Tarzan Action Game (UK version)

Reviewed by Kate Glanville
Published by Disney Interactive

Age Group: Age 4 to 8, Age 8 and Up
Type: Arcade
Price: $30

Description:

Take on the role of a young Tarzan, Terk the ape, Jane and adult Tarzan to complete a series of 13 levels set in the jungle. Swing on vines, climb cliffs and dodge elephant stampedes along the way.

Features:

  • 13 levels of play, with different characters to control
  • Three difficulty settings
  • Different types of levels, swinging through trees, swimming down rivers, etc
  • Powerups to collect - the letters that spell Tarzan, segments of a picture, jungle tokens and fruit to use as ammo
  • Bonus levels - if you collect all of the picture segments, you gain access to a bonus level

Technical Aspects:

The review of the US version of this game by Carol Welch complained about the graphics, but on my Celeron 400 with 3D 16MB graphics card, they were amazing! The animation and colouring was very "Disney" and the standard was excellent. The same goes for the sound, it was clear and well utilised. Although the minimum requirements are much lower than this, it does suggest that a high-end machine is needed for optimum enjoyment.

I didn't find any bugs at all, and the installation was easy and straightforward. The only problem I came across was, after control/alt-ing back to windows, when I tried to return to the game, it appeared in a tiny box in the top left corner, and nothing would make it full screen size again. Not a big problem at all though.

Report and Conclusions:

After playing the Tarzan Action Game at the Disney stand at ECTS, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the full version. And, it didn't disappoint. The levels are well planned and can be quite difficult, especially finding the picture segments and the letters to gain access to the bonus levels. Luckily though, there are three difficulty levels to choose from. The levels were quite varied, and this was a nice feature. At no time did I become bored with the game. In one level you're swinging through trees, then you're swimming down a river, and then you're escaping a herd of stampeding elephants. The character you control also changes, from the young Tarzan, to the adult, as you progress through the levels. You have to take Jane and Terk through an occasional level as well. One thing I did find a little irritating was the distance between save points. I'd complete a really difficult bit, jumping over monkeys and grabbing the tokens, and then I'd have to start all over again if I lost a life. Just a few more save points would have made all the difference.

The game was very easy to pick up, but I'd recommend reading through the manual beforehand. Only after I'd played a couple of levels did I realise that I could gain access to secret areas if I thumped my hands on certain rocks.

Apart from this, I did worry a bit about the whole "attacking the animals" thing. I was quite happily chucking fruit at nasty looking monkeys, but then I spotted a big cat cub. And it made such a cute little noise, that I couldn't hurt it. There's also a level where you have to attack tigers with a spear. When I was shown the game at ECTS, Disney told me that, as it's a Disney game, the animals don't die, but turn into butterflies. This is all very well, but surely it's dubious for Disney to encourage children to use weapons against animals, especially as it is required in order to win the game? Throwing fruit I can deal with, but stabbing them with a knife? And another thing, whilst the animals may not appear to get hurt, it's certain that Tarzan does when you run out of lives. He falls into a black screen dead, and some animals come and moan around him. I think Disney needs to seriously reconsider their policy on death in their games, if this is the best they can come up with.

Away from that, the game is a lot of fun, it's well planned and implemented, and the cut scenes that introduce each level make the film look great (I haven't seen it yet, it's not out in the UK at the moment). If you can live with the fighting and don't mind the spears, then I'd recommend it.




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