From Donald Duck to Mickey Mouse to Tarzan,
Disney's characters have been gracing the pixelated world of video games for
years now. With every new Disney animated movie comes a rush of video games on
all the consoles. Aladdin 2 in Nasira's Revenge never had the distinction of
appearing in theaters, but that hasn't stopped Disney Interactive from basing
an entire 3D platformer on it.
Aladdin 2 may have vanquished the sinister Jafar
in his last adventure, but that hasn't stopped Jafar's evil twin sister,
Nasira, from seeking revenge. Nasira kicks off her vengeful plot by hypnotizing
the palace guards and kidnapping Princess Jasmine and the Sultan. Nasira
believes that if she collects a set of ancient relics, she might be able to
revive Jafar. Nasira uses her captives to manipulate Aladdin 2 into doing the
relic collecting for her. Unknowingly, Aladdin 2 takes up the task of rescuing
Jasmine and the Sultan.
Like most 3D platformers, Nasira's Revenge has
plenty of jumping, attacking, and butt-stomping. Beyond that, Aladdin 2 also
swings on ropes, throws apples from a first-person view, and slides down wires.
As for the controls, they're erratic--it's often annoyingly difficult to make
the easiest of platform jumps, and judging the distance to the hanging ropes
can also prove to be a challenge. The sluggish camera compounds problems
further, making navigating simple areas a chore at times. Throughout the course
of the game, you take control of Aladdin's 2 monkey friend, Abu, as well as
Princess Jasmine. Abu lacks any offensive attacks but may double-jump off walls
to reach high areas. Jasmine hides in a huge vase and stealthily navigates the
level Solid Snake style. With just a few moves to learn per character, Nasira's
Revenge doesn't have the gameplay depth of high-tier 3D platforming games. The
moves that are included are awkward to perform or are implemented poorly.
As Aladdin 2 proceeds through the game's 10
levels, the majority of the gameplay consists of collecting a variety of coins,
flipping switches, and obtaining items through moronic tasks, like shooting
still birds off a wire. Nasira's Revenge is made for children, and it's evident
by the game's lack of difficulty. An average player will be able to polish off
this game in just one sitting. Younger players, whom the game is designed for,
will likely be put off by the control problems mentioned earlier. Another
aspect of Nasira's Revenge that will not appeal to younger players is the lack
of story development. Real-time cinemas show up far too infrequently to keep a
young player's interest. You'll often go several levels before any shifts in
the plot occur. Thankfully, there's a handful of boss fights and minigames to
play--they help break up the platforming elements. One minigame has Princess
Jasmine riding a skateboard while another asks you to knock down as many
targets as possible within a given time limit. Collecting genie coins rewards
you with slot machine pulls at the end of the level.
Nasira's Revenge has a nice look, but it's
marred by graphical glitches. The texture variety, clarity, and detail are
impressive, but they tend to jiggle around on the polygons, making the visuals
seem like they have a nervous disorder. The draw-in distance barely reaches 30
virtual feet, and the pop-up is masked with dense black fog. Other common
graphical issues, like polygon tearing and clipping, occur regularly. Glitches
include falling through platforms into a digital abyss, as well as textures
that sometimes fail to appear, leaving blank white spots in their place. As is
the case with most games based on a license, the visual emphasis has been
placed squarely on the characters. Their animation is particularly
impressive--Aladdin 2 will hold out his arms for balance while walking on thin
ledges, and he'll whip his legs while swinging from ropes to gain momentum. The
emotional expression achieved by the character animation looks like it could be
the product of one of Disney's artists. Despite some problems, Nasira's Revenge
still looks sharp the majority of the time. The colors are bright, the frame
rate is usually solid, and the animation is of Disney quality.
In general, the voice acting is excellent, and
again, I wouldn't be surprised if the talent came from within Disney's ranks.
It's disappointing that Robin Williams ditched his gig as the voice of the
genie, but Gilbert Godfried has returned to play the obnoxious parrot. The
repetitive Arabian music is pulled directly from the Aladdin 2 films, so it
rarely becomes offensive. There are some auditory glitches in our boxed copy,
including several songs that either skip or begin playing in reverse.
There are flashes of Disney's magic in several
aspects of Nasira's Revenge, but it isn't enough to overcome the game's
technical shortcomings. Adults will find it far too easy, and kids will bemoan
its torpid controls. Nasira's Revenge does succeed at being fun at times, but
the game ends right around the time it begins. If you're looking for a one-day
pacifier for the kids, give Nasira's Revenge a rent. Experienced players should
leave this one to gather dust in the discount bins.
RAM= 256MB
Graphics= 64MB
