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Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Thursday, October 25, 2007
Some fun mini-games; absolutely outstanding animation, straight from the classic cartoons; Daffy sounds as great (and irritated) as ever
Most of the mini-games wear out their welcome quick; the whole thing's beaten wayyyy too quickly; format is a little hard to figure out
OK, so most of audience probably isn't old enough to remember a classic Looney Tunes cartoon called "Duck Amuck". It's a short piece without any plot. It's basically Daffy Duck walking on the scene and falling under the mercy of a lunatic cartoonist, putting him through his paces by drawing chaos all around him. (By the way, not to spoil anything, but in the end it's all Bugs Bunny.) Warner Bros. thought that might be a good idea for a video game, and thus Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck is born. This time, YOU get to play the tormenting person-with-pencil, putting Daffy through his paces while he slowly yet surely loses his temper.
It's a novel idea, and WayForward has done superb work with the game's presentation. It interacts just like a real cartoon would. Pick Daffy up and poke at his feet and he'll wonder what you're up to. Tear a hole in the solid white fabric and he'll stomp around while looking for some "duck tape" to patch it up. There is more to the game than this, though. He has to take part in several mini-games, while you make sure that he absolutely, positively fails them. With each one not completed (or completed in your favor), he loses a notch of his temper. Set him off completely and you win.
Kudos to also whomever voices Daffy in the game. We assume that Warner Bros. used their own internal talent to bring his quivering, angry voice to life, and they do stellar work. Hearing Daffy chew you out while he waves his finger and stomps around is hilarious, and make this a must for kids and fans of the old cartoon. (By the way, you Xbox 360 owners can download it now for a mere 100 points. It's a must-watch.)
However, not all is fine with this game. Despite the innovative format and set-up, it just doesn't last that long. A few of the mini-games offer some good times (particularly when you slap Daffy on a ski slope with a batch of TNT -- that never gets old), but most of them are of the cut-and-dry variety. That means you play them once and don't really feel like messing with them again. Also, the interface to access these mini-games could've used more direction. Some people will have a hard time trying to figure out how to start them off in the first place. Finally, the whole thing's over in a matter of an hour or so -- even with thre three two-player games provided here. Watching Daffy go against himself may be fun for a few laughs, but it's not something to return to over and over again.
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck isn't bad, it's just an idea that wasn't stretched out far enough to cover the space provided in the cartridge. The animation is seamless, the voice work excellent and some of the mini-games a sheer hoot. However, the lack of lasting content make this just a rental at best, unless you're absolutely daffy about Daffy.
"You're despicable!"
