No matter how many game systems we own in this household, we still seem to like the PlayStation 2 the best. We keep migrating back to it, and we buy more games for this system over the other systems. In addition, we also babysit my boyfriend's 4-year old niece fairly often. On a recent shopping trip, he picked up this
Happy Feet for PlayStation 2 game and mentioned to me that he thought it might be a game that I would also like. (He knows that I like uncomplicated, easy games that don't tax my mind. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If I wanted to think, I'd stay at work longer each day.) However, this is still a child's video game and there was a very good chance I would not like it. As it turns out, it's a cute game that even I like to play!
Basic Details:
Happy Feet is a new animated family movie by Warner Bros. Pictures that is currently in theatres. It focuses on the life of
Mumble, a penguin that can't sing like other penguins and is therefore going to have a problem as he grows up in finding a mate because of the lack of singing ability. He finds other ways to be his own penguin, though, and dancing becomes his forte. The video game is based on this story, although of course it's not as story-like as the movie.
This game is for 1 or 2 players and needs 57 kb of open memory space on a memory card if you are going to save your progress.
Happy Feet for PlayStation 2 is rated E for Everyone. In the rating box on the back of the game, it has
Comic Mischief and
Mild Lyrics listed next to the "E for Everyone". This game uses the vibration function of the
PlayStation 2 controller but this option can be turned off.
Game progress can be saved in three slots. To continue a saved game, select a saved game.
This game can be played in English language or French language.
Game Play:
There are two "modes" to
Happy Feet For PlayStation 2. The first one is
Story Mode, which is the one-player mode. In this mode, you are playing as Mumble. There is a limited number of games or "missions" to perform in
Story Mode, and I was surprised by this considering how involved video games are these days. Then I remembered that this is a game for little kids. Duh. Before you start a mode, you will have the option to choose from Easy, Medium or Hard difficulty settings. I've played all three, and in my opinion, there isn't much difference between the three settings. I noticed absolutely no difference between the Easy and the Medium settings in either mode.
The first thing that needs to be accomplished in
Story Mode is to complete the first dance level (getting Mumble out of his egg) before you can move on to other types of games. This is pretty easy and involves pressing just a few buttons - I think that even small children will be able to do this with just a bit of practice. My boyfriend's niece, at 4, is able to do this, and she has somewhat limited video game experience.
The next game is
Dancing. This is also pretty easy. You keep Mumble dancing by pressing the appropriate button on the controller at the right time. This could be difficult for smaller children, as you will need to press the button at the right time. Even I missed a few of these, and I've been playing video games for 30 years. However, with just a few minutes of practice, both the niece and I got the hang of it.
The next game is
Collecting. This is so much fun! You will either sled down a hill on your belly (it is downright dizzying) or swim under water. Both ways, you will try to "collect" objects as you go. I enjoyed the underwater swimming more, as it didn't make me dizzy and I was able to move more slowly. Older children will enjoy the downhill belly sledding, while the younger children will be better at the swimming.
Next up is
Racing. In this game, you race other penguins as you sled down a hill on your belly. Again, probably for older children. This is a bit challenging, even for me.
Fleeing is the last game. You are swimming under water trying to get away from the predators that are trying to bite you. This one is pretty easy but it could be a bit too much for the younger set.
If you fail any of the missions or games twice in a row, the system will give you the option to skip that mission. If you choose to skip, you don't get a medal for that mission at that time, but you can go back and try to complete that mission another time.
The missions all require a small bit of effort that should be fairly easy for any age. For example, if you are swimming, you need to swim through bubbles in the water to gain oxygen in order to replenish your air meter and stay alive.
Family Mode is the other choice for gameplay and is for two players. Both players work together in some missions and compete in other missions. In
Belly Sledding, player 1 moves Mumble down the mountain while player 2 presses buttons to break through obstacles. This is not a very difficult game, but I think children ages 4 or 5 will be OK here with some practice.
Dancing is the second game in
Family Mode. Both players are assigned a penguin and can make him dance using the directional buttons. The timing will have to be just so, and if your timing is too far off too many times, the player has to wait for their "grace meter" to refill. Again, this is another game that I think four year olds will be able to play.
Swimming involves both players racing underwater, collecting items along the way. Collecting the item involves just guiding the penguin right through the object, and it will be automatically "collected". Each player must swim through the air bubbles periodically in order to remain in play without having to take a break.
Graphics and Animation:
I'm not an expert on video game graphics and animation, but I know what's bad and I know what isn't. The graphics of
Happy Feet for PlayStation 2 are pretty good....obviously, there is a lot of blue and white here because of all the snow and ice. I think that they did a nice job with the penguins - racing down the hill has a "real snow" look and swimming underwater has a "real water" look. I also like the glowing objects that have to be collected. Since I like sparkly makeup (have you ever read my beauty reviews?), then you probably aren't surprised that I like sparkly items in video games.
The penguin is cute and he looks just like the he does in the
Happy Feet commercials (I haven't seen the movie itself; just the commercials on TV).
The animation is good as well. The penguins aren't just black and white - they have shadows that look real and they dance flowingly (I expected them to be more "jerky").
I guess I'm still stuck in the 1980's, but I still get surprised by good graphics and animation...I shouldn't, because video games have been great for a long time now.
Overall:
I have to admit that when my boyfriend brought this game home, I wasn't thrilled that he thought I would like it. It looked like a boring platform game and it seemed to me like it would have been thrown together in a hurry in order to get it out in the stores for the release of the movie. But it's not platformy at all, and it doesn't appear to be thrown together. However, it's not spectacular, it's not going to blow your mind, and it's probably not even going to blow a child's mind. But it's cute, entertaining, it's free of violence, and it has a bit of a challenge that probably won't frustrate younger children. I recommend it for ages 4 to 10 (note that this age recommendation comes from a non-mom). It's also a great game for children to play together, or with a parent. We play for hours with my boyfriend's niece and she laughs and giggles quite often at the cute penguins.
Price and Purchasing Information:
My boyfriend paid $39.99 for this game at our local Best Buy brick and mortar store. It is available at mass merchants such as K-Mart and Wal-Mart, and at electronics stores such as Circuit City. Online, it can be found at Amazon.com for $29.82 as of the date of the writing of this review.
My Other Video Game Review:
Wheel of Fortune for PlayStation 2
Namco Museum Battle Collection for Sony PSP
Super Bubble Pop for Nintendo GameCube
