Death Jr - The Root Of Evil Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 13th June 2008

Share:

Digg It

We get to the root of the action with this Death Jr review.

Death Jr. : Root Of Evil Details:

	Action
	Nintendo Wii
	Backbone Entertainment
	Eidos

TBA

Out Now

N/A

The platform genre use to be one of the strongest of all across the major formats some of the best known characters in video games history use to regularly jump, bounce, run and spin their way across our screens. These characters were usually pretty colourful characters that often cheered you up, so it’s a bit strange Eidos choose a much more grim approach with their latest platform, Death Jr!

As you’ve probably guessed by now the story of Death Jr. – The Root of Evil follows the adventures of Death’s son and his friends. The story begins when Death Jr. and his friend Pandora are arguing over a cocoon that they are trying to collect for a school science project when they unwittingly unleash a powerful and evil spirit known as Furi who soon goes on a rampage and captures the Grim Reaper himself. From here on in it’s up to Death Jr. and his friends to rescue Death and stop Furi and her minions.

The game allows you to play as either Death Jr. or Pandora or if you have more then one Wii remote two people can play through the story mode together with one playing as Death Jr. and the other Pandora.

The game plays pretty much like any other platform game, with you jumping up ledges and over gaps, battling all kinds of enemies. Both Death Jr. and Pandora are armed with a weapon, with Death Jr. being armed with a reapers scythe and Pandora armed with a bone whip.

Both characters are able to perform the same basic moves, such as spinning their weapons to float over gaps or climb up hard to reach ledges and of course take out enemies. New attacks can be unlocked as you progress through the game by collecting yellow orbs that float around the various environments.

As well as being armed with melee weapons, Death Jr. and Pandora also have some guns at their disposal. Death Jr. is armed with two pistols and Pandora has a Tommy gun. New weapons can also be created by collecting various parts as you progress through the levels. Upgrades to weapons you already have can also be found in the same way meaning the game offers quite a lot of variation to the gameplay. Some of the weapons on offer include a freeze gun and rocket launcher.

Death Jr makes pretty good use of the Wii’s control system, the nunchuck is used for movement while the Wii remote is used to initiate melee attacks and aim your various guns. It’s a very easy system to get to grips with making the game more accessible, especially to younger gamers which the game will appeal to.

Playing through the game as the different characters offers pretty much the same experience the only differences are the moves and weapons that each character uses in order to defeat the various enemies which subtracts a little from the replay value of the title.

Levels themselves are a bit of a mixed bunch, with some being fairly extensive and some very short indeed and seemingly rather pointless. For instance you can go through one level that lasts a fairly long time encountering various different enemies. Only to go on to another level in which you simply pull a few switches and step through a portal and that’s about it. These levels feel like they were added to simply bump the game out a bit more.

Most enemies pose little challenge and can be disposed of fairly easily, the game does feature some tougher enemies and these have a health bar above them so you know how you are getting on against them, but on the whole the game doesn’t really provide enough of a challenge for seasoned gamers, but should be enough for the youngsters the game is clearly aimed at.

As you progress through various areas you will eventually come up against a level boss. These battles are pretty much what you would expect from any platform game with bosses having a range of attacks, only exposing weak points at certain times and as with other enemies these shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.

Graphics in the game have a fairly quirky look to them environments are bright and colourful whilst characters have a humorous look about them. The games visuals will definitely appeal to the younger gamer. The game has been done in a cartoon styling with explosions and weapons fire all being a similar style to those featured in shows on TV. Sound in Death Jr – The Root of Evil follows in the same quirky steps as the games graphics, however it can be a little absent at time but what there is does fit in well with the overall fun feeling of the game.

The platform genre may not be as big as it once was, but there are still some good games out there and while Death Jr – The Root of Evil may not be revolutionary it does put in a solid performance with all the aspects you expect to find from any classic platform game. The co-op mode and single player story mode should keep younger gamers occupied for quite some time, whilst the more seasoned gamer may enjoy the retro feel of the game.