Rugrats: All Grown Up (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

I first encountered All Grown Up not on TV but on one of Majesco's GBA Video carts that was sent to me for review some time ago. It's somewhat ironic then that the very episodes I viewed, which I can only assume was the 'best of', form the basis of the 'adventure' section of this cart. If you're not entirely sure what All Grown Up is, it's simply The Rugrats who have, well, grown up, no doubt to keep in touch with their original fan base who unlike The Simpsons? can't be frozen in time. The game itself is similar to many kids titles at present with a variety of genres poured into a single cart in the hope that at least one will appeal to the average pre-teen gamer. What they are and, more importantly, how good they are is what we're all about so let's go 'back to school' with Chuckie and Co and see if this is worth your time and money.

Gameplay

Express yourself is split into three very different sections all of which are available from the front menu but as these selections are somewhat limited until you complete the adventure section that's where we will start. While this is technically an adventure it's also a very basic one consisting mostly of locating and talking to people and made even simpler thanks to the handy map feature. This is all because of Angelica and her new role as a reporter with the point being to uncover enough information for the next edition of the school paper. It takes place over three different locations: The Neighbourhood, School and The Mall. These are all very similar in layout meaning you'll never hit a brick wall and the puzzle solving is almost none-existent. In fact the only time you'll be challenged in any way is when a character challenges you to a mini-game and though you'll constantly be forced to play Volleyball with everyone, there are others more suited to a particular situation. Once you've played though the adventure you can select any of the mini-games from the main menu. This is one aspect which gives this title considerable replay value. The mini-games are varied to say the least and although they are all simply reworking of existing games they're designed in such a way as to make them feel fresh. Among the best is Picture Mix where you must rework several pieces of an image by rotating and swapping them in order to bring it back to its original form. Also worth a mention is the River Raft section which is a rather good 'mode-7' collect'em up against the clock. The rest are a mixed bag but there's undoubtedly something here for all tastes. Finally there's the rather comprehensive PDA section which includes everything from an address book to to-do lists and birthdays. This is transferable to other GBA users, as long as they have a copy of the game, as are some of the mini- games.

Controls

As this is a title aimed at children there's help available at every stage, even for the various mini-games and the various menu sections and PDA features are all incredibly intuitive mostly due to their graphical interface.

Graphics

If you've encountered any other Altron titles then you'll know what to expect mostly due to the fact that they are using the same engine as other previous Nickelodeon games. While in no way outstanding the visuals certainly do a fine job of recreating the on screen characters although the animation is probably best described as minimal. This is in no way a criticism though as it all seems to work in the context of the title which is both vibrant and uncluttered.

Sound

The music in All Grown Up is well above average with selectable tunes via the main menu. The sound effects are also pretty good although disappointingly this is yet another TV tie-ins which features no samples from the original show.

Final comments

The biggest problem with Express Yourself is that it can't decide whether it wants to be a an Adventure, PDA or a collection of mini games and the result offers varied levels of success in all three. The weakest of these is the Adventure section although this is something of a necessary evil as it's the only way to access the far more enjoyable mini-games. It's probably a tie between these and the PDA features which will encourage you to actually part with your cash for this latest Nickelodeon release. Overall Altron have produced a game which will appeal to hardcore fans of the show and while it's no where near as enjoyable as it could be it still has enough gameplay and PDA features to warrant a purchase.

Pro: Fun Mini-Games.
Con: Main Game Repetitive.
Final score: 6.5

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