Intro
Whacked! is the second party title to come out for the Xbox and one
of the first titles to support the Xbox Live component. With the launch of the
online network just around the corner, it's about time to start picking up titles
optimized for online play, but is it worth it? Well, if you can ignore the somewhat
misleading advertising and small amount of play modes, then yes, it is.
Gameplay: 7/10
Since Whacked! is touted as a game show
gone horribly wrong, with the ads showing contestants behind podiums ready to
answer the host's questions, one would assume that this would be a title in the
vein of You Don't Know Jack. Due to the screenshots, it wouldn't be far-fetched
to believe that intermediate contests of reflexive prowess would come into play
to break up the questions, a la Double Dare. Well, if you were expecting to finally
have the chance to slam down that random factoid about Transformers, you'll be
upset. As soon as the intro ends, the real
game begins, and it becomes readily apparent that Whacked! is no gameshow
- at least, not the kind initially presented. The premise is such: a group of
contests beat the hell out of each other in various game modes to shoot ratings
up. The modes aren't plentiful, but they are entertaining enough. Aside from the
standard combat, there's also king of the hill, where gamers have to stay in a
constantly moving area for a set amount of time; dodge ball; and holding onto
a trophy for a specific amount of time. The way to win the combat rounds is to
collect stars that not only appear randomly on the map, but are also dropped by
the other contestants when they are hit; your character will drop theirs when
hit, but will be unable to pick them up until the color changes from the player's
color back to the standard silver. To help defeat the other contestants, players
can look forward to using such weapons as cleavers, grenade-like yellow duckies,
huge staplers, guided missiles and rockets, and mini-snowmen that freeze opponents.
After each round a new weapon will be revealed, and later levels introduce on
new stop-button actions to be unlocked as well; these special big red buttons
are used to change the entire face of the game taking place, whether it's giving
everyone a guided missile to a rain of star-mines pouring onto the battlefield,
ready to explode on any poor contestant looking to pick up a few. After each studio
set, for which there are stages of three levels apiece, new characters will be
unlocked.
Dispersed among the levels
will be commercials to help the game fit in with the theme of a television show,
and it's something that works surprisingly well. These ad spots are normally very
random, and people will either find them hilarious or pointless. Humor is a large
factor in the game as the contestants are wildly imaginative, but might be too
overboard for some people. For instance, take Lucky. Lucky is a disgruntled rabbit
who had his feet cut off by a manufacturing plant who sells them for good luck,
plus he also sports a Scottish accent, which is heard frequently throughout the
matches. There's also a nude dominatrix who has black "Censored" bars
over her more intimate areas and has a tendency to jump spread-eagled, although
this isn't noticeable unless you opt to select her as a character, so the game
is kiddy safe as long as she isn't picked. During the matches, various taunts
are blurted out, some of which are bleeped out - like on TV - but some, like the
announcer, are off-base and repeated way too much. For those who enjoy this type
of humor, the censoring of words, black bars, and commercials will really go a
long way as it does a great job of sticking with the game's theme. But, if you
don't find any of it the slightest bit funny, it might be time to turn it off. While
I enjoyed the quirky commercials and rabid cursings of a mad rabbit, it's the
way the levels work with the game modes that really made it enjoyable. Dodgeball
and King of the Hill are great fun, but their longevity was due to some great
levels. There is always a little something extra to keep players off their toes
in all of the levels; whether it's a fan that cuts anyone near the side and shoots
them in the air if they're on top, a kid's room with a constantly moving train,
or a steel beam swinging from one side of a rooftop to the other, there's always
something to look out for and things can get especially heated when these actions
are caused by other contestants. One level I particularly enjoyed was fighting
it out in the back of an old pick-up truck that was on the run from the cops,
where the level was played out not only in the bed, but also on the toolbox and
on top of the hood of the cop car.
The consistency of the level design was the main driving force in Whacked!'s
entertainment. The modes may get tiresome after a while, as with most party games,
but I'm always up for opening up a bit of burning lava and watching contestants
fall in and catch on fire. Mix this with a few friends -- and soon, online buddies
-- and you have one of the more successful outings in this genre to date.
Graphics: 8.5/10
The character
design is very imaginative and the levels are fantastic. This is one of those
rare games where I didn't mind playing as each of the characters, as even the
low-end ones were more enjoyable to use than most titles' main characters. The
high-energy host really sets up the game's pace very well. Even though they aren't
high quality, the commercials are entertaining enough, and the rendered cutscenes
are gorgeous. Some of the levels feature limited objects, or roaming areas, but
everything tends to look at least above-average, with most appearing far above
that. Sound: 6.5/10
The music
was fitting to the game. The various sound effects were also done well, from the
noise of the train on the bedroom floor to the sound of a staple slamming down
on an opponent. The voice-overs were very well done, but lacked variety. There
was a tendency for one character to constantly talk, normally using phrases from
a limited list, without much noise being made by the other players. Despite being
entertaining in the intro and cutscenes, the announcer is very annoying within
the levels. He has a tendency to repeat one phrase or to intertwine two phrases
and repeat those, and he also makes remarks that aren't very accurate - these
tend to be with regards to who is leading and who should be leading. Control:
8.5/10
The loose controls and high jumps go well with both the single- and
multi-leveled stages. Being able to jump a quarter of the arena in one go is a
valuable asset and a key feature in how the game keeps such a fast and frantic
pace. There were only a few frustrating occasions when precise handling was actually
needed, but luckily, these were sparse. Overall:
7/10
Party games tend to be easy to recommend. They either have a great variety,
with mini-games that are of a high enough caliber to justify spending cash on
a non-traditional title, or the games are so few and horrid that telling people
to stay away is an easy task. Whacked! is a different case as it really
depends on how much the humor is enjoyed. I can't stress that enough, because
it's an integral part of the game and no matter how much fun the mini-games are,
you won't have fun if everything about it irks you. Since this is the case, I
would say it's a definite rental. Having some friends over would be a plus, but
I enjoyed the single player aspect as well, so here's to those who don't have
friends - or willing participants. [
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