Curious George (Game Boy Advance) Review

And surprised we were when this game actually turned out to be moderately enjoyable...just. Sure it may be predictable, repetitive, totally unoriginal but there is something about it that we just really liked. Curious that. It does nothing to stand out, it does nothing to amaze and it does nothing to offend, so the kids will love it. Add in that this game is genuinely well made and has some good solid gameplay and you have a sure-fire hit if you were born since 1999.

We managed to breeze through this one in just a couple of hours, it is simple from start to finish and whilst it does offer some challenges and tasks of note, everything is pretty obvious and straightforward. The basic 'plot' of the game tries to line itself up with the film, so you've got The Man in the Yellow Hat (better known as Ted) on his way to Africa, after a bit of a failed mission he heads back to the good old US of A but finds a friend from his time in Africa has stowed away back to America. Yup, it's that monkey. He calls it George. Child friendly fun ensues...

George is a fairly simple little critter. Hit A and he jumps, hit B and he runs faster. That's about it. You can grab on to things, swing from things and jump around on things and if you do that for long enough you'll complete the game. Throughout the game you collect fireflies to get extra lives and these are liberally scattered throughout each level so surviving rarely presents too much trouble.

What we like most about this game is that it is clever and well designed. The levels are really fun to play through and whilst simplistic they are enjoyable and varied from start to finish. There are a few tricky areas to mix things up as well. The controls are a bit tricky to get the hand of at times, and swinging between vines requires a good deal of precision and care, sometimes a little too much. The levels are based around a number of themes from jungle to city and beyond. Water, platforms, jumping, swinging, climbing...everything an identikit platformer needs is present and correct.

The graphics are cute, cuddly and vivid and fun, with loads of bright colours and sickly tones. The music is catchy and inoffensive and did we mention that the graphics were innofensive too. And the sound effects. And the gameplay. And the level design. Yup, this is the least offensive, most bland game we have ever played. There is nothing to dislike about it and so we are totally indifferent towards it.