Customer Reviews

Disney's Kim Possible: What's the Switch

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Platforming games are fun, but can be stressful when obscenely difficult portions are thrown in as if out of nowhere. Kim Possible: What's the Switch? provides us with an enjoyable break from excessively difficult platformers. The game is fairly easy, making it ideal for younger gamers, unlike the Kim Possible GBA games, which could get too difficult at times.

It is not 2D, as some reviews say, but it is a sidescroller. This means that you can move forward, backward, up, and down. As such, it can be said that in Kim Possible: What's the Switch? you explore a 2D world from a 3D perspective. That is to say that the graphics are 3D while your movement through the game is linear. This is not a bad thing, for it simplifies the game. 3D platformers consistently suffer from imprecise controls that give them steep learning curves and make them undesirable for younger audiences. Kim Possible: What's the Switch? sticks with a sidescrolling perspective and keeps the controls simple. It's easy to pick up and play. The hardest part was switching between gadgets on the fly to cope with new threats, and that was never even all that difficult.

The controls were tight and intuitive, with the exception of the Rufus mini-levels, where you control Kim's naked mole rat companion in his adventures through air ducts and other small tunnels. Rufus's controls will take some practice to master. Kim and Shego, on the other hand, are easy to use and are far more prevalent than Rufus.

Some gamers might complain that there are no true boss battles in the game, aside from a brief fracas with Shego and a helicopter. This is simply because this game is a platformer, not an action game, and the focus is more on platforming than on fighting. Because of this, the final challenges in the game feature platforming elements in favor of a fight with a giant boss.

But there is plenty of action regardless. The combat system is simple and easy to understand, though it can still be difficult to master the timing of the handspring dodges. There are a number of varied foes that require subtle changes in strategy to defeat.

The graphics are cell shaded, meaning they tend to look like a cartoon, which fits with the style of Kim Possible. Cell shading is a beautiful way to render graphics, though it has found varying degrees of success in the gaming industry. Some levels are more beautiful than others, but all feel as if they belong in the cartoon world of Kim Possible. The Tokyo level is an excellent recreation of the toy parade in the opening scene of the Kim Possible movie, "So the Drama". The character models look good from far away, but during the cutscenes they are kind of ugly. They get the job done, though, and the cutscenes are never very long. Also, if you don't like the costumes of your characters, you can always change them by unlocking hidden outfits.

In short, Kim Possible: What's the Switch? is a fun game. It's fairly cheap, as far as games go, and won't stress you out with excessively difficult sections. At times, it might seem too easy, but for those of us who want a greater challenge, there are many secret items that are difficult to unlock. This is a great game for kids who are fans of the series, but can also be enjoyed by older audiences.

Kim Possible: What's the Switch is a great game to play if you're a fan of the show. (I am a fan so I'm giving it 4 stars.) If you're not a fan, you'll think it's so-so compared to most other games the PS2 offers. I have a couple of negative comments: the graphics aren't all the great and it is rather two dimensional. It's also annoying that the game has no manual save feature, so when the game is over you have to start over at the beginning of the level you last played. On the plus side, the controls are smooth and user friendly, the story is solid and the game keeps you glued to the action as you go back and forth quickly between playing Kim, Shego and Rufus. The cutaways are fun to watch too.

This game is good for ages 7-12 and just started playing video games. Quite challenging. Good for rainy days and when there is no one to play with.

I was wondering if this game would be too simple for my 7 yr old daughter who thinks she is Kim Possible. While watching her play, my concerns were diminished. My daughter loves the game and is challenged by it. The gameplay moves along in a fast action format. Well worth the buy.

I got yhis game and am having a wonderful time playing it. It's been pretty easy so far. I watched the show when it was on, then I found out there was a game and just recently got it. It's a wonderful game. I RECOMMEND IT!

Thought this would be a great game, but no such luck. First off, you can't customize the controls, AT ALL - Strike One. Then, somewhere around the 4th level you get to a scene that is UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE to get beyond - Strike Two and this game is out. Avoid this game unless you like pulling your hair out in utter frustration...

I'm probably quite a bit older than the target audience for the TV series or game, so bare that in mind. However, I always found the show quite amusing and have probably watched nearly all the episodes, so I guess you can consider me a fan. Kim Possible has had a good number of Game Boy Advance (GBA) and Nintendo DS games over the years, but my only other comparison for this game is the Kim Possible 2 game for GBA which I have played through many, many times.

A few things strike me about this title.

Graphics:
The graphics are sub par. If you've ever played Teen Titans for Game Cube, it's a bit worse than that. I usually don't ding a game for graphics if it's fun and they don't ruin the game, but they are disappointing. The characters are recognizable, but seem more like a bad fan-produced Kim Possible Flash cartoon you might see on the Internet. The GBA had simulated depth, though to a lesser degree, and had a smaller screen, but the graphics were much sharper.

Advantage: GBA

Weapons:
Kim actually has fewer weapons than the GBA game! How is that even possible? Shego and Kim both have maybe two attacks besides the grappling hooks. You don't even get to keep earned powers when you go back through an earlier level after you've beaten it. You have to sit through "Shadow Training" each time, which gets really old because it cannot be skipped. Also, Shego never had a grappling hook that I saw in the show and the explanation that it is created with the communicator is too ridiculous even for little kids.

Major Advantage: GBA (PS2 developers what were you thinking?)

Sound:
Part of the sound track appears to be Kimmunicator beeps. It's sometimes distracting expecting a message to appear, but not seeing one. This makes it a tiny bit annoying.

Slight Advantage: GBA

Controls:

Kim can do a whole lot of moves, but not necessarily what you want her to do. It is really hard to string together punches and kicks into combos. It seems more or less irrelevant which you use anyway. The grappling hook is not as intuitive or fun to use as the GBA game.

Advantage: GBA

Length/Extras:

If you aren't hunting down items, the levels are over pretty quickly. If you're willing to track down all the items to get new costumes (which do nothing as far as I can see) or some fairly lame concept artwork and load screen viewing, then it'll take longer. If you miss something, in many cases you'll have to play the whole level over for both Kim and Shego, which is just irritating. There are unusually frequent load screens and once it loads you can no longer backtrack.

On the GBA there were decent collectibles, though nothing major, but you could usually search the whole level without missing that one item you needed and being forced to play the whole thing yet again. I'd have expected much better out of a console game, but it disappoints.

Advantage: GBA

I think you see a general trend? It's not a bad game, just unpolished. The voice acting is great. You get to play as Shego. There are things you can't pull off a GBA. Still, with all things considered, I'd rather be playing my GBA game than this PS2 one. If this game is for a youngish kid, and you can get it for a cheap price, it might amuse them for a while. Still, I'd probably suggest they get their fill of Kim Possible on a handheld system.

This game was surprisingly fun, i bought it for 4 dollars at wal-mart and said why not and it ended up beign one of the most fun disney games i played in a long time. it's very entertaining.

The game is very fun for anyone who is a Kim Possible fan. You can play as Kim Possible or Shego. Personally I think the levels with Kim Possible are much more challenging than the ones that deal with Shego but don't think for a second that Shego's levels are a breeze either.
The graphics feel true to the show and plays smoothly, keeping you engaged from start to finish.

The only problem I had with it was the tag-team multiplayer part. The scenes are so huge that your characters become tiny and unless you have a big TV, I can imagine people losing sight of their character while battling various things like henchmen or monkeys.

In single player mode, this game... (to borrow from Ron) ROCKS HEAVY! OH YEAH! I LOVE IT! :)

Maybe Disney will come out with a sequel someday, one can only wish upon a star for that day. :)

I put this on my birthday/Christmas list. I also put down Playstation 2. I'm dying to get anything Kim Possible.I'm Kim Possible's Biggest Fan! I would love to see Kim and Shego team up to get Ron and Drakken back,their minds switched.