Tak and the Guardians of Gross
I was dubious about including this game on the Girls site, thinking it would be filled with gross fart jokes and the like.
I am glad I got into it - ignore the title - it's the nearest thing to Prince of Persia for kids.
Tak runs on walls, slides on poles, swings and rides down on vines and gets flown across chasms by a parrot.
The jungle is lush with light and dark shadows and many waterfalls.
Paths through it are marked with glowing blue spheres which also act as points as you pass through them.
Enemies, once downed remain down.
For no reason that I can see, there is no going back.
Doors and fences slam shut, bridges fall after Tak passes, eliciting comments even from Tak.
To vanquish these humongous monsters that he has carelessly unleashed - Tak must travel to Juju specialists to get special juju.
It entails more quests, mini-games and amusing dialogue.
Finally Tak reaches the first of the four monsters and here are some wonderful effects.
The giant is walking and so there is the throbbing rhythm and motion as Tak is climbing about him.
Wind whistles past, things flutter and the air seems strangely thin - the total effect is marvelous.
There's much in this game to like and it is possible to look past the grosstrocities.
I could detect no difference between the Wii version and the PS2.
The Wii controllers worked well and the choice would simply be dependent upon what machine you had.
The game has been made easy to play and as such is more adventure than action, which is fine for the more casual players.
I just wish they gave it a better name.
Reviewed by: Editor - 01/09
Ages: Everyone
Fun Factor: Easy and fun to play
Female Factor: Negligible
Player Friendly: Good manuals on both games includes controller information - saving info on last page.