I know, I sound like a broken record as I always seem to say the same thing: A popular children's license is cashed in on by both the owner and the game developer. Sometimes this works out fabulously and sometimes it doesn't work out that well at all. Many of these cartoon licenses actually have lots of gaming potential provided that the developer understands the property and can translate it well into a viable gaming genre. Pokemon is a good example of this. While it was a game originally, the cartoon spawned some stand-out characters that were then retranslated into their own games.

So the Secret Saturdays is one of those licenses that would seem to resonate with gamers. The Saturdays are actually a family of Cryptozoologists who specialize in finding and protecting those strange, unique creatures that are mostly myth. The Saturdays may be scientists, but they are all action. And most of that action is caused by their arch enemy, Argost. Argost wants many of the creatures for his own evil purposes. These creatures, referred to as Cryptids, sometimes are misunderstood and almost always very powerful.

The game is a pseudo-3D action adventure. I say pseudo because its really more of a 2D side-scroller with a fair amount of visual depth in it. As you move your characters (because you play many of them) you must rely on each of their unique abilities. For example, Zak Saturday has the ability to swing around on his cane with retractable claw, while playing as Fiskerton (the resident bodyguard and sasquatch) you can climb very quickly on those levels. In fact, when completed, you will play as seven different characters across 10 levels. The controls themselves aren't particularly difficult to get down, but the game's camera often causes more trouble than any baddie could. You see, as you progress, the camera will pull back when you come into a larger boss battle, this auto camera can become a hindrance in some cases and cause problems.

The show has been lauded for its original ideas, good voice work and cool animations. The game manages to get the voice work right as there are several of the original voices featured in the game. Action music from the show is there as well so the game could be considered a good job of sound effects and other noises.

The game isn't all about hitting and action; there are some puzzles to be found, although they simply aren't that tough. Yes, this is aimed squarely at the target audience and that target audience is 9-years old, so I couldn't expect the challenges to be too tough. My boys seemed to get by pretty quickly as well so I can honestly tell you that this is a game that isn't too tough for younger gamers. That and the fact that it really isn't all that long either may be appealing to some gamers, but my own children did not play the game as much as I would have thought. When asked, my older boy actually told me that the game was boring because its the same thing over and over. And true to form, the game does suffer from repeated gameplay and ideas.

The graphics aren't too bad, but they aren't too good either. They are passable in some areas and a bit better in others. I thought the character models were recognizable but not as sharp as they could have been. Having just played Astro Boy for the DS, I couldn't help but compare the crispness of the lines in that game to this one. Yes, they are different animation styles, but this title just didn't have that same definition.

I had wondered what kind of game this may have been had the developers allowed for a multiplayer experience, given that there are so many playable characters the game practically begs for some multiplayer action. The game, because of the nature of the levels and character specific powers, wouldn't be so hot as a co-op title, but there surely could have been some other ways the developers could have had some single-card download play.

Gameplay: 6.0
The fact you play as so many different characters, each with their own uniqueness, helps but it is a very formulaic, repetitive game. Puzzles aren't  difficult at all, the camera can cause problems.

Graphics: 6.0
Things could have been sharper, but there are lots of different Cryptids to see and deal with. Lots of character models, lots of the same environments.

Sound: 7.5
Having the original voice actors is a plus in almost every instance.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 6.7
Thios was one Cartoon Network license that I would have liked to see succeed, mostly because the idea of the show is pretty clever and there is so many characters to play as.

Overall: 6.1
I really wanted to see this title take off. It has some things in it to make a player stand up and get excited, but those same things are painfully underdeveloped and a potentially great license is squandered.