Choosing kids games isn’t hard to do since there are so many out there that are aimed at children. What’s hard to do is find one that kids will love to play but their parents won’t mind forking over the money to buy. The problem parents face is finding a game that is easy to play so that their child won’t get easily frustrated but challenging enough that the game can’t be finished in a couple of hours.
There are a lot of kid’s games out there since there are so many developed from hit movies that come out. Open Season is exactly that, a Movie/Game combo.
Open Season was a movie that was aimed at kids with the cartoon characters and style but held humor and situations that adults could find appealing. The game is able to bring the characters from the movie to life in a completely interactive way so the kids will like that.
The length of this game will vary. For adult gamers it will take a couple of hours, tops, to get through from beginning to end. For children it may take longer since there are a couple of mini-games that will pose a small challenge, but I don’t think it would take children too much longer to get through it all.
Storyline:
You switch perspectives through the game between Elliot (the deer) and Boog (the domesticated bear set free into the woods). It follows the movie in-so-far as you start off as the domesticated “pet” who happens to meet Elliot and is tempted to leave “home” for the woods….but it’s three days before the beginning of hunting season. You need to “survive” the stay in the woods, help the animals you encounter, and take care of your enemy…the hunters!
- Adventure mode (single player mode) – This is the main mode throughout the game….from domesticated “pet” to a bear who can survive the woods and the hunters.
- Mini-games - as you go through the Adventure mode there are mini-games that pop up that you can play or skip. Some are so easy you could do it in your sleep, others are just a little frustrating because of control issues but none are “challenging” or impossible to complete. These can be played as Multi-player online or in your home.
Graphics:
They stay true to the movie. The characters are all there and appear the same in the fame as they do in the movie and the graphics flow from scene to scene. The load times are obnoxious though, so be ready for those at every turn. Graphics aren’t amazing, but they are good for what they are. But beware of the load times, they are long and frequent.
Sound/Voiceovers:
They aren’t amazing but they are good for the game. The voices appear to be the same from the movie so that rings true. The sounds of rifles, bear traps, and Boog/Elliot running are effective too. But, like the main pitfall of all games…they have three or four key phrases that they say…and they say them over and over and over again.
Overall Open Season is exaclty what it appears, a game marketed with the release of a children's movie hoping to cash in on the cross-over market. While it won't be worth the purchase for adults, kids may find the characters and situations amusing and fun.
My Final Score for adults is a 5
My Final Score for kids is a 6.5
JessR Contributing Writer Gamer's Perspective
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