4.9	4.7

Compared: October 11, 2002
Compared by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Universal Interactive

Developer
Point of View

Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen

As you can tell from the scores, neither game is all that good, but if you are a hardcore action game fan or simply love the Rock and feel compelled to give this title a go, here are the facts you will want to consider.

Round 1: Control

The control is amazingly simple which is both a good and a bad thing. It's good because you will pick up on the commands probably faster than the tutorial can teach them to you, but it is also bad because the simple controls give away the simple nature of the gameplay that is weak in combat, fighting style, combos, and everything else you would expect from a game that focuses almost entirely on fighting.

Both the PS2 and the GameCube offer similar control schemes, and I found neither one worked better than the other. You can decide the winner of this round by picking your favorite controller. Personally, I found the Dual Shock worked quite well and the buttons were all comfortably within reach, although there are no real complex button combos required during the game.

Round 2: Visuals

Only through direct side-by-side comparisons will you see any difference at all in the visuals. The PS2 offers a sharper image with richer colors. The GameCube version seemed to have a low-contrast filter that just washed out every image and all of the subtle texture details in the dirt, grass, characters, and even the scenery out on the horizon. Admittedly, this lower contrast removed some of the shimmering and jaggies found in the PS2 version, but those instances were so few and far between that I would rather have the sharper image and brighter colors.

Both versions share the same horrible camera problems and the annoying collision glitches that are so bad they actually hurt the gameplay. This round goes to the PS2 but only barely.

Round 3: Music & Sound

The sound and music in Scorpion King were indistinguishable between the two versions. There was no fancy surround sound mix in place so you end up with a very generic sounding game. The voice acting is very well done with samples from the Rock, Mark Hamill, and Billy West, but the sound effects become as repetitive as the game after an hour or so. This round is a draw.

Round 4: Other Deciding Factors

Neither version of this title offers any additional content or bonuses to distinguish it from the other.

Bottom Line

The Scorpion King is a disappointing movie to game translation that fails in just about everyway possible. There was so much potential for a great game and it was all wasted on a linear arena-style combat game disguised as an adventure. While the PS2 manages to creep ahead of the GameCube for overall visual quality, anyone who considers this game on any format should use extreme caution and consider a trial rental before committing to a purchase.