102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue (GBC) Review (no fat)

by Activision Platform: Gameboy Genre: Platformer	ESRB Rating: Everyone Release: 2000-11-10	102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue (GBC) Features: Play as Oddball or Domino 16 exhaustive levels to explore Password-based system Splendid character designs and animation Unlock mini-games upon beating the game
	Egamer's Rating: 6 / 10. Reviewed on: 2006-02-04

Game Description

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue is yet another movie that gets ported to the video game market. As Oddball, or Domino, it is your responsibility to set free all the poor Dalmatians that are still imprisoned in the evil Cruella’s factory. It turns out the puppies are essential to the functioning of Cruella’s establishment, as they constitute its sole source of power. It is consequently a perilous quest, as several enemies hide behind the factory’s walls to protect it. Oddball, or Domino, is not to be intimidated though, and persevere in their rescue mission.

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Gameplay

The game focuses on restoring the movie’s cutesy atmosphere and humor. In spite of the fact that Oddball and Domino need to be alert at all times due to the enemies that prowl around, there is no denying that 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue has a great, almost easy-going atmosphere about it. This is made more blatant by the excellent character designs present throughout this port.

The game itself, while extremely generic with its limited features, is quite fun. You get to choose between the two naughty puppies Oddball and Domino, and control the selected character throughout the whole game. Unfortunately, this does not actually change anything gameplay wise, because both whimsical heroes control the same. Thus, no real incentive to beat Puppies to the Rescue with both characters is on offer.

Puppies to the Rescue merely involves navigating across platforms while keeping your eyes open for keys and occasionally barking at enemies to dispose of them. Obviously, it is not just a matter of searching for the keys. You also need to grab them so you can open the cages in which the remaining pups have been locked. There is a lot of jumping to do, and you will find yourself hopping onto various types of ledges. You will also need to watch out for platforms that constantly move back and forth in the hopes of fooling you. Should you misjudge your jump, you will plummet to a certain death.

The game boasts more than a dozen varied levels, which makes for an interesting adventure. You will visit locales such as the huge factory itself, where the difficulty is blatantly cranked up with its frustrating array of platforms. Most of the stages are also quite long. Actually, fully exploring them actually constitutes the game’s real challenge because 102 Dalmatians unfortunately suffers from its overly generic enemies that pose no threat at all throughout your quest. Even the bosses have ridiculous patterns that are extremely easy to figure out, and this is a major blow to the game’s replay value. The game does include a couple of mini-games that are unlocked by beating it and gaining the picture-based passwords, but these fail to entertain for long.

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Controls

There is not very much to do throughout the game, and this is obviously reflected in the controls. Handling your character is a breeze where the A button allows you to jump while B yields a sharp bark. You will not be frustrated by the responsive and simple controls.

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Visuals

The visuals are definitely the game has most polished part with an excellent animation that truly restores the movie’s cheesy atmosphere. Oddball and Domino both sport superb designs that are faithful to their real counterparts. The character models are spectacularly detailed, although most of the enemies are unfortunately bland. Each action is also brought forward with nice effects. The whole game benefits from an enormous amount of details and lush colors, thereby making the game even more brilliant visually.

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Sound

The audio is poor with a plethora of exaggerated sound effects used to highlight the action. These have a rugged feeling about them, and rapidly get irritating. The only exception is the dogs’ barking, which is quite realistic. The music is not any better, with a single monotonous tone that never really blends into the game.

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Overall

While 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue is a faithful port of the movie, it nevertheless lacks tangible features to make it worthwhile. It will no doubt please big fans of the movie, but there is not much about it to appeal to a larger crowd.

102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Cost

The game currently retails for $14.99.