Another day, another 3d platform title hits the shelves. At least
this time however, the developers have aimed to make a game that stands out
from the normal hum drum trudge of 3D muck we are so often presented with.
‘Whiplash’ is the story of a Weasel and a Rabbit who break free from a
scientific lab and rush for freedom. The two are Hand cuffed together and this
is where the twist comes in, the weasel (Redmond)
is obviously considerably larger than his rabbit counterpart, he is also
completely insane- thus he uses the poor rabbit (Spank) as a kind of medieval
war mace. If you have ever dreamed of bashing a scientist to death with a live
rabbit this could well be the game for you.
If nothing else the concept of a mad rabbit-wielding weasel is at
least an interesting one. The rest of title follows the same over-the-top mad
cap style as our heroes rush around trying to free other creatures trapped in
the lab (Hamster cannons anyone?). The style of the game is completely insane
and there is genuine humour that comes through on numerous occasions. However,
with regards to the main characters there is only so many times you can hit
someone with a rabbit before it simply is not funny any more. It may be hard to
believe, but it does ware thin quickly.
The graphical style fits the theme well with decently animated
characters all looking slightly insane and uttering stupid things. Levels are
full of destructible scenery to be smashed and there is a decent variety of
enemies to fight and creatures to rescue, each more tortured and mad than the
last. While the look of the game as a whole is varied from area to area individual
levels do have a habit of looking familiar all too soon and follow the basic
format of a central hub, with various doors leading off them.
Movement and combat is solid enough, though at times it can be a
touch tricky to do exactly what you want to- this is mainly caused by the
camera being at some highly irregular angle. This does not happen often and the
camera can be moved using the right analogue stick should it become too much of
an irritation. Combat is fun yet limited, though you theoretically have a wide
range of moves to amass and use it seems highly unlikely you will deviate to
far from the standard practice of hammering the X button to dispatch foes.
Our heroes have a wide range of moves with which to navigate the
lab, including the standard double jump etc found in all platform titles by
this time. There are also more unique moves such as the ability to scurry along
wires and zip line using the handcuffs. Think Prince of Persia with a Weasel
and Rabbit set in a scientific lab, without the time manipulation and you would
not be to far wrong.
Indeed the comparisons do not stop there, most of the levels in
Whiplash, Like Prince of Persia, need our heroes to climb to the top of
something. Whatever the something may be, it is normally a round shape and involves
a section of scurrying, a section of jumping and hooking onto something and a section
of double jumping.
Here lies the biggest problem with Whiplash. No matter what you are doing it all feels like exactly the same thing after a while. You walk along hit some things, jump this, hover over that, hit this, and hook onto that. The formula is repeated in every single level in an almost identical pattern. One Hub section has you doing exactly the same thing in the five corridors leading off to other rooms and it just seems pointless and dull after a while. The few decent ideas in the title have been stretched way too thinly across the somewhat huge game, leaving you with a feeling of ‘so what?’ before long.
Here lies the biggest problem with Whiplash. No matter what you are doing it all feels like exactly the same thing after a while. You walk along hit some things, jump this, hover over that, hit this, and hook onto that. The formula is repeated in every single level in an almost identical pattern. One Hub section has you doing exactly the same thing in the five corridors leading off to other rooms and it just seems pointless and dull after a while. The few decent ideas in the title have been stretched way too thinly across the somewhat huge game, leaving you with a feeling of ‘so what?’ before long.
The Ideas behind Whiplash are good and there is no denying that
the title is fun in small bursts. But in the end the absolutely crushing level
of repetition just turns the whole thing into a dull exercise. If levels had
been more focused it would not have been such a problem, but there are simply too
many unnecessary sections in there. Each section contains the same ideas,
repeated over and over and over again. Whiplash is by no means a bad game but
is way behind the market leaders. The title is worth playing as it represents
an original idea, unfortunately though, that originality has not been converted
into an overall original gaming experience.
Overall 5/10
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