The four action filled penguins were brought to Kinect by THQ in September for a fun filled and loveable game. Using your body to guide them through obstacles, the aim is to find treasures and defeat Dr. Blowhole.
The game begins with an introduction of yourself to the rest of the team; from here you begin your initiation, the first mission. There are basic movements for this game and they are as follows;
• Leaning left and right to guide the penguins through the obstacles
• Jump in place to perform a hop, which allows you to get at those higher objects
• Arm/leg out to the side to attack an object, these are highlighted when available to be attacked
There are also movements unique to each penguin;
• Skipper;
o Jump – To jump over small obstacles
o Hang time – To jump over larger gaps
o Balance – Put your arms outstretched and line up the arrow with the spot on the meter
• Rico
o Explosive – Underhand throw
o Explosive Catapult – Raise both arms over head
o Projectile/Target practice – Right hand aim, left hand underarm throw
• Private
o Climb – Both arms up in ‘L’ shapes
o Belly slide – Crouch down
o Strike-a-pose – Make an ‘X’ shape
• Kowalski
o Marlene’s trivia – Answer questions based on the penguins acquaintances
o Maze – Use your hand to navigate through the maze
o Phil and Mason’s Matching – Use both arms to aim the arrows at the correct pairs
Throughout the game you play as all four penguins, which switch automatically when you need them to overcome obstacles. Throughout the chapters you can collect ice cream cones; the more you collect of these the higher the score that you will accumulate at the end (you can however replay levels to better your score if you so wish). As well as these you can collect chameleons; there are three per level and will be found in those not so obvious hiding spots due to them being invisible.
There are not just missions to complete throughout the game; there are also other modes from which you can pick from via the menu screen.
• You can choose to dance with King Julien which has two modes, strike a pose or a mode like musical statues. Both modes are fun and easy to grasp but are more of a small break to the game than a long term enjoyment.
• You can enter the “Critique” mode where you pose for photos and King Julien will tell you what he thinks about it.
Gameplay
The game overall was very fun to play and would be great for the younger generation, not to say that those of an older age wouldn’t enjoy it just as much. I did however feel there were a bit too many video clips which disrupted the game slightly as you were standing around a fair bit. You could however skip these clips, but it took you away from the story and left you in the unknown as to what was happening.
Music
I enjoyed listening to the songs in the dance with King Julien mode; it made me chuckle quite a lot… it was quite comical.
Graphics
The graphics throughout were very good, there were no bugs that I found throughout the game that were largely noticeable.
Closing Comments
I did thoroughly enjoy the game but at times found it hard to match the poses as they were not always obvious. Although showing you an image of what to do it was sometimes easier to improvise and try different things till you found it worked. This did make the game a little bit more exciting, trying out different gestures and poses. Overall, I found it a very good game.
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.
