"Tak's Back, But He's Not Perfect Yet"

Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is about Tak participating in a challenge along with Lok. The challenges they meet along the way includes racing, obstacle courses, and certain puzzles.

Gameplay: 7/10
The gameplay is not all that good. The controls are easy to pull off, and so are the combos. There's an issue where, in the game, you can switch from Tak to Lok and vice versa, but you need to use the pointer (or your finger) to actually switch them, which can be annoying at times. Some levels have parts that are a little "too hard" while some are a breeze. The same with the mini-games. Some of the mini-games are simple, while some are a little more complicated. The controls for them are easy enough to pull off, but some are really annoying, for example, blowwing into the microphone to get Tak to fly in a chicken suit. You have options to change Tak and Lok's weapons and costumes, which are fun at times, but it doesn't help the negatives out very much. The game also takes a pretty short amount of time to complete compared to other games, which does take away from the gameplay a bit.

Story: 8/10
The story is not that bad. Tak and Lok is in the competition and they need to find a way to win, one way or another. The game follows the story very well. From the other competition pulling tricks to win, to other silly stuff like that, the story delivers what gamers want.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics in the game are great, considering it's on the DS. The characters looks almost the same as the Gamecube ones, except they are a little blocky, and they're a little more pixilated, but they're not too bad. The backgrounds are nice. They're detailed, colored nicely, bold, and match with the other surroundings. Just little touches like water falls and rocks put the backround together nicely. The enemies don't look too bad either. They're blocky, but considering they're rock monsters, they don't look half bad.

Sound: 7/10
The sound effects are basic. Waterfall noises growing louder as you get closer, enemies yelling as you take a whack at them, the sound of your feet hitting the dirt when you land, just basic stuff like that. Music is simple, elegant, and not that bad. It sets the mood sometimes while you're playing, and it's not overly destracting from the gameplay. The sound effects could use a little touch up, but other then that, the sounds in the game aren't all that bad.

Replayability: 3/10
Not really one of those games that you'd like to play over and over again. The mini-games are fun and you might want to play over those once in a while, but the main game itself really doesn't call for you to replay it. The game is short so one play is really all you need, unless if you really like the game. Seeing the story is a reason to play over it again a bit, but I really don't recommend it.

Buying this game really wouldn't be all that worth it. You would play it once, put it down, and maybe not play it again for a long time. You might be tempted to give the mini-games another go now and again, but other then that, it's just going to sit in your drawer gathering dust. Renting it would be better. The game itself is not bad, it's just a replayability issue, so if you want my advice, rent, don't buy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/06