REVIEW - Naughty Bear
- Written by Rick Wallace |
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Ok, so let’s just get it out of the way right off the bat. Yes, Naughty Bear is a game that has cute stuffed teddy bears as the main characters. Yes, there are little frogs and cute animals that you would see in a Care Bear’s cartoon or even a fairytale story. And yes, it’s quite odd at first glimpse. So the main head scratching questions are answered, but I am sure you are still wondering what possible fun a game could offer with all of the above. Well interesting enough, there is something that just draws you into this game. I don’t know if it’s the animated violence, the stuffing flying all over the place or just the opportunity to be downright naughty. But that feeling quickly fades after some time with the game. There have been several trailers for this game, I believe around 20 or so that have really made the game look intriguing. But now I have to think that the trailers may be the highlight of the entire game after spending many hours with this title.
So the game focuses on the antics of one bear named “Naughty Bear”. The other bears are having a party and they did not invite Naughty and now he has some scores to settle as he seems to literally go off the deep end with the helpful taunting of the narrator. You’ll progress through a small tutorial of sorts that will give you some inside information on the storyline ahead of you and exactly what it is you are about to undertake.
Throughout the entire game you’ll cause mayhem and misfortune to the other bears through the use of scare tactics, weapons, traps and even sabotaging items. For everything you do, you will gain points and your goal is to gain the highest point total you can before ending the level. Multipliers can be initiated to boost scores even higher and the naughtier you are the more points you will score. The more creative you get with your scares and kills the higher the score you will obtain. Sounds fun huh? Well read on.
Graphically the game is almost a parody of everything cute and fluffy in the world. Bright colors, cute animals and bears roaming the world and plenty of great animations will really treat your eyes to some fun yet violent scenery. No blood is in this game, only stuffing! The colors and art scheme really remind me of the days when my sister would watch Care Bears day in and day out. Even the island that this takes place on is known as “Perfection Island” which screams Care Bears. I am sure this is done on purpose to accelerate the shock value in each and every attack. But I can say that it’s not the most beautiful game out there either as it has some glaring moments with jagged edges, bad camera angles and coloring book style drawings. |
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Throughout the game you will have a narration by an English accented gentleman whom at times can be just a little annoying. He encourages Naughty to do all the naughty things and has some dialogue with Naughty at times. The bears, including Naughty do not actually speak but rather use grunts, groans and screams to communicate with each other. I can’t help to think of the Teletubbies when I hear the narrator and I truly hope this was not done on purpose.
Gamers will have 28 levels to score the highest possible point total they can. Each of the levels gives you certain objectives to complete that will award you point bonuses. The levels are all smaller areas of one large chapter. Some of these objectives include destroying gifts and returning back to Naughty’s hut. Your targets will start out simple but as you progress things will become increasingly difficult. Bears will become a little smarter and wield some nasty weaponry, but no fear as you have access to the same weaponry. Now unfortunately you will not find a lot of variety in the enemies you come against after you have progress a few levels into the game. They just get smarter and increasingly difficult to scare or kill and obtain large point totals.
You will have 3 basic ways of disposing of your furry little friends or should I say enemies. You can use a basic scare tactic and actually drive them insane. Or maybe you’ll just use a weapon and either beat them to death with a bat or stick or slice and dice them with a machete. The third way is to sabotage items that are scattered throughout the level which can range anywhere from a stand up arcade machine to a telephone. As I mentioned before the more creative you are with your kills and scares the more points you will end up racking up and honestly that’s the whole intention of this game. Be careful as you will alert other bears in the area as you take out bears. These friends of the bears will come to the rescue in the form of stronger weapon wielding bears and even cops. Wow, again this is so Care Bears it isn’t even funny with all the cutesy names and themed bears. |
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You’ll have opportunities to smash fluffy heads in car doors or just burn the stuff out of them with fire. While this can be fun for a while and it is because there are literally hundreds of ways to dispose of the normal bears. But it just doesn’t quite pull you in enough to make the game interesting enough to play for hours on end.
Thankfully there is some multiplayer action to be had. I think thankfully. You can go online and play against others in 4 types of matches: Assault, Cake Walk, Golden Oozy and Jelly Wars. While most of the game modes are unique and inventive online they still do not have much staying power. There really is not a whole lot to talk about when it comes to multiplayer and I honestly don’t see myself playing that much at all.
The game really feels unfinished at points whether it be graphically or in game mechanics. What seemed like it could be a great concept coming out of the gate ends up being lackluster at best and really just a game that has no genre category other than action. I am not sure if I like the whole British television overtone that seems to surround the game whether it’s the annoying narrator or the raw Monty Python style comedy. This review is difficult to write because it could be a fact that I don’t understand some of the humor that is used and I am completely annoyed by the narrator. I honestly had to turn off the sound to play. I love some of 505 Games’ previous titles, but this one just has me wondering what the heck they were thinking. It really could have been so much more. I also have to mention that I quite enjoyed developer Artificial Mind & Movements previous title “Wet” very much and just can’t imagine what went wrong here. |
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With all that said, and a review that may seem a little harsh to some, Naughty Bear does offer up something completely different to gamers. Folks that like to compete for high scores may find enjoyment in this game while others will probably get bored with it fairly quickly. It’s definitely a unique game and one that does entertain for a bit. It’s not a long lasting game that you’ll find in your console for months to come. Once the title drops in price I do recommend checking it out, or even heading out and giving it a rental now. Every gamer that gives the game a few minutes will get a chuckle or two out of the time spent with it. But other than that, this title really doesn’t offer anything more than a competitive online leaderboard in the end. Great concept but in the end it just doesn’t quite get the job done |
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SUGGESTIONS |
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Wow. The only thing I can really think to write as a suggestion is that the game should have been kept in development for longer. If I must add, quite a bit longer. I hate to write reviews that rip a game apart at the seams, no pun intended, but this really was a struggle to play after just short periods of time. One final suggestion, get rid of the freaking narrator. |
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Release Date
6/29/2010
Publisher
505 Games
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OVERALL |
60 |
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GAMEPLAY |
66 |
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SOUND |
55 |
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GRAPHICS |
68 |
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REPLAY VALUE |
50 |
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