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Who doesn't love Curious George? Nobody. At least nobody would admit it in public. Young and old alike can swing on vines and more in Namco's Curious George game, which is available for virtually every console known to mankind.
The man in the yellow hat has finally found that idol he's been tracking down. He's found something else as well and it likes bananas AND his hat. Probably has some thing about the color yellow. You control George following Ted back to America while swinging, collecting bananas, and being curious (of course) about surroundings. So after the best thing about this game, which is the capability to be George, the graphics are pretty darn cute. George lovers will be entranced with "monkey" shots and the monkey talk. The game includes clips from the movie, which are beautifully done as one would expect. Gameplay is "interesting", but not really in a good way. In the whole "no man can serve two masters" adage, Curious George fails miserably. It is too simple for older, more experienced gamers and too difficult for the younger players it targets. Exploration is fairly limited in terms of where George can go, sometimes requiring no skill at all, and sometimes requiring advanced motor skills. Jumping from one walking tribe member's hat to another is too hard for younger players, as is making George dance, navigating alarms, and popping bubbles. On the opposite end of the spectrum, swinging on vines is pretty much foolproof, as is jumping on objects. Too much challenge for little ones or zero challenge for big ones pretty adequately sums up this game.  The game is monotonous, despite varying activities. George jumps from hut to hut, hat to hat, or taxi to taxi in different levels, and is required to collect a monkey idol on each level. Singing and popping bubbles both require the player to press the appropriate controller buttons as icons scroll through an oval on the screen, but players can just smash all the buttons down repeatedly at the same time and finish the bubble round. Perhaps the biggest letdown of the game is the exploration. On each level George will encounter items with question marks that initiate an activity. Unfortunately, the exact same items will be found throughout the level which becomes extremely boring. My daughter started walking right by (thank heaven) suitcases, faucets, televisions, etc, because she'd already done it a number of times on the level. From a game control perspective, George is solid with a few camera issues, and you might also find your monkey standing on thin air next to a tree or table, which is a bit off-putting in regard to the overall quality of the game. One perk of the game is the free movie ticket that's included with some platforms, although "free" is relative as this game costs a whopping 40 bucks. My daughter will tell you that Curious George is her favorite game because she LOVES being a monkey (she's almost 4), but I'll tell you that it's not my favorite. I love kids games. I enjoy a game that allows a child to play it alone or a game that is engaging enough for a parent to play with a child. While entirely cute and wholesome, Curious George doesn't fit the bill for either of my requirements in games, which makes me sad for two reasons; one, because he's just so darn cute and I wanted this game to be fun, and two, because he cost me 40 bucks.  
Kids who love Curious George will love the idea of this game, but younger players will become frustrated by the level of difficulty in several activities. Older players are likely to scream through the game as it doesn't offer enough depth of content or variety to make it worthwhile, especially for a second play. I'd say it may take 4 hours, max, if played straight through, which is really your only choice anyway.
Certain parents may take issue with the fact that George is after an "idol" on each level. Why the game didn't at least call the idol something different is beyond me. It could have been called a statue, a relicﾗlots of things. On the positive side, parents can use this as an opportunity to present this concept as well as archeology and different cultures. Also, George does some things like jump on a stove to set off a tea pot etc, which is clearly an inappropriate example of unsafe behavior. The game is entirely linear, and the enjoyable activities cannot be played over as the game marches forward with each accomplished objective, which can be disappointing for young players. The direction is excellent for younger players as it is given in a very concise and verbal way. No reading is required, but again, there are many tasks that these young players will not be able to accomplish by themselves, even after tutelage by a parent or older sibling. George isn't at all violent and is good clean content overall. Its glaring error is that it satisfies no particular target audience and has been developed over the heads of the audience that would most be attracted to it. Probably best to skip the game and invest in Curious George books, which are entirely entertaining and worth a second, third, and fourth read. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "curious george" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Curious George |
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