| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Snoopy vs. the Red Baron
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
The ESRB Says
Cartoon Violence: GamerDad made Snoopy shoot down enemy planes, tanks, and boats with machine guns and silly weapons like fireworks and pumpkins. But the game makes it clearly visible that people with parachutes jump out of downed planes. And besides, it's all Snoopy's dream anyway, none of it is real. Charles M. Schultz' classic Peanuts comic strip has delighted young and old alike for more than 50 years. And now Snoopy and the gang have their own video game. One day while lying atop his dog house, Snoopy has a magical dream. He imagines he's the World War 1 flying ace, and now you can help him defeat the Red Baron in this kid-friendly flight combat game. In Snoopy vs. the Red Baron, take control of Snoopy as he pilots his biplane, taking out other aircraft, tanks, and boats in mission-based gameplay. Blast ﾑem out of the skies with your machine gun, while Woodstock operates your limited supply of secondary weapons like Roman candles, a snow blower, water balloons, and the ten-gauge pumpkin bomb! Perform loops, turns, and barrel rolls to elude the enemies in dogfight. Make sure to pick up root beer for energy, crates to refill your weapon supply, and coins to unlock goodies at Pig Pen's shop, like plane upgrades, new weapons, and characters to use in multiplayer dogfights. The game makes great use of the Peanuts licensed characters. The cartoony graphics are as colorful as the Sunday funnies in the newspaper. Music in the dogfights is standard bravado stuff, but in the hub area where you select your stage, they play a calm jazz piano piece like what you'd hear in the cartoons. They use child voice actors for all the characters, and Snoopy even does his trademark laugh after completed missions. It's very authentic. Speaking of the hub world, it's actually the Peanuts' baseball field, and you can even see Lucy's "The Doctor Is In/Out" booth over in the corner. Fly into the billboards past the outfield to start a mission. All the major Peanuts characters play a role in Snoopy's dogfight dreams. Lucy is the bossy commander, Linus is the intelligence officer. And Charlie Brown? He's the Allies' janitor who gets captured by the Red Baron! Good Grief! Controls are very easy to get into and pick up and play. And a thorough tutorial mode with Marcie is always on hand to show new pilots the ropes. A multiplayer dogfight mode with all the Peanuts characters rounds out the package. Aside from a few frustrating missions, Snoopy and the Red Baron is a great family-friendly action game.  
Even though Snoopy's game is about dogfights and war, the violence never gets bad at all. Snoopy shoots down planes, tanks, and boats with machine guns and silly secondary weapons like water balloons and pumpkins. And when an enemy plane is shot down, they make it perfectly clear and visible that the pilot made it out safely and with a parachute. So nobody dies or gets hurt. And it's all in Snoopy's dream anyway.
Reading skill isn't necessary as most of the text is followed by spoken voice from child actors playing the parts of the Peanuts' cast. Marcie slowly and carefully explains the controls, and Lucy and Linus give out the basics on each mission. However, during missions, there is no spoken voice, so reading skill is helpful so you know what to do. Most of the time, the game isn't very difficult and younger players will do just fine. But there are a couple of tough escort missions near the beginning and taking down the Red Baron and his flying fortress is much harder than the rest of the game. So less experienced players may need help from a parent or older player with those parts. But they may not mind anyway, as Snoopy vs. the Red Baron is a delightful game for the whole family. Which Version To Buy? PS2: The version reviewed here. PC: Probably more or less like the PS2 version, just with more PC-centric controls. PSP Also like the PS2 version, possibly with more choppy animation. Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Snoopy vs. the Red Baron |
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. |
