other week that I was reviewing a game called Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-bit Land for the 3DS, and during that review I had a little moan about how cartoons today have gone down the pan and are no way near as good as they used to be. To my surprise though, that game was actually really enjoyable even if I didn’t particularly like the cartoon, and credit was given where it was due. Now I have another game converted from another popular Cartoon Network show with Ben 10 Omniverse 2. Again it isn’t a cartoon I’m too fond of but it is a lot better than some of the rubbish they air today; I thought the movie was ok when that came out but I’ve never really played any of the games, so has developer for the console version, High Voltage Software, done as decent a job with this as WayForward did with Regular Show?
If you watch the cartoon of this game you’ll know that Ben 10 is about a young teenage lad called Ben Tennyson who has a device called the Omnitrix which allows him to morph into various different alien creatures. Like any hero he uses his abilities for good and to help keep the planet safe from evil. In this particular game the writers of the show have created a whole new story that sees Ben take on a new threat in the form of the Incurseans lead by Emperor Mileous. As per usual the bad guys want to take over the world and all that jazz and it is up to you to stop them with the help of your partner Azmuth, creator of the Omnitrix. You must infiltrate their Incursean intergalactic battleships and free captured resistance fighters, defeating enemy soldiers along the way so you can head back home to Earth knowing the world is safe once again.
So what is the game actually like? Well the developers say that this is the best and fastest Ben 10 game ever, but I didn’t really see it like that. The game modes differ throughout Omniverse 2, one second you’ll be running through the corridors of battleships like you were playing a space themed temple run, the next second you will be battling enemies in an enclosed environment. Now I wasn’t very impressed with this as the movement of the characters seemed sluggish both when on your running sequences and battle scenes. The only thing that needed to be done quickly was switching between characters on your little running sections as each character has their own ability such as jumping or smashing through obstacles but at times you didn’t seem to be given enough time to notice you needed to switch so you keep banging into stuff or falling down holes.
Keeping with that theme of speed, enemies were dealt with too quickly. Select the right alien and you could dispatch with most enemies within 2 or 3 knocks, and with one of the aliens able to block bullets and other attacks you could literally walk through battles. The enemies themselves were varied, some that would get up close for melee combat and others that would fire from long range but like I say they were all easily dealt with. There are also 4 bosses you will have to battle throughout the game which again aren’t the most difficult, then again this is a game more aimed at younger children, and fans of the Ben 10 series so I can understand why they haven’t made it to difficult. The one positive thing about battling enemies was how each alien had their own special ability to help you defeat enemies. As I mentioned one of the aliens is able to block but others can for instance, create decoys to attract enemy fire away from you or you can jump on to the roof to evade fire and drop back down away from danger.
Another thing that seemed to be pretty fast but I don’t think was meant to, and in my opinion ruined a part of the game was the voices of characters during cut scenes. It was completely out of sync and can only be compared to watching an old foreign martial arts film which has been dubbed, where the voice has stopped yet the lips are still moving. However they did sound like the actual characters according to my 9 year old brother so I guess that’s one positive about the game because they have managed to keep it feeling authentic. As for the graphics other than the poor syncing of characters lips, I know the game is based on a cartoon, but the graphics seemed far more cartoony than the cartoon itself if that even makes sense. I just think that it looked like it was a bit rushed and if more time were spent on it then the game could have been polished up a little better.
Overall I wasn’t really impressed with the game. I found it to be quite poor and having not played previous Ben 10 games it may well be the fastest Ben 10 game there is, but the only fast bits for me all lead to negatives. It was good that the developers used the show’s creators to help write the story and that the voices sounded like characters from the show which kept it feeling authentic which doesn’t always happen when you have a cartoon or movie to game conversion, but that was the only real positive I found. I can imagine people who are a lot younger than me like my little brother would enjoy this a lot more (and he did say he liked it), especially if they are fans of the show, but that’s the only thing keeping me from giving it bottom marks because I need to look at it from the point of view of its target audience.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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