Duck Amuck brings the great Looney Tunes episode to shame
Looney Tunes is perhaps the most beloved and famous cartoon in history. The pure comedy of it makes it so lovable, and it's natural to expect that, like most other cartoons and movies, it would be made into video games. Duck Amuck is one such game, and it's based on one of the funniest episodes of Looney Tunes where Daffy is being tortured and humiliated by an unseen animator. In Duck Amuck, you take the role of that animator, but unfortunately you don't feel like you're in that position at all, resulting in a game that is no more than a missed opportunity.
All of the potentially creative moments in Duck Amuck take place with Daffy standing in front of a blank backdrop, similar to the Looney Tunes episode, and this is where you will spend your time between minigames. You can poke Daffy, slice him in half, tear the background, or pick him up. Unfortunately, that's the extent of this scene. You would think there would be some user input as far as what you can do to Daffy, but there is none. You are limited to the few things the game offers, and that's it. This makes Duck Amuck feel like a totally wasted opportunity to make a great episode into a fun game, leaving you not even feeling like you're the animator.
Poking Daffy, tearing the background, or just waiting around triggers events. You are then shown a cutscene involving Daffy doing something revolving around the world created around him, and then you play a minigame. Unfortunately there are very few laughs to be had by watching these clips, as they aren't very funny at all. Daffy's voice is just as it was in the cartoons, though, so it's at the very least slightly nostalgic.
Even if you do enjoy the little cartoons, though, you have to play through the minigame that follows, and trust me when I say you won't really want to do that. These involve such actions as blowing out candles, passing out cards, or, if you're lucky, slicing vegetables. A few of these games have a decent premise, such as making the screen cave in on Daffy, but none of them are fun or amusing because they are uninteresting, way too simple, and very easy. None of these games are worth replaying, or playing for the first time, for that matter.
The goal of Duck Amuck is to win these minigames, which makes Daffy's angry meter go up, and when it's full, you've beaten the game. This takes a half hour at most, and then you see the credits roll and say "Ok… that's it?" But wait, there's more! You can always play the longer versions of the minigames, or look for the secret character coins hidden throughout the minigames. But I don't see why you would want to do that, because the minigames are so dull to begin with and the character coins are too hard to find. Well, there goes any potential value Duck Amuck may have had.
Graphically, Duck Amuck is at least true to itself. The visuals definitely look like Looney Tunes, and they appear fairly decent. Unfortunately, the graphics don't look nearly as sharp as you would expect, in fact they're just a tad choppy. On top of that the few character animations in the game aren't very interesting to watch, which goes even further to push the game's very uninteresting nature.
Sound is easily Duck Amuck's strongest point, but even that isn't without its problems. Daffy's voice is just as it was in the cartoon, which is really fantastic. The voice, at least, is mildly entertaining, even if there aren't any good lines. Unfortunately the sound quality is pretty poor, resulting in everything sounding just a little fuzzy. The other sound effects are fine, but they definitely don't make the game more interesting.
That said, Duck Amuck is nothing short of a missed opportunity. The people who made this game were given the chance to make an awesome, creative, and entertaining game, but ultimately there is little success. The minigames are boring, torturing Daffy isn't very fun, and there is very little content to boot. Even the most avid of Looney Tunes fans will be disappointed by this major flop, because you don't even feel like the animator you're supposed to be playing as.
Positive:
+ Daffy Duck voice acting is good
Negative:
- too many limitations make it a wasted opportunity
- very few bright moments
- minigames are simple, easy, and uninteresting
- very little content
LAST WORD: Duck Amuck's dull minigames and lack of creativity make it a wasted opportunity that could have been so much more. Even the most avid of Looney Tunes fans are better off forgetting about this game.
4.0/10
All of the potentially creative moments in Duck Amuck take place with Daffy standing in front of a blank backdrop, similar to the Looney Tunes episode, and this is where you will spend your time between minigames. You can poke Daffy, slice him in half, tear the background, or pick him up. Unfortunately, that's the extent of this scene. You would think there would be some user input as far as what you can do to Daffy, but there is none. You are limited to the few things the game offers, and that's it. This makes Duck Amuck feel like a totally wasted opportunity to make a great episode into a fun game, leaving you not even feeling like you're the animator.
Poking Daffy, tearing the background, or just waiting around triggers events. You are then shown a cutscene involving Daffy doing something revolving around the world created around him, and then you play a minigame. Unfortunately there are very few laughs to be had by watching these clips, as they aren't very funny at all. Daffy's voice is just as it was in the cartoons, though, so it's at the very least slightly nostalgic.
Even if you do enjoy the little cartoons, though, you have to play through the minigame that follows, and trust me when I say you won't really want to do that. These involve such actions as blowing out candles, passing out cards, or, if you're lucky, slicing vegetables. A few of these games have a decent premise, such as making the screen cave in on Daffy, but none of them are fun or amusing because they are uninteresting, way too simple, and very easy. None of these games are worth replaying, or playing for the first time, for that matter.
The goal of Duck Amuck is to win these minigames, which makes Daffy's angry meter go up, and when it's full, you've beaten the game. This takes a half hour at most, and then you see the credits roll and say "Ok… that's it?" But wait, there's more! You can always play the longer versions of the minigames, or look for the secret character coins hidden throughout the minigames. But I don't see why you would want to do that, because the minigames are so dull to begin with and the character coins are too hard to find. Well, there goes any potential value Duck Amuck may have had.
Graphically, Duck Amuck is at least true to itself. The visuals definitely look like Looney Tunes, and they appear fairly decent. Unfortunately, the graphics don't look nearly as sharp as you would expect, in fact they're just a tad choppy. On top of that the few character animations in the game aren't very interesting to watch, which goes even further to push the game's very uninteresting nature.
Sound is easily Duck Amuck's strongest point, but even that isn't without its problems. Daffy's voice is just as it was in the cartoon, which is really fantastic. The voice, at least, is mildly entertaining, even if there aren't any good lines. Unfortunately the sound quality is pretty poor, resulting in everything sounding just a little fuzzy. The other sound effects are fine, but they definitely don't make the game more interesting.
That said, Duck Amuck is nothing short of a missed opportunity. The people who made this game were given the chance to make an awesome, creative, and entertaining game, but ultimately there is little success. The minigames are boring, torturing Daffy isn't very fun, and there is very little content to boot. Even the most avid of Looney Tunes fans will be disappointed by this major flop, because you don't even feel like the animator you're supposed to be playing as.
Positive:
+ Daffy Duck voice acting is good
Negative:
- too many limitations make it a wasted opportunity
- very few bright moments
- minigames are simple, easy, and uninteresting
- very little content
LAST WORD: Duck Amuck's dull minigames and lack of creativity make it a wasted opportunity that could have been so much more. Even the most avid of Looney Tunes fans are better off forgetting about this game.
4.0/10