Teen Titans - Student Review
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Majesco Developer: A2M Media: GCD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Action/ Adventure
Graphics & Sound: Teen Titans, based on teen superheroes, makes a super-powered attack, coming from its animated version on Cartoon Network to its Game Cube version, yet again fighting evil on a daily basis. It takes the series' unique character dialogue and distinctive comic book visage and translates it to this kick-butt game. The graphics of the game basically come straight from the show. All the details are so similar to the show that, for a second, one could think they are watching the show instead of actually playing the game. Each level and each scene is so wonderfully done that there are only a few flaws, like the sometimes rigid appearance of the heroes' faces and the camera angles which sometimes don't let you see all the action that is going on - even, occasionally, including your character. Sound in this game is something that satisfies greatly. From the blaring theme song to the ambient background noises, you can't help but feel as though you have been sucked into a comic book and you are fighting for justice. But if the sound isn't your style, they give you three different options for turning it off: SFX, Music, and Dialogue. You can even have subtitles, if you don't want to hear them but still just want to know the quirky comments each character makes.
Gameplay: Teen Titans basically follows the series with the young superheroes from various DC comic books versus the villains straight from the show. The team leader is Robin and his merry band of good guys consists of Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. With each team member having their own special defenses, they combat against henchmen and their villain bosses. The story starts at Titan Tower, fighting off various henchman, all the while training you in how to fight the superhero way. It then progresses to the H.I.V.E Academy and then other various bad guy hideouts. Later, you learn all the Titans have copies of themselves supplied by Gizmo, H.I.V.E graduate, and that you must face each one throughout the course of the game. From level to level, you have more than enough to do, with the numerous spaces to fight and never ending baddies to defeat. When fighting a certain villain, you get a great deal of practice in and then you get to the main fight scene; but even after finishing off one, you go straight into the next level. To help you fight the various assailants, each superhero has their own unique talents. Robin has his stick, bombs and other powerful toys, while Cyborg has missiles and a laser beam, not to mention his exceptional strength. Raven and Starfire both can fly around and, while Raven has mystical energy attacks, Starfire has her out-of-this-world moves. Not to mention Beast Boy, who, like it says in his name, can turn in to any beast, mainly gorilla, bird and tiger, to accomplish his task. On each level, a particular character's talents may be needed to keep you moving forward - talents such as Raven's telekinetic force field or Cyborg's super strength punch. This allows you to give each character a try and not just fall into a pattern with just one character. Also after each level, you get awarded characters, arenas, and media to be used outside of Story Mode. They also have a Fight Mode that lets you duke it out with friends, finding out which one is the stronger superhero. Overall, this game is all about pushing forward and getting to the bottom of the story, and if you need something to do in between, there are always plenty of henchmen to beat up in and out of Story Mode.
Difficulty: Teen Titans is difficult to a point. One of the main things are just the hordes of baddies attacking you at once, lowering your health. But this can be solved easily by switching characters. Watch out, however, as the number of lives you have stays the same from character to character. One good thing about dying is that, until your last life is up, you simply fall to the ground and then get right back up to try again. Now, with the head villains, you are pretty much given clues as to what to do the first time and it stays true with each major fight. Primarily, you finish them off by using all the characters at once, which, if you know how, is easily said and done.
Game Mechanics: Each player in Teen Titans has various attacks; you utilize these attacks by using the buttons (A), (B), (X), (Y), and sometimes (L). Each button means something: (A) - fast attack, (B) - jump, (X) - strength attack, (Y) - special attack, and (L) - lift objects. When putting different buttons together, you can get up to 6 different attacks or you can simply hold down one and get a supercharged attack. (A) is usually just a punch or a kick, depending on the size of the opponent, while (X) and (Y) are specially designed for each character. For Robin, it is his trinkets, Cyborg his internal equipment, Starfire and Raven energy attacks, and Beast Boy turning into a different animal. When standing next to a Titan that is holding a villain, press (L) and you can do a special double-team attack, not to mention jumping, which allows attacks to be done in mid-air, or even creating new attacks. Teen Titans, though easier than most games, lacks nothing for anyone who loves the show, comics, or just the fantasy of having superpowers. It allows you to just sit and play - and you don't really have to worry about cheating, though that never hurts when pressed for time. Fans can be proud that the game is so true to the series and leaves you wanting more T-E-E-N TI-TANS. Teen Titans, let's go.
-Alyssa Schneider
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