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DS Fanboy Review: Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck is a very rare game: it has mostly mediocre minigames, and yet is one of the most compelling games released this year. It absolutely triumphs in most aspects not related to gameplay and a few that are; most notably-- and this isn't the boldest thing I'll say in this review-- it is the best Looney Tunes material created in any of our lifetimes. It completely redeems a license and character that have fallen into obsolescence. Forget that Back in Action ever happened. (Sorry if I reminded you that Back in Action happened.) This is a Daffy who can genuinely get away with a Captain Picard reference.
WRUP: Elementary, my dear Watson edition
This week's releases mark a sequel to the first Touch Detective game from Atlus. Aside from Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, it's the highest profile title on the list, for us at least. In fact, we're feeling like we're in the mood to solve a mystery, but with so many games coming out in the next few months, we're not sure if our budget will allow it. In fact, we should probably go check our finances right now.While we're doing that, why not let us know what you folks will be playing this weekend?
The Duck Amuck/Esurance/Leapster connection
Can we admit to something? It's not that bad, but ... we kind of like the animated Esurance commercials. They're shrill, and senseless-- why is she stopping to get car insurance while being chased? And why is she being chased? And why is she always meeting that one David Seville-looking guy for the first time? But we overlook all of that stuff, because the geometric art style is brilliant, and the commercials are gorgeously animated. Whenever we watch one of those commercials, we hope that they are leading the animators into fantastic new opportunities.We were then pleased to learn that the Flash animation for Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck was being done by Ghostbot, the company responsible for the Esurance ads. We don't know if a DS game is really a step up in prestige from a national advertising campaign, but at least the subject matter isn't horribly banal. Besides, doing official Daffy Duck animation for Warner Bros. seems like Real Prestige as far as the animation world goes. So, good for them! They're using the original 1953 "Duck Amuck" model sheets, too, which shows some wonderful attention to detail. This information comes out of an interview between Newsweek's N'Gai Croal and WayForward designers Rob Buchanan and Jeff Pomegranate. Apparently WayForward and Ghostbot already had a connection, after Pomegranate worked on a Batman game with them for the Leapster. Which means that something good came of the Leapster after all.
DS releases for the week of October 8th
Don't relax just yet, fanfolk -- that wallet isn't getting a break any time soon. Just when you thought you might get a chance to recover from buying Phantom Hourglass, a bevy of new and interesting releases is coming our way. You want action? Check. You want humor? Check and check again. There's a good set this week, and we're not even up to the holidays yet. Bleach: The Blade of Fate The Cheetah Girls: Pop Star Sensations Flipper Critters FIFA Soccer 08 Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck Touch Detective 2 1/2 To see what's happening in the rest of the world, slip past the break.
Duck Amuck release date erased, redrawn as cowboy
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, originally set for a September 18 release, has been pushed back to October 9. Too bad-- this is one of the few minigame compilations we've actually been looking forward to. Playing licensed games is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in the gun-- except instead of dying, you waste some time and money when you lose. So basically it's nothing like Russian roulette. Anyway, the point is that we're ready to play the game to see if it is as clever in execution as it is in concept.If the game gets pushed too far into the Holiday 2007 Danger Zone, it'll get completely lost among bigger releases. We really don't want to see that happen.
Duck Amuck screens: have you harassed a cartoon duck today?
Gamespot's new screens of Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck highlight the central idea of both the game and the cartoon: messing with Daffy Duck. Immediately previous to the screen seen here, Daffy was presented with a trophy. The minigames revealed in this new set of screens include: whatever kind of game would involve blowing up Daffy with what used to be a trophy (obviously), firing Daffy out of a cannon, and something in which Bugs Bunny exhorts you to "Use your Noodle" in which Daffy is suspended over a hot cauldron as vegetables are added to a broth and a timer goes down. The question is, is the point of the game to help Daffy escape or to cook him?
Duck Amuck: This is a close-up
However Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck ends up, we'll be confident in saying that the art and animation are technically spectacular. Some of the scenes from the Chuck Jones-directed original short have been redrawn directly, allowing comparisons between the game and the real thing. Have you ever seen a DS game that looks so close to its source material? Before you say "oh, it's just Flash," keep in mind that someone had to draw every frame of animation in this clip, no matter what program was used. And that real 2D animation of any kind is becoming scarce these days. Are we hyping a licensed minigame collection now? What a fresh feeling!
Duck Amuck breaks both screens' fourth walls [update 1]
Duck Amuck is the best concept for a minigame collection we've ever seen. It may also be the best concept for a licensed game we've ever seen. It's based on the classic 1951 Merrie Melodie, in which a malevolent animator (later revealed to be--SPOILER-- Bugs Bunny) jerks Daffy Duck around as the cartoon plays. Locations are changed, Daffy is frequently erased and redrawn, and his attempts to regain control of the cartoon are met with punishment.The concept of "Daffy Duck being dropped into hilariously unfortunate circumstances at the hands of an animator" translates into a DS game well, since gamers are used to manipulating onscreen characters. DS gamers, in particular, are used to doing so with a pen. We watched the trailers and looked at the screenshots, expecting to have our enthusiasm thoroughly dampened. But the screens actually look good, and the trailers are well-animated and funny. What? Humor? In our video games? Even though we're pretty sure it's all concept art and not real gameplay footage, we're already impressed. We're also inclined to support WayForward, our new favorite DS developer (pending playtime with Contra 4.)[Update: A producer at Warner Bros. Games wrote in to confirm that all of the footage is in-game, done with Flash!]%Gallery-4960%[Via NeoGAF]
