Harsh Muppet Party Cruise Review in EGM(Electronic Gaming Monthly)

[dmx10101]

This review is in "The Rest Of The Crap" section in the mag, where they showcase the worst of the recent video game releases. Here's the review of Muppets Party Cruise-
"Not being excessively fruity or elderly, I'm unfamiliar with what goes on during a party cruise. However, my girlfriend is both, and she says that this game is very faithful to standard cruise activities like launching puppets out of cannons. With so many minigames avaliable, there's a chance you won't even notice that none of them are fun. I feel the same way about minigames as I do about minirobots: You can almost ignore them on their own, but if you get too many of 'em together, they merge to form Borgon and then you can wave goodbye to what we call "uneaten babies".
Bottom Line: Switch to this party game if you and your friends thought Pokemon Jr. Scrabble was letting you keep too much of your dignity."

April 2004 Issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

 

[jediX]

You know what, I'm tired of holding it in -- this game was disappointing, period. That review is written a bit too harshly (hence why the only gaming magazine I read is GamePro) and doesn't explain WHY it wasn't so great. So, here I go.

1, I hated the controls. Most of the time minigames were lost because of weak feedback. 2, the ai is insane. I've beaten every Zelda game (except that pathetic 'Wind Waker') without dieing, I've completely devastated Zerg in StarCraft, yet for some reason Pepe is invincible. I don't really even like the 'party game' genre, seeing as 99% of my gameplay is one-player rts war. The only thing I even liked about it was seeing Digit and Bean back in action. That's just my two cents. I have very high gaming standards, and this just doesn't "float my boat." I wouldn't have even touched this game had it not had Muppets on it. No wonder no Targets, Wal-Marts, Media Plays, or Best Buys carried it (I had to search for months until I finally tracked down a copy at a Gamestop). At least it was only $20.

Oh yea, and what's the deal with Sam's crummy catch-phrase "may I interject?" ??? I can't recall him ever saying that.......

(sorry, bad day venting... I feel much better now)

 

[dmx10101]

Well, If I may add a few comments to this reply. I subscribe to seven game mags, I am a avid games. I have PS2 and Xbox and spend too much money on games. I buy sports, action, racing, and other games. MPC was a easy game sometimes, as some of the games I could beat without trying, others like the drum beating mini game I could never win. Controls definetly need work. I don't really like pary games as this is my first one. I always play games solo. I liked it cause it had most of the Muppets in it and it had a few mini Muppet movie things. I have high game standartds too, and I would of never bought it if it wasn't a Muppet game. I couldn't find this game anywhere, so I got it off of ebay for about $15. Well, there's my three cents.

 

[jediX]

I own ps2, xbox, and gamecube (of the current gen of consoles, I have most of the 'retro' ones, too). What version did you get? The only one I could find was ps2, which I don't like the analog of anyway. Perhaps the gamecube had better control? Anyone want to chime in about that? And to comment further about the ai, the opponent would always roll the exact number of moves to land on a square to get more moves or points, and then end up betting all of their points on a game. Then, they would almost always win this game (the only one I always beat the cpu on was Busnen's Burners and Speed Bingo), and would end up taking everything; Pepe and Fozzie seemed to do this most. Also, instead of going for new party favors, the ai would go after yours and NEVER other ai players. I could probably go on all night. I played this for several hours the day I got it with my girlfriend, and havn't touched the game since. I finally can say I have a replacement for Clone Wars as my "least played game". Heck, I even played Wind Waker more than this, and I absolutely cannot stand that game.

(even more bad day venting = feeling even better)

 

[dmx10101]

I got the PS2 version also. And I always beat Speed Bingo, and I think I always beat Bunsens Burners too. I played it for a long time the day I got it and haven't played it again. But, look it this TDK was responsible for this game, they have made some of the worst games to date, I believe they haven't published a single good game(In my opinion and in the game mags opinions). They just make budget games (Ones that sell for $20). I wouldn't go as far as saying I can stand the game, it's ok, but it's not great or even good.

 

[jediX]

What else has tdk made?

 

[dmx10101]

Let me see here, TDK has made or published

Game Boy Advance
Corvette
Dinotopia: The Timestone Pirates
He-Man: The Power of Grayskull
Lady Sia
Muppets: On with the Show!
No Rules: Get Phat
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Robotech: The Macross Saga
Scaler: The Shapeshifting Chameleon
Shrek 2
Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway
Shrek: Hassle at the Castle
Shrek: Reekin' Havoc
Spy Muppets: License to Croak
The Haunted Mansion

Game Boy Color
Rainbow Islands
Shrek: Fairy Tale FreakDown
Tonka: Construction Site
Wendy: Every Witch Way

GameCube
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis
Casper: Spirit Dimensions
Conan: The Dark Axe
Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey
Muppets Party Cruise
Robotech: Battlecry
Scaler: The Shapeshifting Chameleon
Shrek Extra Large
Shrek Super Party
The Haunted Mansion

PC
Abyss: The Incident at Europa
Conan: The Dark Axe
Corvette
Knights of the Temple
Shrek 2
UFC
World Racing

PlayStation
Land Before Time: Big Water Adventure
Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure
Shrek: Treasure Hunt
The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure

PlayStation 2
Casper: Spirit Dimensions
Conan: The Dark Axe
Corvette
He-Man: Defender of Grayskull
Knights of the Temple
Muppets Party Cruise
PRYZM Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn
Robotech: Battlecry
Scaler: The Shapeshifting Chameleon
Shrek Super Party
Star Trek: Shattered Universe
The Haunted Mansion
UFC: Sudden Impact

Xbox
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis
Conan: The Dark Axe
Corvette
Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey
He-Man: Defender of Grayskull
Robotech: Battlecry
Shrek
Shrek Super Party
Star Trek: Shattered Universe
The Haunted Mansion
UFC:Tapout 2
World Racing

 

[rexcrk]

I've got the Muppets Party Cruise for GameCube! It's alright, but I never use the control pad, because IMO, it stinks. Some of the games are INSANELY hard (Like Beaker's game, and Zoot's game) ah heck, a lot of them stink. However there are some good ones (my favorites are Gonzo's game, Bean's game, and Sam the Eagle's game). At least the graphics are pretty good, and it's got that Muppety humor in the beginning movie. My favorite things about this game are the little Muppet videos and how many of them were used and used the official voices. But in terms of game, this one isn't great, but it's Muppets, and that saves it IMO.

 

[Klonoa]

I didn't think Party Cruise was THAT bad. It's no Mario Party, but for the price, it'll work in a pinch.

A better question to ask is what games Mass Media has made. They're the ones who developed Muppets Party Cruise. TDK is just a publisher.

The only mini game that I can remember off the top of my head that was horrible and unplayable was Clifford's dune buggy game. I can hold my own on all the other ones. My favorites are Speed Bingo, Stinky Cheese, and that pinball game.

I've posted this on the forum before, but here's my review of the game:

http://www.gamerdad.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=243

--Klonoa

 

[jediX]

That Rowlf pool one was pretty neat, too.