Tak: The Great Juju Challenge

"Lok is Great, This Game is Not"

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is the third game in the Tak series of games. The Tak games are 3D platformers which follow the adventures of Tak and his friends. I have never played any of the other Tak games, so this was my first one. I think it's based on a TV show, but I have never seen it, nor do I know anything about it. I simply picked up the game on clearance at Best Buy for $4.99. I figured if it provided me with an evening worth of gaming, then it would be worth it.

I can say that the $4.99 I spent on the game was definitely warranted, but overall it's a lacking game that actually had some potential, but is really ruined by a few key things.

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is a facetious game that doesn't take itself seriously, and quite honestly, it's made for a younger audience. I didn't hold that against the game though, since I've enjoyed many games in the past that were geared towards younger audiences.

The entire game is one giant contest. You will be competing against rival teams the entire time, and you will be trying to keep your score high enough to advance to the next level of the game. What kind of contests will you be performing? Well there are quite a few, but mostly you will just be doing standard platform gaming, with a time limit. You will not see the other teams during your travels. They will only ring in with their scores when you finish a level.

All of the contestants are in pairs of two, and teamwork is the main focus of the game. With that being said, Tak: The Great Juju Challenge can be played as a one or two player game in its entirety. I played it by myself, but I could see how having another player might make things a bit more fun.

Tak's consort for the game will be his friend Lok. Lok is a big, dimwitted goofball who adds a lot of funny moments to the game. Think Toejam and Earl. Tak being Toejam, and Lok being Earl. Lok can perform tasks such as throwing Tak to higher grounds, climbing vines, and taking a bit more damage than Tak. On the other hand, Tak has better magic abilities, is able to swim, and is much faster.

You will need to use their individual talents to solve a slew of puzzles in each level. Most of the puzzles consist of lighting torches, which gives you more time and opens new pathways for you.

When confronted with enemies, both Tak and Lok have some melee combo attacks at their disposal. They will also be able to throw objects and use magic against enemies.

You can switch between either character at any time and order the other character to either follow you or not. They will also be able to interact with certain animals, mix recipes to obtain more spells, and acquire upgrades for their health, mana, and weapons.

Along the way, some mini-games will surface as well. There are also side missions, which give you bonuses, and some rather funny cut scenes which made me laugh on a few occasions.

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge has a lot going for it, and it's actually a pretty fun game for the most part, but the fact that every level is timed really takes away any exploration aspects from the game and you will just feel like you are being forced through the game.
Once you are forced through the level, you will then get a score, and if it's not high enough, you will need to replay the level, and you will not be able to proceed until your score is high enough. The fact that everything is timed really kills this game. It would be a pretty decent platformer if this was not the case.

Graphics 7/10

Graphically, Tak: The Great Juju Challenge looks pretty average. Some parts of the game look great, and others not so much. The character models are all unique and interesting and their animations are pretty good. Everything looks pretty clean and the lighting and smoke effects in particular are above average.

The most impressive area is the Juju Realm. The Juju Realm is basically your home base area where you can go to the different levels. It has giant floating platforms, beautifully drawn buildings in the distance, and some nice particle effects.

When you are going through the levels, things become a bit more stagnant. It's easy to get confused in certain areas since a lot of it looks the same. Having a platform with four branching pathways that almost look identical will make you scratch your head more than once.

There are also some graphical glitches in the darker areas. For some reason the frame rate seems to hiccup like crazy when you are in a cavern that is lit by torches.

So the game is mildly pleasing to the eyes, but it's not a game that will wow you on a consistent basis.

Sounds and Music 8/10

I'd say this is the strongest part of the game. Each area has its own little catchy beat that will get repeated over and over, but I enjoyed them for the most part.

The entire game is voice acted and I'm guessing they got the original voice actors from the show because the voice acting is top notch. Not only this, but the lip synching is some of the best I've ever seen on the Xbox. All of the lip synching looks authentic and it does wonders for showing the emotions of the characters.

All things considered, my favorite part of the game is the voice acting of Lok. He is voiced by Patrick Warburton of Hollywood fame. Patrick Warburton is also known for his voice acting of Joe Swanson in the Family Guy TV series. He really does a fantastic job, and Lok had me laughing out loud a few times during the game.

The music and voice acting are no doubt the highlights of the game.

Story 3/10

Well this game isn't really made for a deep story, but it's pretty dumb regardless. Basically you are trying to win The Great Juju Challenge and you will be competing against a few other teams. You will be introduced to the other competitors through some cut scenes, but they are more annoying than anything.

Gameplay 5/10

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is a simple game and it's very forgiving, but for some reason it frustrated the hell out of me. It frustrated me because of the time limit on each level and the scoring system. No matter how well you perform during your adventures or how many extras you find, you are still at the decree of the point system and the time limit. It just feels like the entire scoring and time systems are in the wrong game.

The camera is also quite a bother. You can only rotate the camera 360 degrees at certain times, so this will cause a lot of missed jumps, resulting in much discontent. There is also no way to change your camera controls, so you are stuck with an inverted horizontal and vertical camera, which I do not like very much.

One the bright side, the co-op gameplay is fun and will make you think time and time again. The problem is that while you are thinking about the puzzles, the clock is ticking away, and it often forces you to make rash decisions as a result. I found the best strategy is to go through each level a first time to get your bearings, and then replay the level for speed. So this means that you will be playing almost every level at least twice, if not more times to try to get a higher score. This starts to get old after a while.

The puzzles also get recycled over and over. While Tak and Lok do have quite a few tricks up their sleeves, they will be exhausted soon enough, and after a while, the same solutions pop up for the same puzzles.

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is a fun game for a while, but it gets repetitive fast and replaying levels over and over will turn off too many people.

Longevity and Re-playability 7/10

If you are a perfectionist, then this is a great game for you. Getting through the levels with good scores will take some practice and some quick thinking, but in the end it just doesn't seem worth it. Why replay a level over and over to get a higher score, when the next level you unlock is almost the same as the last. It just doesn't make sense.

The co-op play is great though. I could see myself enjoying this game a lot more if I had someone else to play it with, but seriously, who the hell is going to come over to my house to play co-op mode in Tak: The Great Juju Challenge? Probably not a human on Earth.

Conclusion

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge tries to be a different kind of platformer, but it's the same old stuff with a time limit. If the time limit was not in the game, I would have enjoyed it much more. If you can find the game for $4.99 or cheaper, I recommend giving it a try, just to see the voice acting and the co-op play, but don't plan on spending more than a few nights with it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/08, Updated 06/24/09

Game Release: Tak: The Great Juju Challenge (US, 09/19/05)