102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue
- Publisher
- Eidos Interactive
- Developer
- Crystal Dynamics
- Genre
- Action/Adventure
- Platform
- PlayStation
- Release Date
- November 08, 2000
- Peripherals
- Analog, Dual Shock, Memory Card
The Lowdown
Cruella De Vil. Sending shivers down your little doggy spines? That's because Cruella is the epitome of evil in any Dalmatians game or movie and 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue is no exception. Cruella is back, and this time she's uglier and meaner than ever. Her diabolic scheme? Seems the kiddies aren't spending their hard earned cash on Cruella's new toy line, and instead on something else. Of course, Cruella immediately jumps to the conclusion that the tiny brats of London are busy pampering their pets in place of spending major bucks on her toys. Her solution? "Plan B," program the toys to kidnap all pets in London and deliver them to De Vil's mansion to be turned into plush toys. This leads Domino and Oddball, two troublemaking puppies, to explore the countryside in search of their kidnaped kin and to foil De Vil's plans. Can you dig it?
The Good
Exploring the local forests on quest to find Cruella's mansion would be a bore without playful characters and well-done voiceovers. As this game clearly targets the younger generation of players, these two elements are key to keeping them entertained and interested. The two characters, puppies Domino and Oddball, are absolutely adorable and textured remarkably well. They can roll, sniff the ground and search for items, and bark at their enemies to send them flying. More-so, they'll need these abilities in order to rescue their captured brothers and sisters who have been stuffed into tiny crates. Visualize a mini Oddworld with puppies in place of Mudokons and you'll have the idea.
They're also routinely being aided by a special "helper" character for each level, such as Mr.Tibs, Chester, or Fluffy; which insures success. These helper characters pop in and out of gameplay, each to their own unique levels, and provide straight-cut advice quite valuable for the younger players. This also comes in handy when you're roaming the grounds of an abandoned castle and aren't certain what to do.
Another good point to 102 Dalmatians concerns the colorful graphics. In short, they're huge level environments with life and hidden treasures, brightly colored and with astonishing horizons. The levels are somewhat detailed and offer whimsical gameplay that children will cherish for weeks.
The Bad & The Ugly
102 Dalmatians offers easy and fun play for children, but nothing for the older players. This is in part to its superficial feeling; Crystal Dynamics explains the plot in the opening movie and shows nothing else plot-wise for the rest of the game. What You See Is What You Get, no serious storyline, plot-twists, or anything new.
The graphics offer gorgeous areas of play, plenty of room for rolling and dog paddling through streams, but nothing too capturing or wondrous to merit special attention. Players can see the same visual aspects {or better} in Spryo or any of the Gex games. The voices are also out of sync with the character's mouths. For example, Domino, who's voice is done by Frankie Muniz, {Malcolm in the Middle} will finish speaking but still have his mouth moving seconds after his speech. That's the only flaw with the voices, however, and players will even remember several of them from past cartoons, such as the voice of the old Ghostbusters cartoon ghost "Slimer" or the Rugrats' "Chucky."
Music is done quite nicely and displays a jazzy set of tunes for each level, but it and the sound effects are mundane and repetitive, nothing is memorable or amazing.
Additionally, 102 Dalmatians is an extremely easy game to play, and lacks anything momentous to keep players coming back through the years. Although there are cute mini-games, replay value suffers extensively due to this drawback, which means that only the younger players have the patience and love to return as Domino or Oddball to save their doggy brethren.
The Verdict
Targeted for younger players, 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue exhibits great and healthy play that parents may be proud of. Similarly, no blood or gore, easy controls, and doggy-fun make 102 Dalmatians perfect for the beginning gamer. Nonetheless, its easy moves, simple theme, and tedious gameplay will drive the larger {and again, older} gaming population away, as saving your puppy relatives presents no challenges and quickly bores the players. If you're a puppy lover or 102 Dalmatians fan, try your hand at it. But please, only a rent.
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