My big problem with Open Season comes in understanding what kind of game it is. I can think of no genre it fits into. Ubisoft will tell you it's an action and adventure game (a genre the exclusion of which from the SPOnG database caused not a small amount of debate) and in a way this is exactly right. It is an adventure, you are tasked with guiding Boog the Bear and Eliot the Deer out of the woods and back home. And there is action on-hand. In as much as actions need to
happen in order to complete this objective.
However, most of the time I was just 'doing stuff' because I was told to: collect three things in this area, scare hunters and collect an item in this area. It's not a platformer, nor does it offer any puzzle elements. You control a bear, on occasion a deer, and they have to do stuff. In fairness, the 5% of the game in which the deer is the playable character offers perfunctory 3D platform elements, but it so basic, so under-developed and poorly-deployed, it just serves to remind you that there's lots of better games available and there's a
big chance you're wasting your time. The rest of your time is spent performing tasks as you're told them.
There are some breaks from the doing of stuff, some of them delivered very well, yet at the same time causing further problems to the game's balance. A prime example is a section of the game in which you must control the two main characters while they are mushed together in a snowball rolling down a hill. The icy sphere is controlled by tilting the Wii Remote, and jump is mapped to all the fascia buttons. Here's the rub: it's hard, hard in a way Ikaruga is
hard, in a way that's as hard as the most extreme parts of Yoshi's Island DS. It took perhaps 50 attempts to beat this section and even then it was by the skin of my teeth. How on earth a ten year-old player is going to cope is utterly beyond me and will be beyond them and their parents.
Seven mini-games, unlockable as your progress through the main game, are included. Popularised by Super Monkey Ball (which has lost its touch) and the glorious Bishi-Bashi series (which has scandalously
been ignored by SCE) every game now has mini-games. Most are just filler, something to put on the box and that is the case with those offered by Open Season.
SPOnG Rating: D
As I said at the beginning, this isn't the worst game on offer for the Wii. The big problem is has is just not being a real game. It could have scored more highly but it's badly impacted by bugs throughout, bugs that should never have made the final cut. The fact that most of the time Open Season simply focuses on absorbing players' time rather than delivering actual fun is a big problem. While younger gamers will respond to such busywork, it's unlikely they'll be able to get past the randomly difficult snowball section. Honourable mention goes to the graphics that is a proverbial silk hat made from something that is otherwise a pig.
However, most of the time I was just 'doing stuff' because I was told to: collect three things in this area, scare hunters and collect an item in this area. It's not a platformer, nor does it offer any puzzle elements. You control a bear, on occasion a deer, and they have to do stuff. In fairness, the 5% of the game in which the deer is the playable character offers perfunctory 3D platform elements, but it so basic, so under-developed and poorly-deployed, it just serves to remind you that there's lots of better games available and there's a
There are some breaks from the doing of stuff, some of them delivered very well, yet at the same time causing further problems to the game's balance. A prime example is a section of the game in which you must control the two main characters while they are mushed together in a snowball rolling down a hill. The icy sphere is controlled by tilting the Wii Remote, and jump is mapped to all the fascia buttons. Here's the rub: it's hard, hard in a way Ikaruga is
Seven mini-games, unlockable as your progress through the main game, are included. Popularised by Super Monkey Ball (which has lost its touch) and the glorious Bishi-Bashi series (which has scandalously
SPOnG Rating: D
As I said at the beginning, this isn't the worst game on offer for the Wii. The big problem is has is just not being a real game. It could have scored more highly but it's badly impacted by bugs throughout, bugs that should never have made the final cut. The fact that most of the time Open Season simply focuses on absorbing players' time rather than delivering actual fun is a big problem. While younger gamers will respond to such busywork, it's unlikely they'll be able to get past the randomly difficult snowball section. Honourable mention goes to the graphics that is a proverbial silk hat made from something that is otherwise a pig.
