Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL Review

Say that title five times fast!

Anyway, as we all know, knockoffs are nothing new. We see them in everything. Everyday household items. Appliances, and of course creative media. Including obviously, video games. Over the last thirty or more years we’ve seen Pac-Man clones. Space Invaders clones. Super Mario Brothers clones. Street Fighter clones. Doom clones. Basically, one could spend a lifetime talking about the concept alone before even getting to the examples. Some of which I’ve already reviewed. Many knockoffs aren’t worth a second thought. But as Mortal Kombat, Saints Row, and others have taught us, sometimes they are. Taking a proven formula, and putting their own spin on it.

PROS: Nice graphics. Decent mechanics. Controls well.

CONS: Saves can’t be brought to another system. Unbalanced.

CAPTAIN PLANET: He’s our hero! Going to take pollution, down to zero!

Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL does just that. This time the target is Super Smash Bros. The SSB series looks like it can easily be copied at face value. The core concept of keeping combatants off of your hill or out of your ring seems simple. You have a cast of characters who are unique, yet share a simplified movement set.

Moving beyond that, Smash has also employed campaigns in past games. Such as Melee’s Adventure Mode, or Brawl’s Subspace Emissary Mode. Smash has a ton of different items you could add in for random fun. Or assist trophies, that enable NPCs to help you win. Nintendo’s series even has a lot of individual mini game challenges throughout the series from target smashing, to sandbag beating. All with mechanics that hyper-competitive players find quite deep. Today, the series has hardcore fans, and countless tournaments where the best players win enough cash to live on. It’s one of the most watched series on Twitch. Its reputation has reached the heights of games like Street Fighter, and Tekken.

To say that CNPTEXL has some lofty goals is an understatement. Does it get anywhere near the pedigree of Nintendo’s mascot party fighter? No. But is it a bad game? Shockingly, the answer is also no. This game takes Nintendo’s approach to mascots, and applies it to Time Warner’s Cartoon Network. The game was published  a bit before the channel’s power houses Adventure Time, and Regular Show. So you won’t be playing as Benson or throwing down with Finn. However the game’s roster does go pretty far back to the channels early days. Dexter’s Lab, The Power Puff Girls, Samurai Jack, and Johnny Bravo all make appearances with many of their characters. Some of the later hits like Ben 10 & The Grim Adventures of Billy, and Mandy are here. And even some of the lesser known shows are represented.

The game has a campaign mode in the vein of Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s Subspace Emissary mode. The story is told by a narrator (Voiced by Space Ghost’s George Lowe), which follows the convergence of all of Cartoon Network’s shows. This follows a formula similar to Brawl’s. You will go through side scrolling platformer stages with brawler elements. Depending on the stage, you can use a certain number of characters. When you get to the end of the campaign it is revealed that the narrator’s TV remote has gone rogue, and is responsible for the merging of the realities. Of course, this remote is the final boss.

Along the way you’ll also unlock characters for you to use in the other mode. Again, much like the Subspace Emissary. The difference is that you use currency to do it. CNPTEXL has a Store option where you will find not only the bonus characters, but stages, alternate costumes, and clips from the various Cartoon Network shows. Clearing the game or playing enough in the other modes will give you points that can be used to unlock them. Once unlocked, the characters, and stages can be used in the Story mode or the Battle mode. There is a vault where the unlocked clips can be viewed, along with the character models. It works kind of like a cut down version of Smash’s trophy room. You can get info on the characters, what shows they belong to, and their original appearances. It isn’t nearly as deep as what you will find in Nintendo’s games, but it still gives you something to look forward to if you are a fan of the CN shows. The clips are DVD quality, and most of the clips are from some of the better shows’ moments.

 

The meat of the game is in its multiplayer. Battle mode is up to four players, and also allows you to use a variety of controllers. If you’re playing the Wii version you can use the Wiimote, and Nunchuck. Or you can opt for either a Classic Controller or a Gamecube Controller. As I’ve mentioned before, the core concept of CNPTEXL is the same as the Nintendo franchise it cribs from. Each of the game’s 26 stages will see players trying to keep each other off of the arena. You do this by attacking one another, to build up damage. The more damage you take, the farther you are knocked back with each successful hit. Each stage has a knockout zone around it. Going beyond it, or being unable to otherwise make it back to the arena results in a death.

The object of course is to be the last one with any lives left. The game plays as one would expect. There is a primary attack button, a special move button, a shield button, and a button for your finishers. Each of the main three buttons can be combined with directions. So as in Smash, you can get different moves based upon what direction is used with each. It also has smash attacks of its own. So pressing a direction with the attack button at the same time will dish out more knock back. The shield also allows you to roll out-of-the-way, and perform parries as in Smash. Many of the tactics employed in Smash like edge guarding can also work here. Even holding the shield for too long will break it, leaving you open to punishment. The finisher button is novel too in that you don’t have to chase down a smash ball. The one thing this game does to carve itself out a niche is  the use of a gem system. Beating up on your opponent will cause them to drop gems. Collect enough of them, and you can use your finisher. Most of the finishers are pretty cool, and have anime inspired animations leading up to the attack.

In addition to the primary battle mode, there are a handful of variants. Choosing a custom match is similar to the way custom matches in Smash games work. You can turn assist trophies on or off, set the frequency of items, and set the time limit or number of lives. It does not let you go over each individual item however.  Beyond the custom mode, there is a mode called Drones where the game will throw a bunch of NPC enemies into the match. Instead of scoring you on stock or knockouts, it instead scores you on whoever defeated the most computer controlled combatants.

There is also a variant called PTE mode, where you collect energy orbs. Think of it like the coin mode in the Smash series. Finally, there’s the arcade mode. This plays like the arcade mode in Smash. The game puts you in a ladder, against other combatants, and you’ll get a different ending for each character you beat the mode with.

As far as the look, and sound of the game go, the visuals are pretty nice, while the sound isn’t. All of the characters models look pretty good considering Papaya’s probable budget constraints. Backgrounds aren’t very detailed. Muddy textures cover most of the background objects, and small details are lost in the shuffle. Although one has to be impressed with some of the destruction, and transition that goes on in certain stages. Again, the finishing moves are actually pretty impressive. Especially if you’re a fan of some of these old shows. Audio is lackluster however. Aside from the voice samples, and quality during the unlockable clips, there isn’t much to recommend. Music isn’t all that memorable, and none of the effects will really wow you.

Despite all of the similarities with Nintendo’s games it still doesn’t hold a candle to Super Smash Bros. That’s the biggest trouble with Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL. The roster isn’t as large, and as great as many of these shows were, it simply isn’t as fun to pick up Johnny Bravo, as it is to pick up Donkey Kong. What’s worse is that the roster you do get isn’t really all that balanced. There are a handful of characters you’ll stick with if you do decide to play this with friends even remotely regularly. While every fighting game ends up with one or two characters that have more versatility, the best fighters still make everyone viable. This game really doesn’t. It was clearly made to be a Smash clone for people on a budget. Or at least for Cartoon Network fans who couldn’t get enough Smash-like experiences. Unfortunately while it does succeed on those merits, it won’t succeed in keeping you away from Nintendo’s franchise for very long. The fact you can’t unlock everything on your own, and bring it to a friend’s is disheartening too. Especially since, at least on the Wii, you can back up your save file to an SD card.

Still, if you do like some of these classic cartoons, you might want to check the game out anyway. It is by no means a terrible game, and it is a fun ride as far as licensed games go. But you aren’t going to drop Super Smash Bros. for this. Nor are you going to fool yourself into thinking you’re playing Super Smash Bros. if you pick it up on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.  It’s average. But sometimes that’s enough.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

 

Reposted Review: Masters Of The Universe: The Power Of He-Man

(Originally posted on the inactive Retro Retreat)

Fabulous secret powers will be revealed to you when you insert the game into your classic console.

Even in the early days, sometimes a good licensed game would come around. Best of all this one came out when the character was in his prime. Relive your childhood, or discover something awesome from before your time. It’s time for a little bit of old school.

PROS: Impressive considering the hardware. Play great. MOTU fans will still love them.

CONS: Games are fairly short. Cheap AI, at higher difficulty replays.

WTH? The 2600 version has a better title screen, and intro?

Before diving into these games, a quick history lesson for those who weren’t around for the series when it originally came out, or when it was rebooted in 2002 in a new series on the Cartoon Network. Masters Of The Universe was an insanely popular toy line made by Mattel in the early 80′s. It’s storyline has had several rewrites throughout it’s existence. First being told through minicomics that came packaged with the toys. Shortly thereafter Filmation put out it’s classic cartoon based on the toys, and instituted it’s own series bible which became the more accepted version of the storyline. I won’t go deep into it as we’ll be looking at the games. But for those not already familiar with the series, Masters Of The Universe is about a planet called Eternia. On it there are several factions of good or evil. The main cast is the monarchy. Led by King Randor, Queen Marlena, they seek to keep peace upon the planet, and help the various inhabitants. There is also an ancient castle called Castle Grayskull.

Castle Grayskull holds the majority of the magical power of the planet, and is constantly under assault from the various factions of evil. The most common of these is Skeletor, and his band of evil warriors. Like most evil villains, he wants to take the power of Grayskull for himself so that he can take over the world of Eternia. (Insert “Of Course” Raul Julia meme) Unbeknownst to King Randor, his son Prince Adam was given a legendary sword of power that would turn him into Eternia’s greatest warrior: He-Man. As He-Man, Prince Adam defends the planet of Eternia from Skeletor, and other threats. With all that out-of-the-way, here’s Masters Of The Universe: The Power Of He-Man.

Released by Mattel in 1983, Masters Of The Universe: The Power Of He-Man (It’s a long title) was found on two consoles. Mattel’s own Intellivision system, and it’s main rival the Atari 2600. In today’s world of First Party, and Third Party mindsets, one would wonder why Mattel didn’t use He-Man as an exclusive to sell more Intellivisions. Though I suppose the case could be made that putting out a 2600 version made sense as it brings buyers in from two installed bases rather than one.

The game is pretty much the same on both platforms but there are a few differences that will be pointed out in this article. The main objective is to stop Skeletor from taking the power of Castle Grayskull for himself. As such, there are two main stages to the game. A shoot ’em up level, and a boss level. The shoot ’em up level will have you flying He-Man in his Wind Raider dropping bombs on Skeletor’s troops on his way to Castle Grayskull. (As an aside, the Wind Raider is one of the cooler vehicles in the toy line, and mythos.)

Skeletor’s troops don’t go down as easy as you would think. They shoot laser guns into the sky at you. they also fire discs up into the sky that lock onto the Wind Raider’s heat signature. What ends up happening is a tricky maneuver of trying to shoot down discs, while avoiding lasers, then hoping to place a bomb close enough to the enemy so that he will fall into the crater you just made. You’ll be doing this for 30 miles. If you can beat this stage you will land on Grayskull, and make your way to the boss stage.

The differences between versions at this point are pretty minimal. The Intellivision version runs much faster though, and so players will have to think a lot faster. The graphics are also a lot better. The discs appear as deadlier fireballs, and Skeletor’s henchmen run back, and forth along the bottom making them more difficult to hit. The Atari 2600 version is instead more colorful, and enemies don’t have as much animation going on. He-Man still looks about as good here in the Wind Raider as he does on Intellivision, but the rest of the visuals are decisively in Mattel’s court. To be fair, The Intellivision coming out far after the 2600 certainly left that expectation though. Nevertheless, MOTUTPOHM is still one of the nicer looking 2600 titles. It’s also a challenge in it’s own right.

The boss stage is where the differences really come into play however. On the 2600 it’s a single part battle. Skeletor has magic walls that move toward He-Man. There are small gaps in them that are just enough for He-Man to squeeze through. To complicate things, Skeletor uses his Havoc Staff as he did in the comics, and cartoon episodes of the day, to fire magical lasers at He-Man. Luckily He-Man can deflect the blasts with his Power Sword by pressing the fire button. If you can get He-Man to the other side of the screen however you’ll see Skeletor defeated, and you are treated to one of the few, and best endings of any 2600 title.

The Intellivision version however features a three-part battle with Skeletor. The set up is similar to the 2600 port, except that instead of magic walls, Skeletor summons hordes of fireballs, demons, and other objects of doom. He-Man has to get around the obstacles to get to Skeletor. Upon doing so you will be treated to a sword fight, and then a cinema screen showing He-Man chase Skeletor down to the next part of the boss fight. The second part is pretty much the same thing except for a scenery change. Beating this challenge leads to a final battle on the top of Grayskull. Defeat Skeletor in this fight, and you’re treated to a cinema of Skeletor retreating Castle Grayskull.

Once you beat either version the game will automatically re start on a higher difficulty.  One final thing of note however is just how much better the title screen is on the Atari 2600 port. Mattel featured a really cool transformation intro in the game so you see Prince Adam turn into He-Man as the cartoon’s theme plays in the background. It’s something old timers who grew up in the 1980′s as He-Fans, and She-Ravers will absolutely love if they missed out on this title back then. Younger fans will enjoy visiting the game at least once, while collectors of 2600 or Intellivision cartridges may find this one of the more interesting titles in their respective libraries.

The main drawbacks with these games are the short length, and repetitiveness. These don’t have the same satisfaction as the “Hi-Score” games of the time in terms of gameplay. MOTUTPOHM does do what it does well. It’s a really fun, and well made licensed game which is a sad rarity in any era of video games. But it’s not something you’ll re-beat 100 times in a row to out score your friends on, the way vintage games like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong beckon you to.

Masters Of The Universe: The Power Of He-Man IS however a must buy for any He-Man fan, and a solid recommendation for anyone who wanted to see what classic hardware could do if pushed to the limit in a way that works in it’s favor.

Final Score: 8 out of 10