102 Dalmations Puppies to the Rescue for Dreamcast

It is an accepted fact that video games that are made into movies are usually atrocious (ie Mario Brothers, Mortal Kombat, and Streetfighter) but movies that are made into video games tend to be hit and miss. For example, I plan on avoiding the Little Nicky game because the movie was horrible. Read my review if you don't believe me. Anyway, I digress. Even though the 102 Dalmatians movie will not be out for another week, I can still enjoy the video game now. This game will definitely delight your children and is completely free of violence.

The game is your basic platform game. You play as your choice of puppy- either Domino or Oddball (the puppy with no spots). As you work your way through 20 levels, you must collect bones (kind of like collecting musical notes in Banjo-Kazooie or bananas in DK64). You must also free your captured siblings from crates while avoiding evil toys that you destroy by barking at them. The puppy collects various human foods (like steaks, burgers, and hot dogs) as power-ups. You are guided through the game by various characters including Waddlesworth the parrot, Mr. Tibbs the cat and Yvonne the bat who give you hints along the way.

Control
The puppy is easy to control. You can use the digital or the analog controller to move the puppy around the scene, which means that both younger and older children can enjoy this game with a minimum of difficulty. Each of the four buttons has a function: jump, bark, roll, and "action" (ie talking or performing a certain function in the game/minigames).


Graphics
While the Dreamcast connoisseur might scoff at the graphics and call them "blocky," the target audience (ie children) probably won't know the difference. It seems obvious that this game was rushed in order for it to be on store shelves about the same time that the movie came out. If the makers of the game had more time, I'm sure that the graphics would have been much better. The graphics are decent, and the characters are very recognizable.

The game is very colorful, and your puppy will find himself in some of London's landmarks (Regent's Park, Picadilly Circus, and Big Ben). The Picadilly scene even includes cute double decker red buses.

Sound
The background music reminds me of the music on a Disney ride (not Small World). The music is really bouncy and really makes the game a lot of fun.The sound effects can be a little jarring, especially the crunching noise when the puppy gets a bone. The voice acting, however, is well done and each of the characters has a unique voice- very similar to those in the movie.

Extras
In addition to the 20 level game, 102 Dalmatians also features mini-games. You start with two mini-games (Concentration and Mini-Golf) and you unlock about six more as the game progresses.

Overall, 102 Dalmatians does not offer anything new or revolutionary, but it does offer a fun platform game with some minor problem solving that children who will absolutely love, espeically after seeing 102 Dalmatians in the theatres.