Game Review: Critter Crunch

Several weeks ago, Chris and I made an agreement to buy/trade games. Muscle March finally became available in the US, and since Chris had a Wii… I was interested in giving it a whirl.

In exchange, I agreed to buy a copy of Critter Crunch, which was available on the PS3. So far, we haven’t coordinated a time to swap/play games. But Critter Crunch has gotten a good deal of screen time, here at the apartment (between both me AND Liz).

In fact, I’d say it’s very Tetris-like in its addictiveness. And the superbly cute character design just sort of puts it over the top.

There’s a lot of goofiness with the explorer/narrator, but here’s the gist: On the island of Krunchatoa, there are all manner of creatures. In the game, you control a Biggsliocaucus (Biggs for short), and you use your incredibly long tongue to collect jewels. To do so, you need to feed the smaller creatures to the larger ones, until they eventually explode and drop gems/coins.

The game progresses really well, and leads you through each “new” creature or ability quite gently. Each new level begins with a tutorial, and it’s incredibly well balanced. Enough new things are introduced that the game never feels stagnant or repetitive. But it’s also never overhwhelming, as it’s always one new thing at a time.

As shown in the image above, you can trigger chain reactions that end up feeling incredibly satisfying. The folks who designed this game really got it right, and rival Plants vs. Zombies in terms of perfectly balancing complexity and timing.

While you’re feeding and moving other creatures around, collecting jewls and such… you’re also trying to feed your offspring. How, you might ask? Well, you feed them by regurgitating into their mouths. Big props to Capy for somehow making barf look cute (Biggs throws up a rainbow to his offspring).

As with every new feature or ability, there is a tutorial for how to feed your kids (entitled the “Barfing Tutorial”). And yes, it’s very cute.

On a final note: I purchased the game a while back, but didn’t end up playing it until maybe a week or so later. I let Liz take the game for a test drive, and she got pretty hooked. I think the cuteness factor is a big draw for her, but she also got sucked in to the gameplay a great deal.

Although, I have to say… the game stresses her out a fair amount. I think she and I have different reactions to games. Where I can play along and feel some excitement, she’ll get nervous and worked up.

For this game in particular, Liz does a lot of talking to the game. I couldn’t resist, and recorded a recent game of hers, to give you an idea:

Similar to our experience with Uncharted 2, this was a game that both Liz and I really got into. The two of us are pretty much at the same point in the game, and I think that’s a strong testament to how the game is designed. It’s as accessible as it is challenging.

If you’ve got a PS3, this is highly worth downloading – definitely recommended. And if you’ve got someone in your household who isn’t that into games… this one might change their mind. Be careful though, as they might not give you the controller back.

Critter Crunch: Online Game Code

Playstation 3