Customer Reviews

Tak: Guardians of Gross

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

 

 

First of all, I like this game. If you've played previous versions of Tak, you should enjoy this one. The graphics aren't as great as they could be (PS2 quality), but gameplay and fun factor make up it. Great for kids between 8 and 13.

Tak: Guardians of Gross
Bought this for my 9 year old nephew who thought it was truly cool. Of course, he figured out right away how to use it, how to play it and even his older brother (13) thought it was fun. As a result I'm considered a cool aunt with some cred. And how can you beat that?

It is a great game, but a little too short. My family enjoyed every minute they played the game. It is a good game for kids and adults too.

The Tak gaming franchise has been such an odd animal over the years. Based on its cartoony and child-targeted nature, one might have expected a pretty slapdash series of games, but the debut game was surprisingly fun and addictive. That game was an open-ended quest type game with heavy platforming elements. The sequel, Staff of Dreams, shed the quest elements, and focused on a strictly linear platforming experience. The third game, Juju Challenge, took the series in the direction of challenge levels - you were in a hub from which you accessed individual levels and competed to clear the stages in a time limit, which you could go back to and try over again for better time. While the classic platforming feel was still intact, the lack of flow from one level to the next was a little bit off-putting (though the cut scenes were still hilarious, thanks to James Marsden and Patrick Warburton's comedic chemistry)!

The fourth game, Guardians of Gross, returns to the approach of Staff of Dreams in that you are moving from one level to the next with no backtracking available (though you can replay levels from the main menu). There are no items to collect, no side quests to complete - just get from point A to point B and beat up baddies along the way.

Thus, this title is reduced to the very core of platform gaming. In fact, the game is an odd conglomeration of the platforming style of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time series (complete with wall-running!) and the obscure PS2 title, Shadow of the Colossus (where individual levels are comprised of you running around on or inside a gigantic monster).

The problem I have with the game is that it has been reduced entirely to the pre-teen gaming market. The previous games were certainly cartoony, but they still had enough breadth of gameplay to make them a challenge, and had fun cut scenes and stories attached to them. Here, the story is very threadbare, and the cut scenes are drastically missing the comedic punch of the previous entries. The story has been reduced to the completely juvenile, including an entire stage where you employ "fart" magic, and a stage loaded with pus, mucus, and exploding boils - in other words, GROSS!

Adding to the juvenile feel is the serious lack of challenge. You will never get stuck, because Tak constantly tells you what to do. If you run up to a gap, he'll declare one of several pre-scripted lines like: "Yeah, time for a wall run!" or "Maybe the Monkeys will help me cross!" - often the game will also post a direct puzzle solution with on-screen text like "smash the stones and get the monster to swallow the rubble!" - of course, you can disable the text, but not Tak's comments. This all has the effect of making the game blazingly simple.

The cut scenes as well seriously lack the comedic punch of the previous entries, not helped by the absence of Patrick Warburton's Lok and the change in Tak's voice actor.

On top of all of this, the game is UNBELIEVABLY SHORT! I literally finished it in one sitting (under four hours) - this is unacceptable for a game outside of Downloadable Content!

The level design is mediocre, the graphics are nothing special, the controls are ok, but nothing new in the overused "wii motion" department. Add the juvenile humor, lack of story, and extreme shortness, and you are left with a seriously underwhelming entry in the franchise. To me, it's a sign that it's time to bring things to a stop for ole Tak. The game might be ideal for VERY young gamers who are just starting out in the gaming world - but for anyone else, do yourself a favor and replay the superior first two games.

I am 45 and I loved playing this game.
It is not all that mentally challenging, but it is really fun.
I think it is visually beautiful and has that tiki island feel.
I would not pay more than $25 for it.
My 13 year old nephew finished it in one day.

I am use to the PS versions of this game and decided to get the WII verson. A lot more fun.