July 23, 2010, at 02:02 PM

Mini Review: Deep Duck Trouble

The lesser-known followup to The Lucky Dime Caper, Deep Duck Trouble seems to try to improve on it yet somehow fails to do so.

Graphics

Generally improved over Lucky Dime Caper, with even more animation frames and a whole bunch of new actions. We seem to get a more angry Donald, more like the cartoon and less Mickey Mouse-like. The enemies are less memorable. Backdrops are mostly pleasant and characterful, with a decent amount of effort spent.

Sound

No idea.

Longevity

This game is way too short. The original game had seven locations, this only has five (although they are split into two parts each, but those parts are not particularly long). The first stage is probably the weakest, which will have put a lot of people off the game, but later stages are more appealing.

Plot

The story screens are reasonable (although they persist in having Donald speak intelligibly). The game stays consistent to that.

Quite why water is fatal to Donald (a duck, in case you forgot) is a bit of a hole. Except in the swimming stages, where he is wearing scuba gear.

Fun

Once you get over the rather pedestrian pace at the start, it's not bad. There's a bit of exploration in later levels and occasionally some figuring out what you need to do, although it's basically linear. The "running away" stages are an interesting diversion from the standard platforming mechanic.

Innovation

Just another Disney game. It really lacks powerups (just the mostly useless chilli powerup and extra lives).

Conclusion


Mini Review Ratings