Um Jammer Lammy

"Dude, this is pretty ****** up right here!"

OK, I liked Parappa the Rapper because of its originality in graphics and gameplay and addictive songs. Naturally, I was excited when I was finally able to rent the sequel UmJammer Lammy. In the end, I was left real frustrated. Let me tell you why.

The graphics are pretty much the same 2-D characters in 3-D environments. The FMV is the same too, although the FMV for Parrapa's stages has a slower frame rate, which sucks.

Apparently, the major complaint about the first game was that it was too easy and too short. So what they did was change the system a bit. Apparently, the computer recognizes two different sets of off beat input. One gets you high scores, the other gets you no score. In addition, the computer also penalizes you for just mashing on one button. So it will take a while to find the right way to push the buttons in order to get the cool rating. This is a problem because of something I will discuss later.

The fine people at Nana On Shaa made the game longer by adding a 2-player cooperative and competitive mode with Lammy's alter-ego Rammy. They have also added the ability to play as Parappa and to play with/against him. In order to get yet another feature where you can listen to the songs, you have to beat all of these levels. This is near impossible for two reasons: 1. The 5th and 6th stages are really messed up because you must play off beat because the teachers are. Thus it's hard to pass because it's real easy to mess up and play on beat. Forget about getting the cool rating in these stages. 2. competitive mode is very hard even on the easiest possible setting. It seems that the computer is cheating by playing off-beat and still scoring. When I score, the computer gets a higher score. This is especially true for the 5th and 6th stages. Quite frankly, it pisses me off after losing 10 times in a row.

Finally, I hate this game because the songs are still addictive even though they are not good. Whatever you do, don't go to Sony's website and watch the live Milkcan concert from the Roxy after playing this game. This way, those songs get stuck in your head more and because these songs were not meant to be played live with a female voice, they suck. I could not sleep last night because all I could think about was "C'mon hurry, hurry the tree's gonna grow back surely huh hyah!" Arghh! I need to play Gran Turismo to make up for the frustratingly bad game design (by the way, it's not surprising that the only person I have seen get the cool mode is the one who designed the game). Don't play this game if you have lecture classes either, those songs make it hard to pay attention.

Oh yeah, this game is really weird. The most extreme examples are the vomiting catepillar and the parade of pregnant women. Don't play this game if you're under mental medication or taking hallucinogens (not that you should be). In fact, play something else worth your time.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 02/09/03