The Case

Ahh, nostalgia, we meet again. A genuine slice of my childhood re-imagined for a new generation. Eh, who am I kidding, the ADD twitch generation won't give this a second glance. Hell, they won't even give it a first glance. This is for the older crowd, a throwback to the heady days of yore. But is it any good? Or should it have stayed locked in old Unca Scrooge's vault, never to be seen again?

The Trial

Dear Gods, this game is hard! Hard in a good way though. But that is not to say it won't have you flying into fits of uncontrollable rage, because it will. Oh, it will. The choice to give players finite lives and no checkpoints within levels will push away many. It is not a forgiving game, that's for sure. But as I said, it provides the good kind of challenge. Despite the rage and frustration, once you slog your way through and finally get your grubby little mitts on a lost piece of treasure, the sense of accomplishment is palpable.

The gameplay remains almost entirely unchanged from the original game of way back when. There have been some complaints raised about the control scheme because the game was clearly designed with a controller in mind. But when you consider there are only six buttons - four of which are directions - and they can be bound to anything except the mouse... What the duck are you moaning about? Hater's gonna' hate, I guess. It's also worth bearing in mind, whilst this is as much a remake as a re-release, it is still a remake and a remake of a game from many moons ago. Those distant days of yore when Wi-Fi was a fantasy beyond Human ken and even DOOM was still naught more than a minor irritation in the deepest recesses of John Carmacks cerebellum, a time when controllers had only three buttons. So yes, it would have been nice to have mouse binding options. But if you are seriously going to hate on a platform game for not giving you the use of one mouse button...haters gonna hate.

Graphically, somewhat akin to the 20th Anniversary release of Another World the game has been completely redone. It may not be a graphical powerhouse, but it is a fine looking game with vibrant colours, colourful characters, interesting environments and fluid animations making the game a visual treat. Though, unlike the aforementioned remake, DuckTales does not give the option of switching between the new art style and the old at will. However, considering the levels have not only been updated but greatly expanded with no more ninety second dashes to the end, that's to be expected. There are even some entirely new environments for you to explore. The most prominent of these has to be Scrooge's mansion, where the game starts with the Beagle Boys throwing a ludicrous amount of bombs at the door to break in. It's also a location you will return back to between levels, whether you finish them or otherwise, to have a quick goosey (hehe) at the extras which you unlock by spending the money you find within individual levels. Or to use Unca Scrooge's computer to choose your next location. Or take a swim in the money vault!

Speaking of levels and money, as in any good platformer, you collect gems and other shiny things during your forays into the Amazon, to the heart of Transylvania - replete with a, ahem, 'Dracula Duck' boss fight - and even to the surface of the moon! He gets around a bit, that Unca Scrooge. As do his three nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, his niece Webby, his housekeeper Mrs. Beakley, Launchpad...the whole cast actually, each of which gives an absolutely superb performance. All of the old favourites are voiced almost entirely by the original cast with one notable exception being Joan Gerber, the voice of Mrs. Beakley, who passed away in August 2011. Scrooge (Alan Young) however is back in full force, putting in a superb performance despite being 94 years old! Now that's dedication, folks.

With several difficulty options and greatly extended playtime due to the new and expanded levels, as well as the unlockable artwork and such you pay for out of your spoils, there's a lot to keep you going and a surprising amount of challenge. Whilst Easy mode offers infinite lives, which means you can keep on slogging through to completion, only Hard mode has all of the hidden treasures, giving quite the incentive to hone your platforming skills. But, although losing a life allows you to restart on the same screen you died, losing all of them sends you back to Scrooge manor to start all over again.

The Verdict

The long and the short of it is that DuckTales is not only a grand love letter to the older generations of gamers, it stands as a solid platformer in its own right; the game has a surprisingly complex narrative (relatively speaking) with absolutely superb voice performances. If I was to make a single complaint, honestly, Unca Scrooge has mellowed with age. He's still a grumpy old codger, but he never sounds anything more than...bemused by the follies of youth. Come on, you old geezer!

Case Review