Reviewed: January 19, 2004
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
THQ
Developer
Avalanche Software
Released: October 15, 2003
Genre: Platform
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone
8
7
8
6
8.2
Supported Features:
While only being shown in video form, Tak and the Power of Juju was already stealing the spotlight at the THQ booth at the 2003 E3 show. Not surprising since Tak exhibits all the charm and original gameplay to make him the new mascot for THQ.
Tak is the culmination of ideas from the melting pot that is THQ, Avalanche Software, and Nickelodeon (hmm…do I see a cartoon spin-off in the future). Offering an eclectic blend of traditional platform, action, and adventure style gameplay, Tak swings onto the console scene ready to steal some thunder from those other mascots who are lingering around the Home for Aging Video Game Stars. Mario and Sonic are old news and characters like Vince (Voodoo Vince), Ninja (I-Ninja) and Tak are the heroes of a new generation of platform games.
Tak and the Power of Juju is a tale of good vs. evil set in an ancient, tribal world where magic (Juju) really works! Tak, a shaman's apprentice and unlikely hero, sets off on an action-filled, yet humorous journey to save his village from an evil Juju Man. Tak, with your help, will have to stretch beyond his training and use his wits, his environment and the power of the Juju gods to complete his quest and reinstate peace in his mystical world.
Tak features:
- 10 massive environments complete with real-world physics.
- Obtain special Juju power and power-ups granted by the Juju Gods.
- Find the correct puzzle combinations of animal interactions, plants, weapons and water to complete your quest.
- Master Tak's inventory of tools including the pole vault, spirit rattle, blowpipe and explosive eggs from your chicken disguise.
- Use your environment by launching yourself to new heights on the palm tree catapult!
As previously mentioned, the rest of the village has been turned into sheep including the prized warrior, Lok, leaving Jibolba no choice but to give the task of saving the village and returning the Moon Stones to the unlikely Tak. He asks you, the Great Juju Spirit, to watch over him on his adventures and there you have your setup for what is a delightful action-adventure game.
With your task at hand you set out to explore ten lush and detailed worlds that are as original as the gameplay. All ten worlds are accessed from Tak’s village, which serves as the “hub” to all these locations. You’ll make plenty of return trips to each of these worlds, each time visiting new locations and completing new objectives.
While not exactly a platform title there is a bit of collecting to do in Tak. The primary collection items are feathers that replenish health and magic. Speaking of feathers, in a brilliant design decision, Tak’s health is represented by the feather on his head. It slowly turns purple as you take damage and fills back with yellow as you heal. It’s a great way to integrate important information right into the game without a distracting health bar floating in the HUD.
Missions are diverse and lots of fun. You will search for rare artifacts and powerful relics, collect plants, rescue trapped inhabitants, and are constantly on the lookout for Yorbels. You’ll need to collect 100 of these Yorbels to reverse the evil magic, but there are nearly twice that many in the game so it’s not as hard as it sounds.
Tak is a challenging game but it seldom gets difficult. You should never get lost and your objectives are generally laid out before you with a clear path (of feathers) from start to finish. Flora, the Tak equivalent of Tinkerbell, is your pixie guide on this adventure, and she is always quick to point you in the right direction if you do get lost or confused. Bottom line is that Tak is very kid-friendly clearly indicating that THQ is targeting this game to the traditional Nickelodeon audience, but managing not to alienate the older gamers looking for some fun.
There are some fun mini-games included in Tak that allow you to engage in a bit of extreme downhill racing on a snowboard or sandboard. You get to do tricks and collect tons of feathers and Yorbels, and these missions are a great diversion from the traditional platform action.
Tak features some clever interaction with the environment and the creatures within the game world. Monkeys will react when you hit them with a coconut, apes will catapult you to new areas when you step on a palm frond, wild boars will charge at you, and you can ride a rhino to smash through walls. Learning how each animal responds to certain stimuli is only the beginning then you have to piece these reactions together to solve many environmental and navigational puzzles.
Tak also has a full complement of moves including running, jumping, climbing, and vine swinging. Yes, there are some jumping puzzles but none of them are frustrating or even that difficult. Tak’s most unique abilities come from gaining special powers from the Juju Spirits. To summon a spirit you need to find a shrine and its matching Tiki then you will be rewarded with a new power or perhaps a new area to explore. Tak can eventually obtain and wear a chicken and a fish suit that allow him to fly and swim opening up even more areas to explore.
Tak has the making of a new gaming mascot. His big-head, wide-eyed look puts a smile on your face just looking at him, and when you see how much detail has gone into the animation of this character you will swear you are playing an interactive TV show. Dust and grass kick up when he runs and his feather moves with as much detail as Lara Croft’s ponytail. This is quality stuff.
Everything in the world of Tak is injected with humor, especially the character designs whether it be the big-nosed Jibolba, the fluffy, but oddly exaggerated sheep, the lumbering apes, the delightful Flora, or any of the other wonderful characters that are guaranteed to make you smile or even laugh aloud. The first time you see Tak in a chicken suit is a priceless moment.
Level design is gorgeous with detailed environments, rich jungles, dark underground locations, and sinister tombs filled with misty fog just to name a few. Levels are massive in all three dimensions and you will find yourself climbing or descending to new parts of these maps to finish your mission. The PS2, while not as technically perfect as the GameCube version, manages to offer a great draw distance with surprising detail and no pop-up. There is a bit of aliasing on a few objects but nothing terrible.
Tak is one of the few games that gives you total control over the camera then eliminates the need for such control by working perfectly on its own. Unless you are a total control freak you will probably never have to tweak the camera angle. There are a few instances where the camera locks into a fixed perspective for certain action segments, but otherwise, this is the best camera system since the original Jak and Daxter.
The cutscenes are Pixar quality and will stand up to the closest scrutiny. The lighting and textures are just uncannily accurate. The artistic style and color palettes remain consistent with the gameplay graphics even through the quality is light-years beyond.
Tak features a wonderful score that changes each time you enter a new area, but that is the extent of its diversity. You will hear that same tune looped for the duration of your stay, but to its credit the music never gets repetitive. It’s very prominent in the game but it is so perfectly matched to the level and the type of gameplay that it enhances the experience at a subconscious level.
Sound effects are sparse and only include the basics such as weapon strikes, a few supernatural sounds for Juju powers, and the footfalls and thuds of Tak as he runs and falls. What does steal the show are the wonderful voices that not only match the characters perfectly, but are acted out with a professional quality that exceeds that of TV itself. This is big-screen quality and really helps bring these characters to life.
Designed for kids, Tak will take the younger and more casual gamer 15-20 hours to finish. Experience gamers will walk all over this game in 8-10 hours and never look back. It’s a fun one-time experience and there is some locked artwork tucked away if you are up for the challenge of earning a perfect completion rating, but unless you have multiple people ready to play this, Tak is probably best as a rental. Then again, Tak is only $40 and will probably be hitting the $30 or even $20 bargain bins soon enough, in which case I can’t encourage you enough to buy this game.
Tak is fun, Tak is charming, and Tak is original, all necessary components for a great game and Tak and the Power of Juju is exactly that, a great game. It has all the standard components of traditional platform titles but disguises them with clever game design, intuitive character interaction, and constant humor. Whether you rent or buy you owe it to yourself to play this game.