Ed, Edd n Eddy: Scam of the Century

Ok, before I get going with this, I have always been one of those kinda “iffy” people when it comes to any games based on movies or TV shows as many of my past reviews have shown. On a non-personal note, it also seems like much of the world agrees with me on that and history has repeatedly shown that most movie or TV show games are average at best. Cartoon Network has multiple popular shows, and we’ve seen titles from just about all of them hit store shelves. Well, here we are again, with another game based on the popular “Ed, Edd, and Eddy” show based around three cul-de-sac kids constantly looking for ways to scam money and candy off their buddies, and while the TV show can be mildly entertaining, unfortunately the new “Scam of the Century” DS game is not.

In Scam, the three Eds have had their book of scams stolen, and the other kids in the cul-de-sac are ticked off and looking to stomp a mudhole in them, so the three friends split up and head off in their own different directions, consisting of four different levels to play through platformer style with all three individually. Each one has his own unique attack, like Ed spitting gumwads and Eddy headbutting things, and enemies can be taken out by either using one of these attacks, or in the case of the gum, stopping them and them jumping on them to get rid of them. They also have a “special” attack that is activated by tapping on their stomachs like burping or sneezing. Along the way, there’s also stuff to collect like records or Eddy’s pet cheese, and items like hot sauce to boost up a special attack meter or marshmallows to regain health.

Well, I really don’t know what to really jump into and say positive that was done with Scam. The platformer style controls have all been done multiple times before, but the game is so annoying both in gameplay and sound that it’s not worth trying out. Most of the game doesn’t take place in any familiar setting from the show, and the enemies consisting of birds, dolls, spiders, etc. are tossed in ALL over the place to constantly hit you and knock you backwards, either causing death or going back and forth from one part to the next over and over again, like falling through a treetop into a forest and them back to the treetops again … with all the enemies back once more.

Each one of the characters also will get pursued by one of the characters from the show, like Ed being chased by Kevin or Eddy being hunted by his sister and Jimmy, but during the stages there’s no way to actually kill them or get rid of them, so they just relentlessly pursue you and hit you or basically do damage while you have no defense. Add in the multiple enemies that each stage gets flooded with and large, open platform jumping, and obviously this becomes absolutely ridiculous after a short period of time.

Now along the way, you will also come across quarters that you can use at the main menu to play mini games, which was the one area that I hoped may be a saving grace to this game, but unfortunately it’s not. The mini games are dull and uninspired, like popping zits with the stylus or matching up various meats, and they aren’t very challenging and after playing once I really didn’t have a desire to go back and collect quarters to play anymore.

Overall, this game isn’t worth the time to even consider picking up. The game is too annoying and the ridiculous storyline mixed with completely uninspired and frustrating level design isn’t going to provide much enjoyment past like the first 3 minutes. If you are a fan of the series, go back and watch DVR’d episodes or DVD collections or whatever and leave this one alone. 

Gameplay: 3.5
The game is a pretty standard platformer, but it doesn’t do much right. You can jump, attack, special attack, and everything else you’d expect … but the execution is terrible. Enemies are all over the place, and some you can’t get around at all, and having to deal with annoying enemies while jumping over pits or falling into a lower area and going back up over and over and over again makes you want to throw the game across the room.  

Graphics: 5.5 
The graphics and animation to the game is true to the TV series with weird movements and a shaky kind of presentation, but the levels look like something circa early 90’s. Repetitive areas abound throughout the game, and there were even spots that caused you to fall since they were only a slightly lighter shade than one you could stand on which led you to believe they were OK.  

Sound: 4.0
Honestly, this was the worst game music I have ever had to sit through since the same jazzy style track looped over and over again and never changed (even though all three have their own one). The rest of the sound effects weren’t anything nifty, and I even got yelled at to turn it down due to the annoyance of the blooping jump noises.

Difficulty: Hard
Well, I think I covered this area, but it’s just way too frustrating to deal with. Kids who like the show will probably quit watching after fooling with this game  

Concept: 3.7 
Scam seemed to me like a quick attempt to turn a buck, much like the kids on the show always try to do. There was nothing original here, and the repetitious gameplay wasn’t even done to decent standards. The mini games sounded unique, but they were rip offs of other games already done 1,000 times before and weren’t challenging.

Overall: 3.4
Leave this one alone … you’ll thank me. Even if you like the show, it’s annoying and the aggravating execution along with the boring story and level design won’t provide much more than MAYBE a couple of minutes of fun. Stick to watching it on TV, and hope that if they do yet another one, they come up with something a little better.