Nicktoons Unite! Review (no fat)

Game Description

The most popular team of Nicktoon characters in a handheld get together to stop a common evil in Nicktoons Unite!

Professor Calamitous steals Jimmy Neutrons plans to create an inter-dimensional portal and gathers evil villains from popular Nicktoon shows. The newly formed Evil Syndicate then goes toe to toe with Jimmy’s own gathered group, of Spongebob Squarepants, Danny Phantom and Timmy from Fairly Odd Parents.

With clever tag teaming the Nicktoons can stop the Evil Syndicate and save the world from their devastation.

Nicktoons Unite! - Childsplay

The front cover of the game pretty much says it, although Nicktoons isn’t just watched by children. Brand name licensing is usually coupled with the typical stereotype of the particular dynamic that is a fan of the said product. But once again, since Nicktoons has a vast age range it is pretty narrow-minded to market the game for kids only.

The simple concept shows its roots from the beginning, with the age old platform style of play. Not from hardware limitations, but from the fact that platforms + popular toons = sales. The run and jumping style of play that Grand daddy Mario perfected has long since been surpassed by more clever concepts, which once again Mario coined.

Targeted at the younger audience, the level of play is kept simple enough for a beginner. However, it still has enough puzzles in it to challenge more of a constant gamer.

Nicktoons Unite! – Teamwork, or Clever Marketing?

If you wish, you can blast through the entire game with a powerhouse like Danny Phantom. But the forced tag team in the game requires that in certain situations your two team group be swapped out at a teleporter for one of the reserve characters. While this is a nice and valuable lesson for kids, having to swap out their favorite character just to pass a certain puzzle in the game screams of hidden marketing.

With the obstacles that face players in the game, it is impossible to keep the same two characters onscreen from fear of low health, or that a key point in the game requires another guy. From a business standpoint this is a great way to get new watchers interested in that one Nicktoon that they aren’t watching on Nickelodeon.

Even from a gamer’s perspective it isn’t a bad thing at all, except the teleporters for you to switch out your characters is located in odd places and can lead to some very frustrating backtracking.

To pass a level you have to solve these easy puzzles (like using Danny to pass through a wall) destroy about 3 portals that spawn enemies, while collecting a couple of nano chips to be able to exit the stage.

Oh, and there is a random boss here and there. That pretty much sums it up, and a big thanks goes to THQ for not frying the fragile little minds of kid gamers.

Nicktoons Unite! Graphics

The graphics for the backgrounds is very well done, colorful just the way you would expect it to be. There is some creative character design as well, with each of the Nicktoons looking exactly like they would for their show. This was very well done, and gives the game a good look as players go through the Toons’ familiar towns.

The level design however doesn’t look to have coped the same serious interaction. Also, the 2D perspective means that it is in a format outdated from a typical gamer’s mind and hence may not get the desired attention from many gamers.

Nicktoons Unite! Sound

Not really living up to any of the series, the sound is a mixed bag that to be honest doesn’t seem to borrow enough from any of the respective series. A lot could have been done with the sound and it loses its value after the first few loops.

Nicktoons Unite! - Summing up

Easily ignored by adults, Nicktoons Unite! is a great game for kids and a safe buy for parents everywhere. Nothing is better than banking on buying something branded by your kids most watched network, and in terms of gameplay, for the targeted audience, NU! delivers.

Even with the no-show of many features of similar games in the genre, the idead behind NU is a potent one… and, possibly, it can be expended to a wider audience.

Nicktoons Unite! Cost

The game retails for $27.00, at the time of writing.