Garfield's Nightmare

I have yet to play a Garfield game that either A) Makes good use of the license B) Is halfway enjoyable, or C) Controls like a platform game should. Can you tell that this is not going to be a favorable review? Maybe, but I have a duty to uphold and report fairly and in an unbiased way no matter the game.

Look, I have been a Garfield fan since I was a child. I remember cutting out the Sunday colored strip and collecting it them until my mother finally got fed up with a stack of them and bought me one of the 7 million books that have been published. In fact, I still have my stuffed Garfield that I had as a kid (and used to put in the refrigerator) and have since given it to my own sons, who by the way, think Garfield is great. So then why do they keep getting it so wrong when it comes to the world's most famous Fat Cat?

So it goes like this, Garfield decides to pig out one night and settle in for a night of sleep, since he ate all sorts of foods, he ends up having some wild nightmares because of it. To make matters worse, he can't wake up due to his alarm clock being broken. Sooooo, Garfield must fight his way through his nightmares in order to collect the pieces of his alarm clock and wake up.

I don't have to tell you that this isn't really the greatest of ideas for a cartoon character rich in history and ideas. But anyhow, the game plunks you down with Garfield jumping on any and all enemies that come his way.

"A ghost with pizza, truly a scary thought."

Any slight fan of Garfield is going to pick up on the lack of key characters in the game. Since this is Garfield's "Nightmare" the biggie would have to be Nermal, his nemesis in the comics. To have Nermal as a key to his nightmare would make sense, but nope, there is a serious lack of license being used here. Heck, even Odie running in a various points and licking him profusely would have made some sort of sense. The only thing that even is mentionable about the game getting it right is Garfield's dislike of spiders. In the comics he hates them and in the game they come after him in droves. Not only that, but so do other assorted creatures and baddies and forces of nature, Garfield's primary attack, the jump squish is all he can do to defend himself. Never mind those claws or pointy teeth, this cat prefers to jump in the air and smoosh the life out of whatever gets in his way.

To say that this is a side-scrolling platformer would be an understatement. It is a platformer and in all fairness, probably the best game in the Garfield collection. There are some redeeming qualities to the actual gameplay, itself, the various locations, the control is pretty easy the idea that you collect different types of food stuff and the ability to collect many, many extra lives. If the developers had created some other original character for this game, it may have had better effect, but as it is, anyone who is even remotely familiar with Garfield will wonder what the developers were thinking.

 
"That musta been one a' spicy a meatball to produce a' night a' mare a' like a' dis."

Oddly enough the graphics aren't too far fetched, there are some shots of Garfield pulled straight out of the comics and even when running around, he walks on two legs like he does in the comic and animated series (early 90's), it works well from a side scrolling standard sort of view, things are fairly predictable, but I can't really beat them up, Garfield does indeed, look like Garfield. The various levels (snow, castle, lava, etc.) do well for the game's potential, yet dropped, concept. Still the levels have a surprising amount of detail to them and I would venture to say that the game does indeed look good. Much better than the last couple of Garfield games. Everything is clear and the action comes at a brisk pace however the lack of stylus use in the primary game was somewhat disappointing. You do however find and play several passable mini games that are stylus heavy. These mini-games are a slight distraction from the main game and offer no real thrills.

Even more so is the drab audio that accompanies Garfield in his nightmares. I would think that spooky music or thrilling styled music would be on the menu but the developers apparently didn't see it that way and chose for the less is more route. Unfortunately it was the wrong route, having little to no music in a game nowadays is pretty much a cardinal sin and it has been committed. I agree that there should not be voice work for Garfield, as the reader is best left to put a voice to the famous cat, but no music? C'mon. 

Gameplay: 7.2
It controls pretty good, the action is sharp and the mini games while, not entirely necessary, provided much humor for my boys

Graphics: 7.6
It says a lot when a developer can pack in all this visual goodness that this game has. The levels are large and varied, Garfield walks upright, and there are even boss fights.

Sound: 5.0
There is some sound effects, but the game is really lacking in the sound dept. A tight score would have shaken things up in a way that made for a more rounded gaming experience.

Difficulty: Easy
The game is made for younger players and the skill difficulty that comes with it.

Concept: 6.0
The idea that Garfield pigs out and has bad nightmares is actually pretty good. But then the ball got dropped when the developers decided to not put any of the other characters in the game. Well, there are some others in a mini game, but trust me, that doesn't really count. Just the fact the game is about Garfield's nightmares should evoke visions of hundreds of Odies chasing him to lick him. Nermal ruining his life, Jon scolding him for having eaten another fern. The possibilities were endless, and in the end, the game does have decent nightmarish levels; the use of license is just abandoned.

Overall: 6.6
Garfield passes muster, but only thanks to some really great levels and graphics, otherwise it's another example of should have been.