Curious George

by Namco

Product Features

• Explore, solve puzzles, tackle rhythm challenges and above all, make mischief -- all in reactive 3D environments
• Meet and greet your favorite characters from the movie, with in-game cut scenes crafted from actual film footage
• Unlock special mini-games, film clips, movie tunes, and other bonus content

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AVFYFA
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,920 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Curiosity is coming home! Beloved to readers for more than 60 years, Curious George is about to embark on his biggest adventure ever, as the star of a new animated feature film and his long-awaited videogame debut. The Man with the Yellow Hat sets out on a journey to Africa in hopes of finding an artifact exotic enough to save the museum where he works. George, a curious little monkey with an insatiable taste for adventure, follows the Man with the Yellow Hat back to the big city where his spunky and fun-loving nature endears him to new friends he meets along the way and lands him in a series of mis-adventures.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the beginner gamer, March 27, 2006

By 

Pam - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Curious George (Video Game)

So far, we've put about 6 hours of playtime into this game. While that may not be enough to give a complete review of this game, I will give my input this far. If your child likes the movie or books about Curious George and can handle gaming that requires an intermiate + skill level -- and you don't mind being handy to help with some of the trickier maneuvers, this is a good game.

My 4 y/o is not yet a PS 2 master, but I am happy to see games developed that are geared towards his age (Dora, Franklin, etc). We have been reluctant to try many other titles because most require a high degree of skill (i.e. frustration results).

Curious George opens in the jungle and he can climb, jump, double jump, swing, slide, crawl, and bounce his way through this (and the other levels - 12) to follow and eventually find the man in the yellow suit, named Ted. Once you've found Ted, it's more adventures and havoc (and balloons).

Unlike Dora for PS2, in which you can never fail or miss, Curious George does not prevent my young one from falling off a cliff and the TV screen. He is forced to practice and get the maneuver down before he can proceed. In the event he does become frustrated, we are practicing our self-control using deep breaths and then mommy gets to try if that fails. Some of these are tricky for me, and might require 3+ tries. (My skill level is questionable, but I would say intermediate to advanced with a preference for games like Maximo/Tomb Raider/etc. Yes, yes, I'm so uncool.)

Although the title implies a childish game, this is actually a fun game for me, and very challenging. (Again, I know, I am so uncool.)

Since the entire game is non violent and you don't witness George perishing when he misses that vine again, I think it is appropriate for the 4+ set.

If you need a game that you can plop your kid in front of, try Dora instead. That is a good beginner game, and once your child has mastered and grown tired of it, maybe George will have knocked down to a more reasonable price.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, But A Quick Game, March 28, 2006

By 

Janet Boyer "Author, Blogger, Radio Host" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Curious George (Video Game)

I bought Curious George for PS2 for my son on Saturday. We didn't start playing until yesterday, though, and we've already finished the game.

Despite the movie being for small children (mostly), the game itself is challenging for experienced child gamers. My 7 year old son has years of experience with the Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, and Sly Cooper series as well as simpler games such as Cat in the Hat, Dora the Explorer, Stuart Little, etc.

He needed my help on some elements of the Spyro games etc. and he also needed my help on this game. Between us both, though, we finished it rather quickly. Adult gamers won't find it most elements much of a challenge, but there *are* some challenging segments, to be sure.

For example, you have to use critical thinking. There was one section that I couldn't figure out and neither could my son. We finally had to call my husband in to figure it out! (You had to tip three pedestals in the museum three different times to lure Junior out of the office so he gets frustrated and goes home. The thing is, the instructions say "jump on the pedestal", but by doing so, Junior busts you every time. Finally, my husband figured out that George had to hide in the caveman display. ?!)

There are 12 levels to this game, including city streets, a box-filled warehouse, the park, the museum, Ted's apartment building, a ship at sea, the jungle and so on. George gets "Curious Points" by interacting with Curious Objects which sparkle. So if a bush is sparkly, George can go up to it and get some points for the Gift Shop (by pressing the Square button).

Also, George gets bananas which lead him to where he needs to go. This is especially helpful when you're stumped as to which direction to go next!

The mini-games are fun, too, but too challenging for most kids! Using the Square, Circle, Triangle, and X buttons, you have to use different combinations to complete a variety of challenges. For example, you have to entertain a sailor on the ship by doing a variety of dance moves determined by button combinations displayed on the screen. Another mini-game finds George in the park entertaining children. He needs to pop balloons to get tokens to take to the balloon vendor, and earns these by correctly popping balloons by accurately mimicing the button sequences.

Other fun adventures include swinging on vines, shimmying on pipes, climbing fences, crouching and crawling through vents and under objects, jumping on ledges, floating through the city while carrying balloons (and collecting more while avoiding sharp objects!), exploring rooms and crevices, and more. Often, you have to find the red idol and it's not always easy to accomplish the objective...especially the section in the city warehouse.

It's a really sweet game with great graphics, fun (and sometimes challenging!) puzzles, and live movie clips. However, if you're buying this for a child, be prepared to help out your child should he/she get stuck! If you're an adult without much gaming experience, you may find yourself at the console longer than you expected... But for those adults that are PS2 gamers, too, it's a great game to play with the kids!

The free movie ticket was an added bonus, but since we already saw the movie, we'll probably not use it (unless I agree to see it with my son AGAIN!) It expires the end of April, so there's plenty of time left to see the movie in those theaters that are still showing it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Curious George has fun chasing after yellow hat, January 18, 2007

By 

Daniel L. Stewart "Daniel" (Reisterstown, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Curious George (Video Game)

Me and my son have had a blast chasing after yellow hat. We haven't gotten real far in the game. My son is only 3 but we love trying to chase down yellow hat in the jungle.