Perhaps known as one of the more successful movie title publishers, D3Publisher this year had a plethora of titles based on established franchises. This year, I took a peek at four of the games they had available to play, including two movie-based games.
Ben 10 Omniverse
Version Played: Xbox 360
Platforms: Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release Date: Fall 2012
Ben 10 has seen many games in the lifespan of the original cartoon. With Ominverse on the horizon, another title is on the way in the form of Ben 10 Omniverse. This time you’ll be paired with Rook as they battle their way through the past and present. Rook is new to the series and can use his Proto-Tool to assist Ben, though details about his weapon were scarce. The only way to play as Rook is to use the drop-in/drop-out multiplayer and be player two.
In the E3 demo, Rook was unavailable (though present on the screen), so I took control of Ben and was able to change into a few forms including a flame form that allowed me to double jump across lava pits in Undertown. Swapping forms was easy, but limited in the amount of times I could switch in a certain time period. Once the alien device (Omnitrix?) on Ben’s arm recharged, it was switching as usual. Once I beat down an array of enemies and got to what I thought would be a boss I’d be fighting, the Crab Dozer, I was met with the end of the demo.
A few notes of interest: Apparently the main villain is named, “Anemitrix” or something to that regard (it was extremely noisy and hard to hear at E3). This villain will be Ben’s nemesis and has powers that can counter-act his. All of this was according to the person I spoke with at the D3Publisher booth at E3.
iCarly: Groovy Foodie!
Version Played: Nintendo DS
Platforms: Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 12th, 2012
At first glance, Groovy Foodie! looks to be just another Cakemania type clone. The idea is to feed as many patrons that come up wanting a bite to eat. In application, WayForward took a bland formula and changed it up. Instead of simply tapping as quickly as you can to get the meal out as fast as possible, you’ll need to strategically time your moves so that you’re able to feed people accordingly. Some people don’t just want one portion, but two and to help with that are different types of foods you can serve. A menu provides the choices you’re able to prepare and shows a rating above as to how many servings, represented with a green dot, it will provide. If you lag behind, there’s always the usage of the Groovy Meter that will super charge your cuisine and push back the gathered crowd to a more manageable distance.
If you don’t like what moves you have, there’s always the option to save your hard earned “Bacon Bucks” to buy special moves in the shop. Once unlocked, they are are to be used in the game. For those who enjoy achievements of sorts, there are over 50 available to earn.
Madagascar 3: The Video Game
Version Played: Xbox 360
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 5th, 2012
Strangely, D3Publisher took the time to show off Madagascar 3 in their booth this year. This is odd because the release date was the first day of E3, meaning it would be old news to many. Still, I took a look at the game, even with that in mind and found yet another game that features drop-in/drop-out multiplayer. When I hopped in, I played as Melmen, a giraffe who seemed to bounce as a bunny might across various wooden platforms. My partner was able to watch me approach on his portion of the screen as I attempted to get to the check point. Many times I would miss the platform I was aiming at and would need to start again. In this regard, the platforming in the game can be very unforgiving. A positive though was that even with the split screen action, the game ran at a steady 60 FPS, though this will probably not be the case for the Nintendo versions.
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
Version Played: Xbox 360
Platforms: Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release Date: November 20th, 2012 (except Wii U which is Holiday 2012)
The last stop for me in the D3 booth was Rise of the Guardians, which is based on the film that brings Santa, the Easter Bunny, and other childhood legends together to protect the imaginations of children around the world. Once again, this will be a stand alone game that pairs well with the movie, but does not follow it specifically. This one was also yet another drop-in/drop-out multiplayer, but the interesting twist to this was the throwback to old arcade games in that you can select which character you’d like to be instead of simply being assigned one. Each character can be customized at any time, which lends itself well to the collection of crystals and purchase of power-ups and enhancements. Each of the guardians has three unique special powers and tends to reflect how they play. An example would be Santa has a strong, powerful attack that takes out many enemies, but is somewhat slower. At times the screen was a bit too cluttered to see what was going on, but the fact the game seems very forgivable lessens this as a negative to the game. What also helped this was the fact that there’s no friendly fire, so you’re free to blind fire in any direction.
A note of interest: The Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS versions of the game will have the same single player experience, but no multiplayer.
Gallery of all games talked about above:
