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I fondly remember the days when
Where’s Waldo ruled the elementary school libraries. These days, kids don’t even have a clue
who Waldo is. Of course, it’s not
like he was really anything special so it isn’t a surprise that no young
people are aware of him anymore.
It also isn’t a surprise that Nintendo felt the need to capitalize
on the Waldo phenomenon by releasing a video game version of the hit
books. Finally, it should also
come as no surprise that this game would be awful.
The idea behind the Where’s Waldo
phenomenon was that each book would contain approximately 10 2-page
spreads, lavishly illustrated with lots of action going on. Hidden within each 2-page spread would
be a goofy looking guy wearing a red and white striped shirt with
glasses, hat and cane. As the
series progressed more and more challenges were added to the series
including new friends and adversaries that had to be discovered as
well. Since this game is based off
of the original book, it is just your basic search for Waldo.
There are 8 levels in this
game. Five of them are just like
the book; you have to find Waldo on your screen. The problem is that there are a lot of
sprites that look very similar to Waldo and each time you click on one
and are wrong you lose valuable time.
There are also three levels that are more in a standard video game
style. In one you have to find
Waldo in a pitch black cave, it is the easiest stage though because he
randomly appears and if you ever scroll over him, he appears as
well. The hardest level is the
subway, in this level you must traverse through a maze and find both
Waldo and his glasses. Avoid the
evil wizard though because if you land on him he takes away almost all of
your remaining time. The final
stage is a slot machine that you have to get to land on Waldo three
times. It is pretty easy if you
just memorize the character that appears right before Waldo.
Positives:
This could have been a decent
game. The overall idea sounds
somewhat fun until you see how poor the graphics are. I guess the subway level is kind of
fun. It is cool that Waldo has many
different spots that he can appear on for each level so you can’t just
memorize where he will be.
Glaring
Negatives:
A game like this is all about
crystal clear graphics. The
graphics are so splotchy in this game that sometimes I will click on
someone who looks nothing like Waldo only to discover that he is Waldo,
which is a major problem. Another
problem is that Waldo doesn’t always where his standard red and white
striped shirt. In the forest Waldo
wears dark clothes and in the city he is often in a car or popping out of
a hole where you can’t even see his body at all.
One final problem is that this
game is on a strict timer yet you still have to watch Waldo walk from
level to level as precious seconds tick away.
Graphics
and Sound: Horrible
The song is somewhat catchy but
the graphics are a complete failure on this game. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t
feel an immediate letdown upon beginning this game.
Gameplay
and Controls: OK
The controls are fine; you click
on Waldo when you see him. You
only have to have part of Waldo in your cursor so don’t worry about
fitting him all in the box.
Features:
3 Difficulty Levels
This game has an easy, medium and
difficult mode. The amount of time
changes on each level. On medium
you have 7 minutes to complete the game but on difficult you have just 5
minutes. Also on easy you only
have to search one screen to find him per level but by the final
difficulty level you have to search over 3 screens to find him.
Fun?:
Hardly
Huge Waldo fans will get a kick
out of this game, everyone else will complain like crazy.
Challenge:
Yes
First of all this game is
challenging just because of the terrible graphics. Second of all, on the hardest
difficulty this game does pack in a bit of challenge.
Replay:
No
This game is just not good.
2
Player: No
But no one is stopping your
friend from helping you look for Waldo in the one player mode.
Online
Manual?: Yes
http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NES.Manual&Game_ID=1847
Bottom
Line: Only for die-hard Waldo fans
Unless you are a Waldo groupie or
a masochist, forget about this game.
The horrible graphics completely undermine the point of looking
for Waldo.
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