Game Reviews

Rakoo's Adventure

Star onStar onStar onStar halfStar off
|
| Rakoo's Adventure
Get
Rakoo's Adventure
|
| Rakoo's Adventure

You'll often see terms like 'cartoon-like' or 'cartoony' used to describe an iOS game's visuals.

But the truth is, not much outside of Rayman Jungle Run is actually up to the standard of modern animated entertainment when it comes to sheer visual splendor.

It takes a uniquely accomplished mixture of detailed artwork, fresh character design, and impeccably fluid and expressive animation to get anywhere near Cartoon Network grade, let alone Disney.

You can now add Rakoo's Adventure to the list of cartoon-worthy games.

Skunk works

Namco Bandai's latest effort goes heavy on the cartoon stuff, as you'll find when you sit there waiting for all of its art assets to load up after the initial install.

We're talking minutes, even on the whizzy new iPhone 5S.

It's obvious where all of the megabytes are being used up as soon as the introductory cartoon boots up. This is high grade stuff.

It tells the simple tale of a raccoon-type creature chasing after an uninterested female. Think a gender- (and species-) swapped Pepé Le Pew in both theme and tone.

Run free, furry friend

The game itself isn't quite as arresting as the visual design, unfortunately, but that's not to say it's poor by any means.

This is another auto-runner (though there are defined levels), but with an appreciable free-form twist to the control mechanics.

Rather than switching between a handful of rigid lanes, or running along a 2D plane, here our protagonist roams wherever your finger dictates.

You're still stuck to a side-viewed left-to-right course, but there's plenty of depth to the field of play. It enables you to scoot in between oncoming waves of wild boar or crabs, and to duck behind rocks at the last second.

The finger-led control system really is very gratifying in its directness, resembling an iOS shmup more than anything else.

Slightly sketchy

It's a shame there isn't more meat to these thick, marrow-filled bones. You get just two modest-sized worlds to run through, with a third set to be unlocked or added at some point in the future.

Collecting the two types of flowers and three symbols present in each level also feels a little drab and by the book given the exquisite attention to detail found elsewhere. There are power-ups to collect, but their effects subscribe to the usual 'attract currency' or 'temporary invulnerability' schtick.

Even the promising pet system, which lets you enlist the aid of small creature to protect you by plying them with flowers, feels a little superfluous.

Still, Rakoo's Adventure is a gorgeous game to behold and a must-have for those with young children. It's just that we're a tiny bit disappointed that the rest of the game doesn't quite meet the standards of those cartoon-like graphics.

Rakoo's Adventure

Rakoo's Adventure is a bright and fresh casual auto-runner, though the gameplay can't quite live up to the standards set by the stellar cartoony visuals
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.