Siap Order !!!! Sitting Ducks - 1 DVD
This game,and even the TV series,is based off the popular kids book of the same name by Michael Bedard. It aired on European TV in September 2001 and was brought to America 2 years later,in April 2003. I loved the show from the start. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard this was being released on a multi-system format. Sitting Ducks had been on TV for a while when I first heard about this game,and after seeing some screenshots,I knew I had to have this,regardless for what system(also being released for the PS2 and GBA). The game plays like a mix of Vice City and Jak and Daxter,with of course,missions you have to follow and such.
STORY
The game takes place in Ducktown,where all the fowl are web-footed,and life is good. Bill,the main character of the game,is a good-natured duck who stands out from the flock,not really understood but a kind duck nonetheless. In the beginning, Bill is in his apartment painting,when he gets a call from his neighbors, Ed,Oly and Waddle,to meet him. It's about after Bill leaves that he encounters an alligator named Aldo,who at first thinks of Bill as nothing more than a snack,but after a weird turn of events,Bill and Aldo become best friends. Your main character throughout the game is mostly Bill,while in some missions,you get to control Aldo. Your main objective is to solve and beat missions,ala Vice City,in order to help out pals and neighbors. You have a lot of assorted items at your disposal to aid you as well,everything from Vespa scooters to ice-skates(literally ice-skates) to remote controlled airplanes.
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay can get rather frustrating at times,and this is probably the most annoying part of the game for me. The PC version,while at first runs smoothly,sometimes runs slow and "choppy". Some scooters are easy to control,while others are very difficult to handle. The other annoying thing was you lose "feathers"(which are a type of currency in the game) when you bump into walls and such. Things like using the skateboard or ice-skates were especially tricky to control as well. The gameplay takes time to get used to,but luckily,despite these faults,it is nowhere near unplayable.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND
The graphics are simply beautiful to look at. Everything in Ducktown is rendered exactly as how it was represented in the TV show. There are vibrant colors which are very pleasing to the eye,and the cinema scenes were also pretty well done. The music is at times a real treat,too. From Swampwood's eerieness to the park's relaxed jazz-type music,except for Ducktown's theme,which is at times a bother to listen to. The vastness of the duck and alligator world is simply a joy to look at,and the tunes fit each stage well.
REPLAYABILITY
This game is over 20 hours of fun. Once your done with all your missions,it's hard to just finish the game,there are also hidden items to be found (in this case,flyers scattered throughout all the stages) that will keep you playing for a little while longer at least. It's definitely worth another play if you missed any particular part of the storyline,or if you just wanna go back and redo some missions you thought were fun. Although some of the missions towards the end get more repetitive,you'll want to play them all.
THE FINAL VERDICT
I'd recommend this game to any intermediate gamer. This certainly,despite it's silliness and cartoon antics, is a game that was never meant for little kids or preschoolers. This game actually involves though and timing,and would be recommended to any platform-game lover as well. It's a very addicting game to play and if you're a fan of the show, you'll love it!
