Garfield's Nightmare (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Garfield initially rose to fame during the 1980s with millions of people across the world reading the newspaper cartoons every day. This naturally spawned a cartoon series but not until now have we seen the lasagne-eating feline hitting the big screen. This means more exposure and with that a more valuable license especially where games are concerned. The Games Factory has held this for some time now (although it's now in the hands of DSI) and has managed to push out a handful of titles, most of which have been forgettable. Fortunately audio masters Shin'en have taken on development duties for 'Nightmare' but can they succeed where others failed?

Gameplay

After over-indulging in all things food, Garfield finds himself in a deep sleep and unable to exit his nightmares and it's up to you to find the elusive alarm clock to bring him back to the 'real' world. This involves you hitting switches, moving blocks and negotiating all manner of moving platforms. If that sounds easy there's also a never-ending succession of enemies who either wish to knock you off a platform or sap your valuable health. These (and the end of level bosses) are simply dealt with by jumping on their heads at which point they'll simply disappear. Along the way you'll also want to pick up all the collectables. Some of these increase your lives and health while others allow you through the 'Sleepwalk Door', should you actually find it. This takes you to a kind of mini-game, which generally involves you avoiding bombs whilst collecting health in environments that are only slightly different. The same cannot be said of the other mini-games that become available on completion of each level. These are just plain boring but given the simplicity of the rest of the game you might have hoped for something a little more involving here.

Controls

This is a platformer so it's all pretty standard stuff and even if it wasn't there's more than enough on-screen pop-ups to show you the way.

Graphics

Visually the game is really quite pleasant with Shin'en employing a kind of 2.5D engine that the DS appears more than happy with. The real highlight though is the rendered Garfield himself who moves around constantly even when you are not controlling him, bringing a true sense of life to the levels.

Sound

Given that Shin'en license their audio tools to the majority of GBA and DS developers today the actual soundtrack is a little underwhelming. The sound effects fare a little better but are nowhere near the quality of the visuals.

Dual screen

Following the 'oh no, what are we going to do with the touch screen?' process of design (which many developers seem to follow) Shin'en have provided us with a handful of mini-games.

Final comments

While it's clear that Nightmares is aimed at the younger gamer the whole thing does seem to be at odds with itself. Yes, it's filled with simple platform gaming but some sections are so tricky you'll find yourself using all your lives in a matter of minutes. It also lacks variety and after only a few levels most gamers will likely become bored. It isn't even rescued by the inclusion of the mini-games, which are repetitive and not much fun. Its only saving grace is the fact that it looks good and the animation of the main character is incredibly well done but as for recommending it for kids: only if you want to keep them occupied for less than five minutes.

Pro: Great Visuals and Animation.
Con: Very Repetitive Gameplay, Terrible Mini-Games.
Final score: 4.2

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