Reviewed: September 14, 2005
Reviewed by: Megan Dyer

Publisher
Disney Interactive
Buena Vista Games

Developer
Climax

Released: August 16, 2005
Genre: Arcade
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone

4
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5
4
4.5

In Lizzie McGuire 3 Homecoming Havoc, Lizzie decides to go up against the snotty popular girl at her school for the coveted position of Homecoming Queen. (Oh, the drama!) Play your way through over one hundred micro games and a series of dance contests to make Lizzie's dream come true, and be crowned Homecoming Queen.

And there is the first problem with Homecoming Havoc; redundancy and confusion. Some of the micro-games make it obvious to the player what is supposed to be done on screen. When somebody at the jeans store starts throwing clothes at Lizzie, move her to avoid them. Okay, that's easy enough. But when Lizzie finds herself down in a sewer somehow, (and this will make her Homecoming Queen, how?) I found myself confused as to what to do. Do I try to avoid the puddles on the ground, or the drops of water seeping through the ceiling?

When the game tells me that I'm supposed to "Do It!" I'm still equally confused. Do what? Why not just say plainly what I, the player, am supposed to do? This happened a little too often. For instance, when I found myself staring down at a screen with a piece of pizza on it, and nothing happening, I failed to win the game. What was I supposed to do? And when exactly was I supposed to do it?

Most of the rest of the time, the micro-games are pointlessly easy, and in turn, no fun at all. There is a game where Lizzie is slowly floating down from the sky. In the lower right-hand corner, there is a target. I pressed the right side of the control pad, and Lizzie slowly floated to the target, and the game ended. Okay, it's a freebie, right? Nope. Many of the games are like this.

Now, I am aware that a Lizzie McGuire game is going to be aimed at younger girls, but not toddler age young. Why, when I was that age, I was sliding around dangerously on ice in world six of Super Mario Bros. 3 (without using a warp whistle, thank you very much), carefully avoiding goombas and cliffs, not just pressing a single button to accomplish the obvious and impossible to miss. These kids these days, with their Lizzie McGuire games, their free Disney channels, and their...

Still, there is a dance off at the end of each level. Think Parappa The Rapper. Whenever an arrow moves along the bottom of the screen, press the control pad in that direction at the right time. It's probably the most fun Lizzie McGuire has to offer. Nothing terribly original, but fun, because it is obvious what must be done, there is a bit of a challenge to it, and it's not over before it even starts, like many of the other micro-games presented in Homecoming Havoc. Depending on how well you do in the dance off, you will earn tokens, which you may purchase. These are your get out of jail free cards, as they will win you one round of a game that you have lost. Not that they are necessary, unless this game is the very first video game you've ever set eyes on. This game is that simple.

Poorly designed levels that cause confusion, and overly simplistic gameplay are the culprits that made this game a bit difficult to review. Every time I picked it up to play, I found my mind wandering, thinking of all the more fun and productive things I could be doing. At one point, I even set the game back down and did dishes. I was that bored. Then again, I'm not a big Lizzie McGuire fan, having gone through puberty and all, so maybe Lizzie McGuire fans will have fun with Homecoming Havoc. But they'll probably grow out of it in about fifteen minutes.

Colors are vibrant and bright, and for a GBA game, Homecoming Havoc looks pretty decent. Still, there is a bit too much simplicity in this department, mostly due to the fact that many of the micro-games are not only poorly designed when it comes to gameplay, but also when it comes to looks. Most of the time, the screen is a single color, with one item displayed revolving around the game.

For example, there is a micro game where the player must tap the A button as quickly as possible to make Lizzie devour a piece of pizza as quickly as she can. We don't actually see Lizzie at all in this game, just a single piece of pizza on a blank background. There is just something very boring about a piece of pizza on a blank blue screen. Would it have been too difficult to show Lizzie with the pizza in her hand, hungrily devouring the pizza as the player frantically taps the A button? Basically, Homecoming Havoc looks all right. It's passable, as I have seen worse looking games. Still, there wasn't a whole lot of thought or creativity put into it, and it does unfortunately show.

The track did change eventually, and I was surprised to learn that for a GBA game, there is a decent amount of music on the soundtrack. None of it was too bad, neither annoying or repetitive, except for the Tetris track, which oddly enough, brought me back to my childhood.

Other than music there are the standard cartoony sound effects, such as tweetie bird chirpings when someone gets hit in the head with an object, or the canned applause when you succeed at the game, as well as the disappointed chorus of voices saying, "awww," when you do lose. Nothing outstanding, just sort of there.

Also, since the games are ridiculously easy (once you figure out what you are even supposed to do) the lack of even the slightest challenge makes the game even less valuable. After an hour or less of gameplay, Lizzie is the homecoming queen and then what? You certainly won't want to play these games over and over again, because they are redundant, too simple even for its target audience, and overall just plain under whelming. You would be better off saving your money for another game.