Junkman
Dec 13 2004, 04:54 AM
Game: Cartman's Adventure 3
Creator: Beamer
Genre: Platformer
Description: Help Cartman and his friend Dr.Hope eliminate a nasty clone of himself, created by Dr.Doom, which is bent on destruction.

Rating: 83%

Review: Cartman is on the loose again! Back in 2001, we remember him hopping through fields of grass, a desert, a hot volcano and a mountain whilst stomping an army of mutants and Dr.Doom himself to oblivion. With Cartman's Adventure 3 out, it's time for Cartman to hunt some freaking mutants again!

What's new since Cartman's Adventure 2? The game has now been brought back to a complete 2D feel, compared to all of CA2's 3D elements. It may seem like a low point for the game, but it actually isn't. In fact, CA3 has a lot more cleaner presentation than it's precessors, ranging from the pretty well rendered menus, the presentation screen that pop up before each level in which you see Cartman saying a random quote and the game itself. The levels are nicely drawn out and the enemies of the game do feature some good animation. The cutscenes aren't spectacular, but they get the job done and there's a couple of nice moments to be witnessed within them, too. The storyline is pretty much basic fare, though; like all other Cartman's Adventure games, the storyline involves Cartman going from one place to the other as he's looking for his new nemesis, Evil Cartman. It's not terribly deep, but since Cartman's Adventure 3 is more of an arcade-based game, who really cares about the storyline? The ending could have been improved a bit though, since it feels like a really sudden and too quick way to end a game.

Gameplay-wise, Cartman's Adventure 3 originally feels like a revisit to Cartman's Adventure 1, seeing that most of the new gameplay elements that were brought in Cartman's Adventure 2 are nowhere to be found in this game. There's a couple of new twists to be found this time around, though. With each level, you get to find a bonus level token that will allow you access to a minigame. The minigames are pretty much varied and are mostly on the fun side, involving many tasks such as finding Cartman, bomb him off, guide a buzzer through a explosive-filled sky and so on. Whilst a lot of the early bonus games are way too easy to complete, some of the later ones are quite hard. The reason you'd want to complete the bonus levels is to uncover the game's passwords, which are obtained as you fully complete the game (by completing all bonus levels and killing every enemy in the game). Some of the passwords will greatly enhance the gameplay (having 9 lives surely makes the game easier to play), others are plain goofy or simply pretty strange. You'll need to see them in order to believe it. smile.gif

The game seems easier than Cartman's Adventure 2 at first glance since the levels layouts aren't as complicated and aren't filled with as many enemies, but the game isn't easy by any means. The way the game progresses is in the same vein than CA2, seeing that you start off with 3 lives and you've gotta hang to them with all your dear life until the end. Unlike CA2, there is NO extra lives to be gained anywhere in the game and the health refills that will allow you to restore your life are few and far between and aren't always located at the spots where they really are helpful. You sometimes have to face a bunch of tough levels or bosses in a sequence without having any kind of health refills in the run. This makes the game quite frustrating to play at times, seeing that if you run out of lives and health somewhere in the game, the only way to regain it is to start the game from scratch, like in Cartman's Adventure 2.

Most of the enemies are taken back from both of Cartman's Adventure games, but it also introduces a couple of new baddies as well. However, most of the new enemies act in a similar fashion that most other baddies present in CA3, plus we don't get as many enemies types this time around. Enemies such as the fire-snorting dragons or timber monsters are missing, and I thought they were cool enemies. The enemies do have a wider range of action this time around, the enemies do cover up more ground than usual and the airborne enemies will only attack you when you're close to them. There's also a couple of new obstacles present in the levels, such as shuriken like projectiles that are being shot from vertical shafts as well than my favorite obstacle of the whole game, which are massive pendulums that swing back and forth, threatening to crush Cartman under their weight. The boss battles are better than in Cartman's Adventure 2, yet they could be improved. Most bosses still follow the good old "Walk from left to right of the screen" routine and don't show many different attack patterns. They still put up a good fight without relying on unavoidable attacks or cheap shots, though.

The only negative point about the gameplay is that a lot of the challenge boils down to remember the levels layout and enemies in order to make your way through the levels. If the game wasn't as unforgiving in the health and lives department, this wouldn't have been as much of an issue. The game do get easier as you play it and it still proves to be a lot of fun.

Sound-wise, the game is nice. The game's sound effects do a nice job, and the Cartman voiceovers which play as you begin each level are pretty funny. Music comes various places, mostly from punk bands such as The Offspring, AFI and also from other games like the Sonic games and even songs that I composed myself. The midis do fit pretty well the game's mood and is for the most part pretty upbeat, yet there's a ridiculous song used in a boss battle that I've yet to figure out. This simply made me laugh out loud when I've heard it. I'll let you figure out which song I'm talking about by yourself. smile.gif

To close up this lengthy review, Cartman's Adventure 3 is a definitely worthy sequel of Cartman's Adventure 2. Whilst some of the better elements from CA2 have been left out in the sequel, it also took away the bad elements and the occasionally frustrating level design that CA2 had. It's on the frustrating side, but the game still is pretty fun and stay strong on repeated playing. The bonus levels also are a nice twist that makes the game go deeper and further than most SPGs out there. If you enjoyed Cartman's Adventure 2, it's needless to say that you will enjoy this sequel. It's got the makings of a incredibly solid game and you definitely should check it out. Besides, you get to kill an evil Cartman clone in the game, so that's a good enough reason to play the game.