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| | Title:
Tak: The Great Juju Challenge
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Platformer
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Publisher:
THQ
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Developer:
Avalanche Software
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Release:
September 19, 2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Everyone (E)
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Tak is back again for the second time on the Xbox with his friend Lok to compete in the great Juju Challenge. The two will work closely together to impress the Moon Juju goddess to win her respect and protection. However, it won't be as simple as you think. They are representing the Pupanunu tribe and have to face off against three other rival tribes in order to win the challenge. The challenges require quickness, strength, skill, and most importantly teamwork, but there is nothing these two can't handle under a good gamer's control.
Gameplay
Before you jump right into the challenges you will be taken through a short tutorial stage where you will learn the basics of moving around, fighting, and working with both Tak and Lok. Moving and looking around is quite simple and very similar to most other games. You can jump normally as well as double jump, which will glide the character over a greater distance, to get over larger gaps. Swimming and climbing are also activities you will take part in often, as they are very easy to perform with the right character. Sliding down long vines, climbing up ropes, and other fun ways of transportation will help you get to the next area of the level.
As for the combat system, the main attack button is X and you will definitely be using this button often. With a combination of jumping, double jumping, the Y and B buttons each character can perform a great variety of different attacks. For example, Tak with his blue wand/stick can enter a tornado type moving that will send loads of enemies flying by pressing the normal attack button (X) and then pressing the B button. Lok can come slamming down to the ground with his mallet by pressing the attack button while in the middle of a double jump. These are just two of the number of different attacks each character can perform and all of them will become useful throughout the game.
The two characters you play as (Tak and Lok) each have their own characteristics, attacks, uses, and personalities as you will see throughout the various cut scenes and how you will have to use them in the game. The majority of the challenges in the game require you to use a combination of the two. Tak is great at using his magical abilities, swims well, and has some great attack moves. Lok, on the other hand, can climb very well, throw Tak up to hard to reach places, and has a huge mallet to squash any threaten enemies. The two are very different and have many opposite abilities and disabilities. Because of this, they will have to work extremely closely to get past the various challenges and puzzles in the game. If you don't know each character well, or aren't good at using them cooperatively, you will get stuck in many places throughout the game not knowing what to do. However, keep in mind that this game is geared more towards the younger crowd and is easier than most games out there today.
The competition is fierce so you will probably have to play some challenges over until you get the highest score. One down side of the competition aspect of the game is that you won't be able to play side by side with the competition. You only get to see the score they got and you have to try and beat it. The game would have been much more interesting if you could compete in the same challenge at the same exact time against the other tribes. However, this would greatly change the game because you would be able to see exactly how they are completing the challenges, but the game would definitely be bunches more fun if you could compete side by side against the other tribes.
Items and spells are another important part of the game. After you kill each enemy and often times just laying around the level you will find a number of different items and collectables. The most common being the feathers and jewels. The feathers and jewels are used to restore health and mana (used to increase speed). Other items include Blessing Gems and Chanting Stones that will definitely aid you in playing the game. Also scattered around each level are items such as Juju Fruits, Woo-Woo Crystals and Zoo-Zoo Insects that are used to create different potions. Spells are very useful, but you won't be able to use them right off the bat. Spells can do things such as freeze enemies, spawn an explosive barrel, and even increase your health.
Graphics
The overall graphics are nothing spectacular, but the environments, character models, cut scenes, and animations are done well. The different levels range from lush forests to dry deserts and ads variety to the game. The animations such as the characters running around and performing various attacks look great and some of the special effects that happen during attacks look good too.
A decrease in frame rate will likely happen several times while you are playing and are usually caused by moving around the camera while you are moving around. The camera used in this game is very hard to use and could definitely use a lot of work. If you are trying to rotate the camera angle but there is part of the level in the way, the camera rotation will actually stop and you simply won't be able to move the camera to this angle. This gets extremely annoying fast and can definitely interfere with the gameplay.
Overall
Tak: The Great Juju Challenge is geared more toward the younger crowd than the hardcore gaming crowd. This is a great game and at a great price for a younger person. THQ has partnered with Nickelodeon, so the content of the game is very similar to that of a Nickelodeon cartoon. If you still enjoy watching Nickelodeon shows, this will be a great game to pick up and play. However, if you are a hardcore, first person shooter, mastermind you aren't going to enjoy this game. With fun cooperative gameplay and some decent graphics, this would make for a great Christmas present for a younger person.
| The Core Score |
Overall
7.5 |
| Fun |
|
8 |
| Gameplay |
|
7.9 |
| Graphics |
|
7 |
| Audio |
|
7.5 |
| Replay |
|
7 |
|
| | | |
