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> Results: Aquaman: The Battle for Atlantis
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When you start with a game license that features a superhero best known to most twenty and thirty-somethings as ﾓthe guy who called the whalesﾔ on the 70ﾒs cartoon The Superfriends, the warnings sound early on the potential bad game meter. This incarnation of Aquaman is based on current DC Comics mythology rather than the slightly effeminate version of the character seen on TV (werenﾒt all the Superfriends effeminate?) so he looks tougher. Unfortunately his toughness only means heﾒs going to be pummeling similar foes over and over again in a monotonous game that bears his name.
 Aquaman is a beat ﾑem up game that takes place underwater in mostly barren cities with no life, either aquatic or Atlantean. You swim from one enemy group to the next and engage in slow-paced hand-to-hand combat. Defeat all the enemies necessary to complete the level and you move onto the next. The fighting is simple using various buttons pressed in rapid succession to hopefully land multiple punches and kicks on about three different types of opponents and a few bosses. Special moves are available but often hard to execute not because itﾒs difficult to input the move but rather because it seems like the game doesnﾒt respond correctly to controller input. A meter allows for only so many uses of these moves but even when itﾒs full, the moves donﾒt always come out. It quickly becomes monotonous and frustrating. If you run out of life before you beat all the enemies you start the level over. There are some levels that definitely need more save points driving you mad while trying to complete them. The entire game isnﾒt played as a pugilist, though. There are some levels that allow Aquaman to pilot a submarine and go up against other subs in almost spaceship-like underwater combat. These are pretty entertaining if only because they break up the monotony of finding the next mob to beat into submission. One of these missions has you taking on Black Mantaﾒs Star Destroyer-like submarine. While rudimentary graphically, this mission still manages to lift the game up a bit from its mostly average fighting-based standard gameplay. Tying all this substandard action together are comic book panels using the in game character models and settings to create a dull story that wouldnﾒt even be worthy of the comic. These use word balloons so you never hear any of the characters speak which might be a blessing in disguise. The story is easily skipped if youﾒre just dying to get to the next level to pound the A button again. Music isnﾒt too bad but thereﾒs not enough of it. Probably the biggest disappointment is that even a second-rate superhero like Aquaman presents a lot of cool possibilities for a game that are barely touched on. You get to use his power to call ocean life maybe two or three times in a level and itﾒs just a non-interactive ﾓsmart bombﾔ type of attack. The undersea setting provides a chance to have much more interesting gameplay than a simple beat ﾑem up but the only swimming you do is to get from fight to fight. The game reeks of a quick cash-in but when itﾒs based on Aquaman you have to wonder who the publisher was hoping to cash in on? Kid Factor:The game is violent like the comics. Kids wonﾒt be much more interested in this game than you are unless theyﾒre big Aquaman fans and if so, maybe you should introduce them to some other heroes that have better games? If you or your child likes to pound on the buttons to beat things up, then this might keep you busy for a few hours. Everyone else should stay far away even with the budget price. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 8+ Genre: Beat ﾑem up/Action ESRB Rating: T-Teen Publisher: TDK Developer: Lucky Chicken Games 
The game is violent like the comics. Kids wonﾒt be much more interested in this game than you are unless theyﾒre big Aquaman fans and if so, maybe you should introduce them to some other heroes that have better games? If you or your child likes to pound on the buttons to beat things up, then this might keep you busy for a few hours. Everyone else should stay far away even with the budget price.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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