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Space Chimps Review - Xbox 360

Introduction

Game tie-ins for the latest cartoon flick are almost expectant these days. Cars, Ratatouille, Shrek, Happy Feet, they've all seen various games over the year. While often the movies can be good enough, unfortunately the games in most situations are a large disappointment, and the words "cheap cash-in" are usually thrown around. Yet unfortunately these often quite terrible games still seem to sell well, probably due to parents buying them who know little better, and so, they keep making them. The latest animated 3D cartoon attempt is Space Chimps, from the makers of Shrek, Vanguard Animation. Yes, talking chimps in space suits running around the universe (well they did actually send them into space in the 1950's...to die a slow death). Reviews for the movie are pretty scathing, so is there any hope for the game?

Gameplay

Space Chimps is really everything you've seen in a platformer before, but with very little new to excite the senses. You start with your chimp's spaceship landing on an alien planet called Malgor, where you must navigate through assorted alien landscapes. Your first task is to try and get back your spaceship, so you can get off the planet, although a further story is developed later on. Your sub-goal is to collect as many Globhoppers as possible (whatever they are!), which are coloured blobs which are spread throughout the level. At different stages of the game you either play the male chimp, Ham, or his female companion Luna.

Most of the gameplay is fairly standard here. You have to jump over multiple moving objects, swing across vines, shimmy up poles, slide over certain rails, and climb walls. Luna as well later picks up  up butterfly wings, allowing her to flutter for short distances. She can also pick up Squirt (a lizard type creature), which allows you to fire slime from your hand from a first perspective view.

As you make your way through each level, you'll come across various enemies, who will try and poke or otherwise annoy you. These can be easily dispatched via either jumping on top of them, or swinging your hairy arms at them with a few different attacks.

To get to the end of each stage, there is your standard jumping over gaps, and jumping quickly across moving or disappearing platforms, whether they be rafts, giant leaves, or other alien objects. Your chimp can also double jump, or scale walls, allowing you to reach greater heights. Unfortunately Space Chimps takes the idea of "platformer" too far, and there  just a little too many sections requiring exact timing of jumping, which can be frustrating. Ham or Luna can also pick up certain objects, which have to be carried around and placed on pedestals to open doors and get to the next part of the level, For health, you have a banana gauge to indicate your life level, which is taken off if you are hit by an enemy, or fall too far. If this fully (continued next page)