| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Catwoman
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
Just as the ﾓCatwomanﾔ feature film has been criticized for all flash and no substance (Village Voice: ﾓsimultaneously overstuffed and undernourishedﾔ), the video game of the same name suffers from the same fate.Electronic Artsﾒ (EA) multi-platform action game is real looker, but the weak story, short game-play and ahem, finicky camera angles make it a difficult one to enjoy. ﾓCatwomanﾔ is an interactive version of the movie starring Halle Berry, which is, of course, itself based upon the DC Comics character. It was no accident the movie and game debuted the same week. The game opens as Patience Phillips is murdered for discovering a disturbing secret held by her employers, the Hedare Corporation. Sheﾒs brought back to life by a magical Egyptian cat and becomes a revenge-seeking Catwoman. While new enemies and missions are introduced over time, the tale never really builds into anything, so it gives the player little incentive to finish the adventure. After transforming into a Catwoman, the sexy heroine (wait until you get a load of her outfit, or lack thereof) soon discovers she has incredible agility and other cat-like abilities, including running up walls, leaping from ledge to ledge and swinging across poles. She also enjoys a host of fighting skills, such as pouncing on prey to kick them into next week or cracking her whip. Defensive moves include avoiding bullet fire, thanks to her feline acrobatics.  Catwoman, who closely resembles Berry, also has ﾓcat sense,ﾔ a kind of heightened intuition of her environment that helps her track down enemies. Players control this slinky heroine from a third-person perspective throughout each of the seven main levels, including alleyways, a nightclub, jewelry store, mansion, factories and, eventually, the Hedare HQ. But unlike other third-person games where the camera view is positioned over the lead characterﾒs shoulders (think ﾓGrand Theft Auto: Vice Cityﾔ), developer EA UK went for more of a cinematic approach. Specifically, the ﾓcameraﾔ continuously moves around the environment to show various angles. Although this helps one appreciate the detail put into the level design, the lack of camera control is downright frustrating as it doesnﾒt always show you the most conducive view of the action, especially when enemies are shooting at you or if youﾒre trying to plan a well-timed jump. Along these same lines, the confusing angles may cause players to become disoriented and ask themselves ﾓwhere am I?ﾔ. It then takes a quick run around the environment to figure out where to travel to next. Maneuvering Catwoman, however, is quite intuitive. The developer implemented a unique and clever controller layout that puts an emphasis on the two analog sticks and trigger buttons instead of the four main buttons. After each ﾓsceneﾔ (level) is completed, players are rated on how many objectives were met, while collecting well-hidden ﾓblingﾔ throughout the level lets you trade for further powers and other extras. This single-player adventure may be worth a weekend rental for fans of the film ﾖ and it can be easily completed in that time ﾖ but others should steer clear of this hairball of a game. Kid Factor: Some bad language in the cutscenes may surprise you in Catwoman. The cutscenes also play out very movie-like placing this game directly in the Teen category of rating that it received. There's only a little blood in a jarring scene near the end and often guys will fall from massive heights only to be revealed as "ok" in a quick cutscene, sort of like G.I. Joe cartoons from years ago. Junior will undoubtedly be riveted to Catwoman's rear as she walks around. The game definitely does "sexy" without going overboard which is nice to see. If you let the kids go to the movie, the game is probably ok. Kid Factor by Dave Long Reviewer Recommended Ages: 14+ Genre: Platform/Action/Fighting ESRB Rating: T-Teen Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Argonaut Software 
Some bad language in the cutscenes may surprise you in Catwoman. The cutscenes also play out very movie-like placing this game directly in the Teen category of rating that it received. There's only a little blood in a jarring scene near the end and often guys will fall from massive heights only to be revealed as "ok" in a quick cutscene, sort of like G.I. Joe cartoons from years ago. Junior will undoubtedly be riveted to Catwoman's rear as she walks around. The game definitely does "sexy" without going overboard which is nice to see. If you let the kids go to the movie, the game is probably ok. Kid Factor by Dave Long
Kid Factor by Marc Saltzman
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Catwoman |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
