Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure

"Is it really that bad?"

Yes. Yes it is. Thank god I rented this game before i considered buying it. I do have to wonder though if i got ripped off when I paid for the rental.....

Plot: 1/10

Ok. Since i'm really not going to spoil anything with this one, i'll just say it. You are a kid going through universal studios riding rides. Deep. Real deep.

Graphics: 6/10

Not bad, but NOT gamecube capability. It runs smooth, not too much loading time, not much bad except for the fact that it could have been better. This could have been done on the N64 i think.

Sound: 6/10

Quickly annoying but, not too bad. On some of the rides (minigames) you will hear tracks from the movie itself that the ride was made from. Some of the tracks get annoying, but that's life i guess. Woody Woodpecker (your tour guide) also says a few lines here and there, so the sound isnt that bad. It could have been worse.

Gameplay: 3/10

This is where it really falls. If a game doesnt have good gameplay, it usually isnt a very good game. That is especially effective in this case. All you do is run around Universal Studios, collect letters, ride rides, and pick up trash for money (yes, its true).

Then for the rides. You run around the enormous park for an hour trying to find a ride that doesnt have a line. (for some reason, i guess the kid is very impatient and doesnt like to wait in lines) so you either have to find a ride that doesnt have a line, or you can pick up a whole bunch of trash and buy a hat that will let you get in the ride and pass all of the people that are in the line.

Finally, after picking up all of that trash, your reward. The mini game! You get to play a game that is either too easy, impossible to win, or just plain boring! Then you get some more money and buy some more hats to get on different rides and anger some more people that you get to cut in from of because you bought an expensive hat! Its just too bad the next ride is either just as bad, or worse then the last.

Replay Value: 1/10

Again. Who wants to do this twice? Sure some of the mini games are fun, but once you do them once, they get old fast. Most wont even bother to finish this whole game in their first time. You wont want to do it again.

Overall: 3/10

The graphics and the sound are the only ones that kept this game above a 2. The gameplay and the replay value (along with the plot i guess) really lacked for this game.

Rent or Buy?

Rent if even that. Do not, I repeat, do NOT spend more than 5-10 dollars on this game if you do buy it. Even then, you are sort of wasting your money.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/02, Updated 08/04/02