Tarzan Action Game

Reviewed by Carol Welch
Published by Disney Interactive

Age Group: Age 8 and Up
Type: Arcade
Price: $30

Description:

Tarzan Action Game is a 3-D game that allows children to "play the movie". Kids can romp through the jungle as young Tarzan, trash the camp with Terk, run from baboons as Jane and take on adventurous challenges as adult Tarzan.

Features:

  • 13 levels of play
  • 5 bonus levels
  • 3 difficulty options
  • Video clips & music from the movie
  • Supports most 3-D accelerator cards and Windows compatible joysticks

Technical Aspects:

Easy installation. This game runs very smoothly on our Pentium 200 MMX. There are occasional pauses, but these are very brief and really not a problem. The jungle sound effects are fantastic and the music is great! There are some audio instructions, but since these can also be found in the accompanying docs, hearing-impaired children could still play the game. The packaging is an accurate description of the product; the docs are well organized, clear, and helpful. Personally, I would have preferred to play this game with a joystick, but since we do not have one, we did manage very well on the keyboard.

I am disappointed in the graphics as they appear on our machine. Our video card does meet the minimum system requirements, but since there is a recommendation to use a 3-D card with 4MB, I expect that is what is needed to make the graphics look really spectacular. On our machine the images are "blocky-looking" (as my kids say), rather than clear and detailed. This does not affect play at all, but it does dampen the fun a bit.

I called Disney Interactive Tech Support to see if they had any suggestions for improving the graphics. The rep was very pleasant and patient. He agreed with my diagnosis that my video card was just not up to par and suggested that I update my driver or just try playing the game on a reduced screen. Not wanting to disturb my driver, I tried the smaller screen and it does look a little better. (Note: a UK version of this program was reviewed on a 400MHZ, 3D 16MB graphics card, and the difference was amazing!)

Report and Conclusions:

This is a really fun game! Players get to explore the jungle, gathering tokens and other treasures. Game-play is challenging, but not so difficult as to be frustrating. The age recommendation is right on target - proving a bit too tough for my 4-year-old, hard but playable for my 8-year-old and not too easy for Dad and I. The difficulty increases slightly with each level.

One great feature of this game, in my opinion, is that the game levels follow the story line of the movie. For the first four levels, the player is young Tarzan. Then the adult Tarzan takes over the adventure, swapping out for Jane and Terk on a couple of levels. Each level of play is introduced by a clip from the film. To see the next clip, you must get to the next level. I found this to be a great motivator. Of course, you don't get to see the whole film, but it is the next best thing to buying another movie ticket!

Now for what I do not like about this game - and it is a debatable subject. I expected the adult Tarzan to have weapons in this game; after all, he had them in the movie. What I did not expect was for young Tarzan to carry around a knife that he uses to stab jungle animals - some of which are fierce, but some are cute and fuzzy. The stabbing sound effects are way too realistic for my taste. Worst of all is that when the animals are stabbed, they don't die, they turn into a mist filled with pastel butterflies! Now, I assume that Disney is attempting a non-violent approach here; but let's face it - if you are going to have a weapon in a game or in a movie, there is going to be violence. (Yes, I know, I am the one who was not offended by the violence in the movie.) I just don't see that any good can come from showing children that a child can carry a knife, stab cute animals and magically turn them into butterflies. Oh, and while the animals don't suffer, when you lose a game the player (young Tarzan, adult Tarzan, or whoever) lies dead on a black screen! I just don't get it!

So, I'll get off of my soapbox now and let you make your own decision about this game. It is a well-designed, fun-to-play adventure that most kids will love. As always, it is your choice as a parent to decide what is appropriate for your children.