Ancients of Ooga (XBLA)

Ninja Bee | minutes | 2010 | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Fusion3600

Story- The Ooganis once lived in peace and prosperity, guided by their trusted and wise chiefs. When some new faces known as the Boolis appear, the chiefs are suspect about their presence. The Boolis seem to be kind and shower the Ooganis with gifts, but the chiefs warn their people not to trust these newcomers. But their pleas are ignored and the Ooganis begin to trust the Boolis more than they do their own chiefs, which is just what the Boolis were waiting for. The Boolis then reveal their evil intentions, forcing the Ooganis to not only to become their slaves, but trick the Ooganis into killing their own chiefs. As dark as times have become, a ray of hope emerges with the Great Spirit of the Oogani. If the spirit can inspire the remaining Ooganis to unite against the Boolis, perhaps their culture can still be saved.

Ancients of Ooga is a game I have been looking forward to, since publisher Ninja Bee has a fantastic track record. Like A Kingdom for Kelflings, Ancients of Ooga manages to entertain players of all ages. The younger fans will enjoy the creative visuals and silly sense of humor, while older gamers will have a blast with the gameplay itself. I want to say up front, this is a pretty easy game, but it is very fun and offers a good amount of content. I am sure we've all played similar platform games where you switch between various characters' talents, so the basics should be familiar. But this never seems recycled, thanks to the cool visuals, offbeat humor, and great variety within the levels. You have to make use of the various Ooganis' skills, which are wide and varied, making sure each level offers unique challenges. The length of the game is impressive and you can also enlist a friend for some co-op fun, as well as track your scores on global leaderboards. In short, another great game from Ninja Bee, a nice throwback style title that also injects plenty of new life into the concept.

The visuals here look great, colorful and reminiscient of platformers from the past. That doesn't mean the visuals are old school however, instead the game takes that visual formula and puts a more current spin on it. The visual design captures the spirit of the story and theme very well, just a fun game to look at. The animations are excellent, with all the cool little actions captured in a fun, skillful fashion.

The audio falls in line with the rest of the game, kind of old school, but with a current twist. The tribal music helps with the mood, while the goofy sound effects are right on as well. Not much else to discuss, the audio is deceptively simple and highly effective.

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