The Grinch

"Fun as a big green furry..."

From the language selection screen, you'll begin to wonder if the space on the Dreamcast disc wasn't used for voice overs in different languages. From the title screen on, you'll never see your VMU do anything but play it's impression of dead. And from the first cut scene, you'll wonder if you should've just picked up the play station version.

'The Grinch', for Dreamcast, is not a bad game. If you like Spyro, for PSX, you'll appreciate similar 'complete task while collecting token item' style game play. Proper beating of the game, of course, lies in completing EVERY task and collecting EVERY 'gift', the token item.

Again, this is not a bad game. The basic idea for game play is both simple, and enjoyable. The use of 'gadgets', aids in your quest, is slightly rough, but a good principal. To get these gadgets, you'll have to find pieces of their blueprints which have blown across the vast land of who. And much like the completion of tasks and collecting gifts, the proper 'full conquest' of the game, comes from collecting the many scattered pieces.

As with every 'licensed from other source' theme, you know the basic story if you read the book or saw the movie. Fortunate for depth, but not attention span, the game takes places in a number of places never covered in either, yet the beginning and end are essentially the same. *no spoilers*

So, let's break this into categories.

Gameplay = 5

This game doesn't feel quite right on Dreamcast. Many PSX/DC ports have awkward controls on DC's modified controller, but this one definitely falls flat on it's face in places, especially the critical end levels. A big no no on platformers which require difficult jumps, camera relative direction may have you fall off a good aggravating ledge or two. Perhaps the WORST aspect of this game, is the vast placement of 'gifts'. Unlike spyro, which had a subtle 'pointer' with Sparx, to where other gems lay.. the grinch has no idea where the hidden goodies are. Extremely bad implementation, considering that his dog max should've been able to use his sniffer.

Replay = 0

If, by chance or guru skill, you manage to find every gift.. you will never want to do it again. For a game which posses 'kid draw' in it's popular children's character, many puzzles and especially the difficult placement of gifts, will have anyone under 12 throwing their controller.

Dreamcasty-ness = 0

Even Tony hawk had a little visual display of 'ouch' when you wiped out, but you will never see your VMU do anything but show the 'save' icon when you selectively save your game. Nope, with absolutely nothing to do online and no VMU screen support, Grinch was a dry zip job to Dreamcast.

Graphics = 3

It appears that the developers did, in fact, upgrade the texture quality of this port. Textures are almost always clean, and sharp, as Dreamcast can well handle. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that a single model was upgraded. The finer details of some models, such as hair and fingers, are persistently rendered as little more than moving paper cut outs, Parappa style. Everything from the grinch's creased belly to his blocky facial features, will astound you that dead or alive 2 was ever on the DC system. The only thing that makes this worse, is that the collision detection is less than fabulous.

Additionally, they never tweaked the 'drop off' point for DC. You'll notice pop up of everything from crucial items laying on the ground, to entire mountains.. fade in and out of an unreasonably close distance. The worst case of this is found in the 'marine mobile' sub level.

Sound = 4

What were they thinking? Cheap and easy. The sound effects are crisp, not that you want to hear them. The voice over is a disappointment, with not even reasonable imitations of the original narrator, nor the grinch, filling the places where hack acting fills in. While the marine mobile WILL make you turn down the sound on your system, if the grinch's victory cry for completing a task didn't already.. your reward of winning the game is a miserable rendition of a classic. The choir that sang 'fah who rah who' has been reduced to what sounds like four people in a sound booth.

Level Design = 5

It may've ranked higher, had the models been upgraded for DC, and the drop off not been so bad.. but then you realize that the game has no continue points! When you happen to die, which is not a big problem given infinite lives by default (there is a health, but no life gauge), you'll find yourself back at the entrance to the last area you entered. Unfortunately, levels are utterly huge, some of which should have divided their many areas into completely separate levels of their own. The effect, is levels that drag on forever, but a game that is short. The worst part of this is fortified by the fact that you'll often have to leave and come back with more advanced gadgets to finish your missions. With no 'run' button, this is a nightmare.

There is only one level which has a transport back to it's start, which is VERY welcome given the length.. but the other ones force you to plod all the way back to the start.

End score = 4

And, as if it was needed, pros and cons.

Pros:
'Spyro' like game play
Cartoon evilness incarnate
Legally shoot rotten eggs at people

Cons:
Best 'Spyro' factors, missing
Wreaks of PSX, badly in need of a true Dreamcast overhaul
Mini-game 'rewards' may induce angry spitting

On the rental gauge, this ranks as a passive 5. It'll kill some time, and some brain cells, but it's just amusing enough to be worth no more than 4 dollars.

Final cliche:
Receiving this game for Christmas, may cause you to Grinch.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/01, Updated 12/11/01