Reviewed: October 26, 2004
Reviewed by: Daniel Sayre
Publisher
THQ
Developer
Blitz Games
Released: September 7, 2004
Genre: Platform
Players: 2
ESRB: Everyone
6
6
5
7
6.3
Supported Features:
“Fairly Odd Parents” is one of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows. It follows the (mis)adventures of a young boy named Timmy and his fairy Godparents, Cosmo and Wanda. Fairly Odd Parents: Shadow Showdown is their second videogame out, after 2003’s “Breakin' Da Rules.”
Shadow Showdown is a 3rd person action/platformer that has you trying to defeat an evil jester and reclaiming a royal jewel to help your fairy Godparents get the magic back in their wands so they can fix your TV and you can watch “Crash Nebula” with impunity.
As with most games, your personal problem was merely the symptom of a much larger, and more sinister, one. You, throughout the course of the game, end up stopping, defeating the villain, saving all creation, cue end credits.
The game itself largely centers around getting three wishing stars so you can make a wish. Wishing, as with most things of such caliber, is toned down to the point of hardly mattering. Timmy, instead of wishing for tanks and planes, usually sticks to slingshots, pogo sticks, and other irreverent fare.
Occasionally, some cool stuff, like a freeze ray will slip in. Wishes also must be collected to advance so instead of being a boon, they become a burden. You are able to buy a radar like device that cues you into where the stars are hiding so you’re not completely in the dark about their location.
You can also buy other things to help you in your journey, but it’s the same stuff like in every other game, a faster sprint, a single attack upgrade, etc. The most impressive thing is the wish radar which, when purchased, can be further upgraded to tell the location of other secrets.
The stages are pretty varied and do much to break away from each other so each one kind of feels like a whole new experience. No outrageous levels, though few are quite fun the great majority of them serves little more then window dressing for the wish collecting. They are visually dynamic, but you’re basically doing the same exact same things in most, but not all of them.
The fairies act as little more then glorified tour guides, you are free to call on them if you are stuck, or to hear their “jokes” but it is rarely necessary (and even when it is, the game prompts you to call them.)
The multiplayer mode adds about four more playable characters, Wanda and Cosmo along with Timmy’s two best friends from the show. The multiplayer consists of one-on-one in six different mini games. Roller Pinball and Chin hockey being the best, but none of them really make you think of anything except “afterthought.”
The story is practically insulting, even the age group the game is aimed at will get it immediately (even the instruction booklet does everything but directly tell you) Not a lot happens, you defeat the enemy and everything does back to normal for all intents and purposes.
In a word, cel-shaded. In another word, jaggy. That pretty much sums up the visual aspect of Shadow Showdown. Everything from the stages themselves to the characters come cel-shaded, with most characters only having a simple texture mouth (one not actually modeled on the game model.)
Timmy does change costumes during different stages, which is a welcome change. The costumes are pretty much solely cosmetic in most instances but they usually fit the environment and it is somehow cooler playing as Timmy when he’s in a different costume.
The game runs pretty smooth, nary a trace of slowdown in what I played. The models themselves are somewhat acceptable, surely nothing to really tax the game muscle. In all honesty, it doesn’t look much different then an N64 game. The menu’s are clear and concise, the little cut scenes are well directed and probably one of the better parts of the game.
The series’ voice actors reprise their riles for the game. Cosmo and Wanda also seem to have some of the most uneven of the dialogue too. Most of the tertiary characters seem to be better acting and speak more fluidly then Timmy and the main cast. Sound effects fit the mood.
The game music is decent, if uninspired, I would buy a soundtrack of it by any means. Still, as basically a children’s game, I’m not expecting to be wowed with “Symphony of the Night” type music. As with the graphics and the gameplay, the music is completely average for a title like this.
For a game like this, it’s surprisingly packed. You get unlockable extra consisting of videos, as well as a fairly low-key multiplayer mode. Playing the game unlocks the videos and I can’t really fathom a reason to play through the single player mode after everything gets unlocked.
The multiplayer mode isn’t anything to write home about, it runs well enough to entertain the game’s primary audience, but not anything someone over the age of eight (if that old) is really going to find all that fun and enjoyable.
The PlayStation 2 version also came with a “making of” documentary that seems to be absent from this release. I can’t see a reason for not including it, but it appears they were able to.
Well Timmy, after going with you through the course of the game, I saw many things. I saw graphics that just weren’t that great. Voice acting that, while somewhat funny, oftentimes felt forced or the acting was uneven. I saw stages that changed the gameplay too little from level to level.
I saw ideas that could’ve been put too much better use. I saw a lot put into the game but so little I could take from it and enjoy. At the end of the day Timmy, I’m fairly sure you should’ve wish for a more engaging game.
If the kids love the show, the game is good enough they good play through it, and quite probably enjoy the experience. If you are looking a plat former that includes new gameplay ideas and keep people older then eight entertained you’d best look elsewhere.