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Death Jr.: Root of Evil Review for the Nintendo Wii

Death Jr.: Root of Evil Review for the Nintendo Wii

The Death Jr. franchise is relatively young, but that hasn’t stopped it from garnering a devoted fanbase. The series is known for its fun, simplistic platforming gameplay, its cartoon-style visuals, and humorous storyline. Death Jr.: Root of Evil largely maintains these trademark elements, and does a great job of incorporating the Wii’s motion controls for an enhanced Death Jr. experience. < /p>

Death Jr.: Root of Evil screenshot

The title begins with Death Jr. and partner Pandora doing a project for their middle-school biology class. Their task was to find a cocoon specimen, but instead of finding a moth or a butterfly, they find evil! What unfolds is an entertaining tale that utilizes plenty of the series’ trademark humor. Even though the protagonists are both in middle-school, the situations are such that kids and adults will both be entertained by the story. There are several pop culture references, and the astute gamer will notice several references to sci-fi staples like Star Wars and Dune.

You can play as either Death Jr. or Pandora, and even have the option of playing split screen co-op. As you play, you can develop the attacks and weaponry available to each character. Death Jr. has his trusty scythe as well as a pair of pistols to start with, and Pandora has a lethal cup and ball set she can swing at enemies, as well as a weapon similar to a submachine gun. Both characters can perform basic melee attacks with the B trigger and gun-based attacks by pressing the Z button on the Nunchuk.

Death Jr.: Root of Evil screenshot

The game presents several ways to upgrade these basic attacks. You are able to upgrade your melee attacks through a pseudo-experience system in which you have to collect a certain amount of points to gain new attacks. These attacks are generally Wii-mote specific and involve shaking or flicking the Wii-mote in a certain direction. You are also able to unlock a greater weapons arsenal by finding hidden weapon plans around the different stages. These are a little harder to unlock, and you may need to go through a level more than once to find the different weapon plans. But with possible weapons like exploding hamsters, you would be crazy not to try to unlock them all.

The gameplay focuses on your ability to solve certain environmental puzzles as well as fight off the baddies. Death Jr.: Root of Evil really has the platform formula down to a science, and anyone who enjoys the Tomb Raider, Spyro, or even Crash Bandicoot series will find familiar fare here. However, this title has a very sharp learning curve and gets much more difficult after the first five levels. So if you find yourself breezing through the beginning, don’t be fooled. This game becomes difficult very quickly.

Death Jr.: Root of Evil screenshot

Visuals in this title are quite good, and have been seriously upgraded since the PSP version. Death Jr.: Root of Evil on the Wii is capable of running at 480p and it shows. The in-game animations are particularity good, and are among some of the best I have ever seen in a non-Nintendo developed title on the Wii. Characters look smooth and polished, and animations are extremely fluid. Cutscenes also look phenomenal on the Wii, and really represent what this console can bring to the table. The only shortcoming with this title has to do with the look of several of the game’s stages. Environments suffer from some very repetitious texturing, and there isn’t a whole lot of detail. However, even though the background environments do not look as polished as the characters do, they don’t look bad per se. If the detailed backgrounds were sacrificed to maintain a consistent framerate, then all is forgiven.

Death Jr.: Root of Evil screenshot

The sound scheme features some very solid voice acting and average background music. The voice acting is especially remarkable because so much of the humor in this title depends on the delivery. Voice acting is top-notch, and as such, jokes are routinely made much funnier. Background music is pretty generic, and each level has its own music theme. It is pretty bland overall, and it doesn’t really stand out as great game music.

The gameplay does not extend past the 10-15 hour mark, and once you finish the game, there’s not much reason to go back through and play it again. Even though you have the option to play as a different character, this doesn’t change the story, and the different character upgrades don’t really provide much replay incentive. While it might be nice to invite a friend over to play Death Jr. co-op, the gameplay still suffers from being a little stale after the first playthrough.

Overall, Death Jr.: Root of Evil is another solid platform entry in this largely successful franchise. Although this title is technically a PSP port, it has a look and feel all its own. The graphics look great in 480p, and the gameplay benefits immensely from the Wii-specific controls. If you’ve already played the PSP version, the Wii version may still be worth checking out, just because the controls make for a whole new Death Jr. experience. Overall, this is a great port and a must-buy for fans of the series. It is also a great choice for platforming fans who may not be familiar with the series. Either way, you’re bound to have some serious fun with Death Jr.!

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
Character animations are remarkably smooth and cutscenes look great, but repetitive environmental texturing hinders this title from looking amazing. 4.5 Control
Standard controls work great, and Wii-specific motion controls feel great. 3.9 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Voice acting is excellent. Level music is pretty good, but somewhat repetitive. 3.0

Play Value
While the ability to play co-op is a great feature, it doesn’t do much to extend the gameplay past 10-15 hours.

4.1 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Play through the entire game as either Death Jr. or Pandora, or team up with a friend in the new local co-op mode. Discover new weapons, combat moves, and storyline details playing as each character.
  • 19 levels and over 45 different species of enemies deliver a great variety of action and platforming gameplay.
  • Tons of upgradeable weapons loaded with humor ranging from flaming toilet paper throwers to C4 hamsters.
  • Screen Resolution: Up to 480p (Progressive Scan, Widescreen).

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