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Rating: Good
Tomba is a charming little game that could have been awesome, but
failed to live up to its massive potential. The story line is both serious
(you must reclaim the bracelet of your deceased grandfather who raised you)
and funny (Evil Pigs are invading the land). The music is catchy, but the
sound effects can be annoying and the 2D sprite-based graphics are nothing
to brag about.
The game starts off as a 2D action/platform game with limited 3D
elements, but it quickly turns into a mixture of platform game and RPG.
Fighting enemies and completing areas is all done platform-game style, but
you also have to talk to townspeople, collect items, and solve tasks RPG-
style. Tomba could have been great as a straight-forward platform game or
a full-fledged action/RPG, but the mixture of both doesn't fulfill the
potential of either style of gameplay.
The game is very addicting and provides good, solid fun for about an
hour, at which points it starts to get old and collects dust. The
task-collecting feature of the game seeks to be an RPG rip-off for dummies,
with its blatantly obvious objectives missing out on the subtle hints many
good RPGs provide. For example, if you are talking to somebody and they
say that there are seven dwarves missing from the Dwarve Village, giant
letters pop up on the screen that say "Save The Dwarves." If that's not
dumbing down the game's RPG features, I don't know what is. Also, many
times there are way too many tasks assigned to you at any given time,
leaving the player wondering just what the heck they are supposed to be
doing.
Like I said, Tomba is an addicting game that will provide you with at
least one full hour of fun before it starts to grow tiresome, so you
shouldn't hesitate to pick it up at your local rental store. But if you
are considering buying Tomba, you should definitely try before you buy.
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com