The Secret Saturdays: Beasts of the 5th Sun (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

There seem to be more and more TV tie-ins at the moment that I'm completely unfamiliar with, so along with my review copy of a game there is generally also a PR sheet detailing where and when I can view the show at my leisure. The Secret Saturdays revolves around a family of crypto-zoologists who spend their days locating and then protecting mythological creatures. The Saturdays (which is the family name, clever eh?) are not your usual 'white lab coat wearing' scientists though, as rather than spending all of their time mulling over experiments, they are all about action, which is rather fortunate for this DS game. It turns out that the series has proved incredibly popular but what's this game like?

Gameplay

In Beast of the 5th Sun you play a handful of the Saturdays and their Cyptid helpers, although you can't simply select these, you must call on them as and when you need them. You start out playing Zak, the youngest member of the team and one of the most useful due to the handy grappling hook that lets you reach greater heights and jump over larger areas than the other members of the team can. Anything that can't be achieved using this character will generally require a Cyptid. There's little in the way of any mystery however because you know you need to switch characters when you come to a 'brick wall' with a picture of the Cyptid flashing on the screen providing a gentle hint.

The Cyptids themselves have very different abilities. The large Fiskerton is very useful thanks to his ability to climb and his brute strength, whilst the Komodo can become invisible. They are needed to solve the 'puzzle elements' of the game but because of its linear nature, it's always very obvious what you need to do. You can also collect Cyptids by scanning their DNA and this can also be used to 'trick' locked doors into opening. Usually I'd continue this review detailing a collection of bolted on 'mini-games' but there are none. After you have travelled a dozen of so levels it's all over. If you do complete it though, you deserve a medal especially with the illogically placed save points.

Controls

The control is very intuitive and most gamers will be fine with the main character although the grappling hook can prove a little tricky at times. Your various Cyptids are also easy to control, indeed the only real problems you are likely to encounter are locked camera or the odd impossible platform where enemies are firing missiles at you from way off screen.

Graphics

While we know the DS struggles with some 3D engines, the developers here have produced a game more typical of the Gameboy Advance some five years ago. That's not a direct criticism as the 2D environments seem to suite the style of the gameplay even while it seems a little dated. The real problem with the visuals is that fact that many of the environments seem to be repeated which is fine on the shorter levels, but can be problematic on the 'maze' sections where you must carry out a number of different chores before you'll be allowed to exit. This creates a great deal of confusion (and frustration) as you'll be constantly going around in circles looking for a landmark of some description. The animation is similar to the environments and while the characters are all well drawn they aren't very fluid in their movement, which is very noticeable with the leads such as Zak.

Sound

While the developers have tried to produce a suitably epic soundtrack the results are a little underwhelming and the score is very basic compared to some similar games released recently. The sound effects do their job without being too irritating but the real highlight here is the fact that the original cast pop up from time to time to deliver a bit of voice work. This is a major plus point in movie/TV tie-ins but it does seem to be a bit of a rarity of late.

Dual screen

Other than a few menu options and the ability to select your Cyptid, nothing at all.

Final comments

If you can manage to place the dated sound and visuals aside there's a fair bit of enjoyment to be had with Beast of the 5th Sun. It's very true to the series it's based upon, there are loads of playable characters and there are some challenging levels. The problems though, unfortunately outweigh the plus points and a lot of the challenge is down to the poorly placed save areas and the repetitive gameplay. There's still more than enough here for fans of the series but if you haven't caught The Secret Saturdays on TV, then there's little here for you. Have a look around; there are far superior games of this genre available.

Pro: Lots of Different Characters to Play, Original Voice-over Work.
Con: Dated Visuals, Illogical Save Points And Repetitive Gameplay
Final score: 6.5

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