Elf (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Amazingly, at the time of writing, Elf is unlikely to see a release outside of the USA which does seem to be happening a little too often for our liking recently. For those of you who don't know the game is based on the surprise Christmas hit of last year starring Will Farrel, of Saturday Night Live fame, on his quest to seek his true identity in New York City. 'Surprise' is the key word here and as few publishers anticipated the kind of box office the movie eventually achieved no console or computer versions were planned. DVD releases fortunately give the games companies a second chance, especially festive movies where there is generally almost a year before their home release. Depending on when the project has been 'green lit' it's a fair development time period but have the adventures of the hapless Buddy been successfully transferred to the GBA in that time or where the developers simply snacking on Mince Pies?

Gameplay

Playing as the movie's hero Buddy you have to tackle a series of 2D platformer sections and a handful of mini games. The platforming sections are occasionally very difficult and whilst the polar bears don't actually attack you on sight and the ice bridges are a different matter altogether. You can also occasionally stumble into something without actually seeing it and that's before we even mention some rather tricky 'leaps of faith' with the camera tracking your jumps only to end up on a tiny stone in the middle of a river. If you've read any of our reviews at all you'll know how unfair we think this type of level design is but it's there so you'll just have to deal with it. Collecting is the name of the game here whether it be missing sleigh parts, letters (in one level you must spell out 'New York') or even parcels though it doesn't appear to matter just how much you accumulate as you will be penalized if you fall into the icy water or get hit by a car on too many occasions which drains your health. Thankfully you can keep your well-being topped up with candy and other sugar related products, which if you've seen the movie you'll know is Buddy's chosen foodstuff.

The mini-games are the highlight of Elf but mysteriously there are only three selectable from the main menu none of which feature in the actual game. This wouldn't be a problem in itself but all three are less entertaining than those found in the main adventure. There's nothing original here either as most of the challenges involve sorting or collecting but the way they are woven into the game's plot is pleasing enough. They include a memory game, which takes place on a lift where you must replicate the floor number (up to five digits) and an initially frustrating pipe challenge where you must manipulate the mail chutes in order to re-direct the mail. There really are too many to describe but had the game consisted of just these, rather than splitting the gameplay with the awkward platform sections, there's a good chance it would have scored much higher. Finally the password system is reasonably user friendly with only five digits but a battery back up and access to all the mini games would have been a much better way to go.

Controls

Control wise Elf is a pretty solid experience regardless of what you have to do. The collision detection is occasionally a bit hit and miss but this tends to have little importance in the majority of the game. Where it is essential though is in the dreaded platforming sections, whether they are side on or top down, making for some frustration and occasionally soul-destroying gameplay. You have been warned.

Graphics

It's been some time since we've seen a title aimed towards children so poorly executed and with so much rich source material available from both the movie and Christmas it's difficult to see exactly where the developers went wrong. This is also problematic during the gameplay with some levels so badly designed that it's almost impossible to see what you're meant to be collecting or, just as importantly, avoiding (Green Elf Suit, Green Trees!) Some of the animation is a bit limited too with one level having the Polar Bears walking backwards, which we're almost certain they can't do. There's also a few to many 'shockwave' type incidents with the movement so limited it's hard to believe it's actually in a GBA title and not embedded in a webpage. The highlights are untouchably the stills taken directly from the movie but as fans of Buddy will probably now own the DVD this is little consolation.

Sound

Lots of jingly jangly festive tunes (including Jingle Bells we have to say) but don't expect samples taken from the movie. One quite disconcerting aspect of the soundtrack is that it doesn't actually stop if you die. In fact it's almost like nothing has happened and as most developers utilize the audio to punctuate the on screen action we really don't know what Human Soft were thinking.

Final comments

Elf should offer fans exactly what they want: to play through the various sections of the movie, aiding Buddy in his tireless quest for his family and Christmas. The problems arise with the varying quality of the cart with platforming sections occasionally being almost unplayable hampering your access to the more enjoyable mini-games. Unfortunately it's these areas that link the game together and you'll no doubt be throwing your GBA against the wall as you restart the level yet again thanks to a collision with an 'invisible' bird or some other creature. That aside there are some genuine (if not repeated) challenges but the badly rendered graphics and frustrating platforming sections is likely to stop the majority of players in their tracks before they really get going.

Pro: Challenging Mini-Games.
Con: Poorly Animated
Final score: 2.5

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