"The Fat Phat Cat is Back"

Garfield is one hungry feline, and he has decided to come back to the DS in the most traditional way possible. The game based on the movie of the same name wasn't met with much attention, and although the gimmicky touch/mic elements weren't up to scratch, it was still a fun game, sadly gone unnoticed. Now we have the good old animated Garfield back again, and this time he has done away with all the flashy functionality, resorting to providing us with a pure by-the-numbers platformer. Alas, it is destiny that such a bygone name will meet the same fate as all kid-aimed games see. Such a shame, seeing as Garfield's Nightmare is an absolute dream to play.

Visuals - 9
Sound & Music - 8
Gameplay - 8
Controls - A
Longevity - C (2-3 hours)
Replayability - C
Difficulty - Medium

Source Material - 3
VERDICT - 8.0/10

What's New Pussy Cat?
Garfield goes to sleep and suddenly finds himself stuck in his nightmares, unable to get out into the real world and fill his belly with real food. If you are looking for an interesting story, look to the comic strips; Garfield's 'nightmares' are purely an excuse to put this poor cat through 4 themed worlds of misery. Throughout his wildest imagination, Garfield will trek through a haunted castle, volcanic lands, the skies above, and a frozen tundra. Apart from the first 2 worlds, it doesn't really sound like much of a nightmare does it now? But cast away the non-existent premise, and you will find that each of the 16 levels and boss battles are exciting and full of classic platforming, like a tribute to the genre which started it all.

The levels are all linear, but there are a couple of times when you can opt to take either the higher or lower path. 16 straightforward levels doesn't sound like a lot, and it isn't, but they are still relatively lengthy at about 10 minutes each, providing you don't lose a couple of Garfield's nine of course. There is also a boss encounter at the end of each world, and they all play out in a similar way: avoid their attacks, then jump them when they expose themselves. These battles look nice, but sadly they are all too easy and with Garfield's limited moveset, don't require much thought to figure out and beat down.

Following some very large paw-prints
This game reminds me of a lot of many platforming legends including Klonoa, Yoshi's Island and of course Super Mario Bros. I swear that the developers also love the Castlevania games as much as I do, seeing as they seem to take many elements from there as well; Garfield walks the classic Belmont stride, and the first world is clearly some sort of tribute, with the drawbridge and all right at the beginning!

While there is a lot 'platforming' going on as Garfield has to deftly cross pits, jump over proximity spikes, backstep to avoid shaky pillars, and ride wind currents, there's also a lot of box pushing, switch activating, coin collecting, and enemy hurting. Nearly every platform device can be seen here, and while not original by any means, everything is done in moderation to give out the pristinely balanced levels. There was never a time when I felt bored or thought that I would rather play something else.

Phat Cat!
The graphics are some of the best yet on the DS, and this comes as a huge surprise seeing as I don't see any big name hotshots on the credits listing. Well maybe not that much of a surprise since Shin'en did develop it, and even though they aren't a very major player as yet, I have enormous respect for them. Through Nanostray they demonstrated the pinnacle of DS sound quality at an early stage, and now through Garfield's Nightmare they have shown that they can do graphics and gameplay just as well.

If you thought that the DS couldn't handle a good-looking, fast-moving 2.5-D game (as I thought last year), you're proven wrong here. The backgrounds are full 3D and parallax scrolling makes it all look even better. Garfield and the wide variety of enemies, from transparent ghosts, angry snowmen, annoyingly swift dragonflies, and misty thunderclouds - they all look super crisp and super clear. Sure they aren't heavily textured and all that, but the designs suit the Garfield comic-style to a T, and if you are looking for a close comparison, try looking at PSP's Mega Man Powered Up; yeah it looks that good!

Fat Cat...
Garfield's Nightmare is a solid product and it doesn't share the common faults that other similar games tend to have. However it still manages to get some very basic stuff wrong all the same. I've already told you how the nightmare scenario is just an excuse for putting some colourful worlds to go through, but when the game ends after the 4th world, after a seemingly 'normal' world boss, you can't help but wonder if this was actually an amateur-made game or demo of sorts - like first prize in some game developing competition. There really isn't an 'end' in this game, it just stops then and there.

Probably the biggest blunder I see is the save system. It works automatically upon completion of each level, but you can only resume from where you last left off. Once you have 100% completed the game (which doesn't take very long), you can no longer replay ANY of the past levels you have gone through unless you begin a whole new game. Is this some sort of lazy ploy to extend replay value forcefully? Yes, yes it is. The game is a blast to go through, but just like many other linear-type platformers, there isn't much incentive to go back and replay again unless you are thinking of speed-running it. There aren't any tougher difficulty levels, and there aren't any collectibles at all! Each level does have a secret door that you can search out for, but they just lead to rather dumb mini-games that earn you nothing but a few measly lives.

The only other thing left here are 3 mini-games that use the touchscreen. One has you dragging Garfield's mug to collect coins, another has you dragging his feeding dish to catch falling donuts, and the last is yet another whack-a-mole rip-off. Why did Shin'en spend time to put these in instead of adding more meat to the main platforming levels? That's not a rhetorical question; I want answers now!!!

Still got 7 lives more to go
In all honesty, Garfield's Nightmare is a game that the intended target audience will no doubt enjoy very much. Even older fans, like myself, will indulge in the easy-to-control, good-looking, lovely-sounding, always charming Garfield game here. It is a big shame that the source material wasn't utilised at all though, with neither Jon nor Odie (apart from a cameo role in one of the minigames wtf?!) even making an appearance at all! With a couple of comic strips setting the tone at the start, I was expecting some actual use of the license here.

While I had a very good first impression, I did get somewhat disappointed when I realised that it wasn't going to get any better (total opposite to Garfield 2 The Movie!) Maybe next time eh? Still, even though his nightmares never peak at any time, Garfield's adventure here is always a smooth sailing ride. If only it wasn't like with all good dreams, that end just when they start getting somewhere interesting.

8.0/10 - High-quality platforming; Shin'en you need to make your games more epic!

My Score System – a score of 7 from me denotes a good, solid game. Excellence earns a higher grade, whilst 4-6 reflects a below average product; glitchy, unplayable games deserve less.

27/03/07

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/07